Horror fiction: As hauntings intensify in a haveli, the legend of a cursed queen starts to feel real

Maanas drove his jeep. Samika sat next to him, while Nivaan made himself comfortable in the backseat. The bags were dumped at the back of the vehicle. It was barely 7 am, yet the mid-May sun had already begun throwing fire. The wind hitting their faces did nothing to allay the rising feverish warmth in the air. Maanas reassured them that it would be better once they left the Jaipur city limits and got on the national highway that led to the Aravallis.

Pleasantries were set aside quickly. The comparisons of the cousins’ lives in Jaipur and Delhi were dispensed with, each party thinking that their city was leagues ahead of the other. The conversation would have gained some debating heat if the cousins knew each other better, but their unfamiliarity proved advantageous, and things didn’t escalate to conflicting arguments. But their lack of familiarity had its flipside too – their conversations fizzled out rather quickly.

There was also the question of their ages – at 26, Maanas was six years older than Samika. Plus, their interests were poles apart. While Samika was the studious, introverted kind, Maanas was outdoorsy. Samika’s interests went way beyond what was shoved in front of her...

Read more