The Construction Site
We are almost there, said Mr. C. "Keep going, just keep going!", he encouraged the crowd. It was a hike through the caves to a building that was being constructed. The sea was mellow, in spite of the grey skies that day. The eight of them kept walking in a line with giggles and jokes here and there. Women found it a little harder to climb through beveled edges of the rocks that were chiseled beautifully by the waves. "We should make sure we get back before sunset", said Mr S, looking for acceptance from Mr C. "Oh, yes, no playing around in here", C agreed. There were bats hanging upside down in those cave ceilings and C continued to crack jokes about how and why they would sleep upside down and during the day. "You know what they say about caves, its all true. They love caves, it damp, and dark in here", he smirked. He was referring to several ghost stories he had cooked up along the way. S was terrified by the story, she was looking at Mr. C with fear, "Come on, they don't exist", she tried. "Oh yeah, they do. Don't you remember the lady at the village who got possessed. You think they make those things up? They exist, trust me." said Mr C with confidence. S could still sense a silliness on his face and turned to her mom. S's mom assured her not to worry- "you just believe any prank people play on you. Stop it", she dismissed. She was a big girl now, she told herself and kept walking. R was giggling at S's face non-stop, she kept splashing water on S and repeatedly said - "it was the ghost, not me" and chuckled away. "Not bad", said Mr. C, we got here on time. They went around and looked at the construction quality. Mr S and Mr C went on with their talks with the masons and contract workers. They were curious to know how they would protect the building from the salty waters and the wind. The day went on with Mr. C's constant approval and disapproval of techniques. As cousins, R,S, A, K and V were doing their duty, playing around the half constructed house. the most fun game being the longest jump we could do with our legs crossed- just being little scalawags. Mrs. L was terrified by this game, "Stop it! there is no first aid help nearby, the closest is a 1.5 kilometers hike away.", she yelled. They just picked another game they could sit and play- current shock, a very popular game with S always the catcher. R and A were having a lot of fun pulling legs of the ever-gullible S, "look Ma, all the time", she would complaint to her mother in such a sad tone. Ma did not bother but said "Comm'on, try to pull it up, you are not dumb!", which triggered a bigger laugh among A and R. A moment later, Aunt L and Grandma R came by. "I had to wait for her to get me to meet you, I have been asking them for so many days now", said Grandma in a hush voice to Mrs L. They do not get along very well, Grandma and Aunt L. On the other hand, Mrs L was Grandma's favorite granddaughter by far, she would brag about whatever Mrs L did and buy her a ton of gifts all the time! In fact, every time she came, she would bring something for Mrs L or her daughter, S. "So intricate", she said as she took out a beautiful silver flower vase. "My father got this from the London Dhora", she said. Dhora was a word used to describe the English men who ruled India until 1947. "No one appreciates it as much as you do, keep it", she insisted. Soon after, gossips followed about Aunt L's children, her cooking and such. "Ma, can I keep it in my room? I exactly know what to put in here!", she discussed with R on what flowers they should get. Orange would look best, they discussed and thought of the color of place mats that should go beneath. Impatiently, A pulled S's ponytail and off they went, running after each other! "It is time to leave, lets go- we should reach on time", said Mr.C. And in about 15 minutes, they paraded out. The women were planning their dinner menus and the men were talking about the quality of cement and stone used, and how expensive it should be. The kids were laughing and playing their way back home. Upon reaching home, the entire crowd walked in, greeting Grandpa. "I left the vase back there, near the room in the 2nd floor", S realized at the home entrance. R insisted on going back and S was not up for it after hearing all the ghost stories from Mr.C. After not much debate, R walked back- "Okay, I will just go get it, you stay put", she yelled from a distance. S caught up to her with fear, she was horrified as hell and was praying for a safe return. R convinced S that there was nothing to be afraid of, "ghosts don't exist!", she gasped. With a stoned face and much argument, they reached the building. It seemed like they reached much faster than they did in the morning. R walked up the stairs to reach the other side of the building through a room. To much of their surprise, there was a contract worker in his black work-suite. "Hey, how is it going?", he asked. "Oh, good. We left something and came back to pick up.", S replied. "Cool", he said and walked into the room, out of sight. By then, R sped to the room and urged S to catch up. "Hey, keep going", she replied and looked up at the room. A small girl was hanging loose on the wall entrance. S froze for a second and screamed for R, she heard nothing back. The next instant, the girl was sitting down below the staircase and was joined by a boy, perhaps his brother. They were both looking very happy, playing the chutes and ladders game, that also appeared from nowhere. S, at this point was sure that these were ghosts and kept calling on R. The shrill in her voice was proof of panic and despair. "Go! Just Go!", she heard R. S looked down at the kids and that instant, both of them looked right into her eyes like she had murdered their parents, it was a fierce look. "Oh God!", she cried and started running back towards the house. She continued to look back, but found no one following them, she suspected something raucous would show up right in front and eat her up. She reached home, crying and screaming with fear. By then, the folks at home were worried sick, the men in the family consoled the women- "the girls would just be wandering the stores planning a surprise party for their brother", said Mr. C. S let out a loud scream and yelled R's name- ghosts! they finished R, and she continued crying. Now, the entire house was shaking with fear and distress, not knowing what to do next. Mr.C and Mr. S tried to get S to talk about what exactly she saw there, Soon, Mr. C brought a newspaper with a photograph of a man, the construction worker who was murdered while working after hours... "We saw him, he was there!" she squeaked. Fear spread through the room while Mr.C and Mr.S exchanged worried looks. S continued crying, and squeaking in fear. She managed to go to sleep after the tiring trips and grim silence at home with women crying and men talking. She assumed someone did go up there to see where R was, "they would not leave her there!", she thought. As she came to the second floor balcony to look at the dreadful site where she saw and experienced anguish, she saw R! There she was, waking up from her sleep and wiping all the drool off her face. A sudden warmth, a new day with the bright shining sun, R was calling S to come on and play with her. And so she went, to join hands with the haunted... It was then, that she realized the house was haunted and she was in fact looking at the older house(that was demolished a year ago to build the new one). She heard loud laughing noises of the children playing, the two children and Ramya, whom she now joined...