At That Night

We had a Scout Guide camp. All the girls were so excited and went by bus. We were chatting and singing on the bus.

There was a village fifty kilometers from our school where our camp was organized. It was a four-day camp, and we all brought food items, clothes, and other essentials with us.

We were accompanied by two Madams, a Sir, and a school Peon. The driver took a slightly longer road, different from the usual route, which prompted Sir to inquire, "Hey! Gajubhau! What road is this?"

The driver responded, "Sir, that road is haunted! There are frequent accidents, or vehicles suddenly stop. I thought it's safer to take a slightly longer route."

"Is that true? I've never heard of it," Sir said.

The driver rubbed his ear and said, "I have friends who've had experiences, Sir, and I've avoided it ever since."

"Well, what can we say?" Sir waved his hand.

Both our Madams looked fearful, but they quickly recovered, and some of the girls began sharing their own stories of haunted places.

One classmate said, "Girls! Once my brother got lost in a friend's field for four hours. Everyone was searching for him, and he was found unconscious near a well."

Another classmate added, "Oh, that's nothing. My brother was driving at night and encountered a woman in a red sari with long, flowing hair. She walked right in front of his car, narrowly avoiding an accident."

Raje Madam got annoyed and said, "What's going on, girls? Don't talk like that! Let's continue our singing game."

So, the girls calmed down, and we resumed our singing game, starting with the letter "M."

Then we reached the campsite, set up three tents, and divided all the girls into two groups. One group stayed with Raje Madam in one tent, the second group with Peshwe Madam in another tent, and Pradhan Sir and the Peon stayed in the third tent. The driver slept in the bus.

We arranged our bags inside the tent, freshened up, and started preparing for cooking, as it was our group's turn. As we worked, the conversation turned back to the haunted road.

"Is what Gajubhau said true?" Smita asked.

"Maybe. Who knows? Did you hear what Sandhya from the other group told in the bus about her brother's experience? It might be true," Pooja replied.

"Does the ghost have inverted legs?" Suchita inquired.

"Who has seen it? They say that in movies, but we have no real experience," I muttered.

"Let's drop this discussion. We won't be able to sleep in this new place if we keep talking about it. Let's finish our work quickly and get to the tent. Look at that eerie tree; it looks horrifying at night," Medha pointed toward a tree in the distance.

"I could touch that tree at night. I'll go tonight and prove that all these rumors are false," Sakshi said dismissively.

We all watched as Sakshi indicated a tree about a hundred feet from our tent. It gleamed in the moonlight, its branches swaying oddly. We could hear the sound of an owl, and a few bats hung from its branches.

At that moment, a bird called Titwi screeched and flew over our heads.

"Sakshi, don't do something foolish! We're here at the camp to participate in activities our Madams have planned. We shouldn't go off on our own," I cautioned.

Sakshi laughed and replied, "Neha, you love sleep, don't you? Are you afraid to go out at midnight? Let your sleep be disturbed for a day. You all just need to watch and do nothing else."

"Fine, let's see what happens tonight," I mumbled.

Raje Madam interrupted, "What's going on, girls? Need some help?" The organizers called us over to provide instructions for the next day's events.

After the program ended, we packed up and went to bed.

At midnight, Sakshi set an alarm on her wristwatch, which I couldn't help but hear. A few girls woke up as well. One girl was covering her face with a blanket, so Sakshi removed it to wake her up, only to discover that it was not a girl but one of our Madams.

The Madam woke up and offered to accompany Sakshi to the bathroom, but Sakshi insisted that she was still sleeping. The rest of us, including myself, pretended to be asleep.

Sakshi's plan to touch the tree was thwarted, as the Madam stayed awake all night. She may have been unable to sleep due to the new surroundings.

The next day, each school group presented their programs, including folk songs, folk dances, one-act plays, and outdoor sports competitions. After the cooking competition without utensils, our school group won, concluding the day's events.

As we discussed the events of the night before, Sakshi expressed her desire to attempt her plan again. I questioned her decision, but she was determined. However, she agreed to check where the Madam would sleep that night.

That night, we all fell asleep at the usual time. The Madam began snoring rhythmically, and at midnight, Sakshi's alarm went off. We all woke up, and Sakshi decided to proceed with her plan. She walked toward the tree, but a bat suddenly flew past her, causing her to jerk and continue toward the tree.

We tried to stop her by calling her name, but she couldn't hear us. We were worried about her, but shouting loudly would wake everyone, so we hesitated. We didn't know what to do as she moved farther away.

Eventually, we decided to intervene, with some girls taking care of Medha, who seemed unwell. Isha, Sushma, and I tried to stop Sakshi and called out to her. She kept moving toward the tree, seemingly unaware of our presence.

The Madam, Sir, the driver, and the Peon were called after the incident was explained to the camp organizers. We all boarded the bus to find Sakshi.

We searched for Sakshi in every direction and called her name loudly, but we couldn't find her. The Madam and Sir scolded us for our recklessness, and we couldn't bear the thought of facing Sakshi's parents after such an incident.

We were restless, and our thoughts ran wild. We searched for about an hour, but she was nowhere to be found. Then we heard an unusual sound, which led us to Sakshi.

She was sitting on a rock, her hair disheveled, her eyes wide and teary, and she was talking to someone who wasn't there. Her speech was incoherent, and her voice unrecognizable.

It seemed like she was possessed by something. Her voice grew louder and took on a strange tone. We all watched in shock as she continued to behave erratically. It was as if something had taken control of her.

The driver tried to sprinkle water on her face, but she responded angrily and threw Peon Sadubhau when he attempted to place a leather belt around her neck, which was believed to repel evil spirits.

We took Sakshi back to the bus, and she was placed in