Diwali vacations were over, Meena Parmar, a student of International School of Management, was on the way to Mumbai from her native village, Abusar in Rajasthan. Her college was at Vashi and it was one of the best B schools in India. She was entering the final semester and was all excited. She was tall, slim, fair and ambitious. She was excellent in studies. Her friends, Preeti and Sharva, were equally smart.

Her friends, Preeti and Sharva, were staying in a PG, while she was staying in the College Hostel. She could occupy the hostel room only for three semesters, that was the hostel rule. She had requested her friend’s landlady but she had refused on account of lack of space.

During vacations, she was busy on phone and laptop to find her a cheap home in Mumbai. Just before the end of her holidays, she had found an apartment which was very cheap, but far away from her college.

Finally, she reached Mumbai, in the afternoon at 2 pm. She had already had her lunch, packed by the mother. She came out of the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, took a taxi and gave the driver the address of her new home. After approximately three hours, she finally reached Titwala, outside her new building.

It was a three storey, five decades old building, covered in mold. It seemed as if nobody stayed here. It had developed cracks due to lack of maintenance and it also appeared as if it hadn’t been painted for many many years.

Meena removed her luggage from the taxi and paid the driver. She was standing outside the building when she heard someone.

“Hello Madam, New to the building, please come!” It was the security guard, Rama.

“Yes, I am Mr Devendra Bharadwaj’s new tenant. I had called him yesterday. Let me call him now.”

“No need madam, the keys are with me.”

“Oh, that’s great! So you are going to show me the flat?”

“Yes, madam. Please, this way.”

And soon they were on the second floor. The security guard opened the door of her flat. It was a very small studio apartment; it had just one kitchen, bathroom and a room (bedroom cum living room). The dull yellow paint was chipping off, there was mold on the ceiling and a musty odour.

Meena opened all the windows, to let some fresh air come in, and checked every nook and corner. She checked the water in the bathroom, and it was flowing smoothly. She then checked the kitchen, there were a gas stove, a fridge and a few utensils. In the living room, there was a table, cupboard and a sofa, which she could also convert into a bed.

After she was done with her inspection, she thanked Rama for getting her luggage and gave him Rs.100 as a tip. He left the place feeling very happy. Meena locked the main door.

The rest of the day she spent unpacking and arranging things in her apartment. It was night, and she thought of making Maggi, which she had got from home. After she was done with the dinner, she unpacked the last bag. It contained an Ouija board and other stuff required for evocation, which was her favourite hobby. She had learnt it from her grandmother when she was very young. Her grandmother was a well-known exorcist in her village.

She removed each item carefully and placed it on the ground. As she had no other work to do, she thought of doing Evocation. She drew a circle with rangoli colours, placed eight burning candles on its circumference, and an old wooden doll in the middle. Never in her life, she was successful but she kept trying. She hoped to summon a spirit at least once in her lifetime.

She closed her eyes and began chanting the mantras. After some time, she started to drag the doll towards herself. As she was dragging it, she slowly opened her eyes and stared at the doll. The staring is called the point of contact. You have to stare at it with full concentration and invoke. If you lose concentration then you have to do it all over again.

Suddenly there was a loud knock on the door. Knock! Knock!! knock!!! Meena gets scared and starts palpitating in fear. She slowly starts walking towards the door and peeps through the keyhole. She was relieved and unlocks the door in confidence. It was Rama.

“Madam, my shift will be done by 9:00 pm. He is Suresh (pointing towards Suresh), the security guard for the night shift. Hope I haven’t disturbed you.”

Meena just gave a smile and closed the door.

It was morning. She had a good night sleep. She quickly freshened up and was ready to leave for college. It was her first day of the last semester. As she opened the main door, there was a lady sweeping outside her flat. She looked at Meena and introduced herself as Mrs Amruta Shinde, she was her neighbour. Meena introduced herself as well.

As she was coming down the stairs, there were some old people having a chitchat. An old man pointed at Meena, and everyone started staring at her. She tried to smile at them but they were still staring at her with no expression on their faces.

She had to walk to the taxi stand, although she manages to get a taxi quickly. After a two hour journey, she had finally reached college. Preeti and Sharva were already present in the class, busy chatting with each other. Meena goes and hugs them, and starts telling about her vacation in Rajasthan and describes her new apartment in Mumbai. The professor entered the class and the first lecture began, with everyone paying full attention. Soon all the lectures were done, and it was time to go back home.

Before going home, She does some grocery shopping. It was late when she got back, also tired, she tells Rama to carry the bags. As she reached the second floor, she meets Harshad Joshi and his whole family standing near their door, opposite to hers, as if waiting for Meena to return. They smile at her and introduce themselves.

“Hi! My name is Harman and she is my wife, Hazel and this is our daughter, Harpreet (pointing out). We live in the opposite flat. We know that you are new to this building. If you need any help, let us know.” And these words were music to Meena’s ears. Who doesn’t want friendly neighbours?

She unlocked the door, and rewarded Rama as usual and told him to find a maid for her. After she was done with her dinner, she thought of going for a walk. As she got down from the building, she saw the gates were closed. As she pushed the gate to open, it was locked. There was a rusty chain with a lock. She looked out for Rama but he wasn’t to be seen. She went back to her flat. She peeped for the last time from the window, no sign of Rama.

Next day, it was Preeti’s birthday but she seemed very pale. Meena knew the reason but still asks her.

Preeti’s mother had passed away on her eighth birthday. She missed her badly and had once requested Meena to do Evocation and call her mother, but she had refused. She had never been successful and that was the only reason.

“Why are you low?”

“You know the reason.”

“C’mon Preeti, I told you many times that I have never been successful”

“But you could at least try. And you had only said that the ghosts never appear in front of you without a reason. It is my birthday today, the same day my mother dies.”

Since it was her birthday and she was requesting so much, Meena gives in. Preeti was very excited.

“Oh! Thank you, Meena. So, when are we doing it?”

“In the evening, at my place. Let’s also call Sharva.”

It was evening, and they were in Meena’s apartment, waiting to connect with Preeti’s mother.

“Should we start?”

“Yes”

Meena sets up the Ouija board at the centre. Then all three of them sit on the floor praying, repeating the prayer after Meena. Then Meena removes the doll and places it in the centre. She then lights the candles and switches off the lights. As she was dragging the doll she was concentrating on one point and trying to call Preeti’s mom. Preeti and Sharva were holding each other’s hand. And then she finishes her mantras and touches the doll to the circle.

Within a second, all the candles’ flame goes out, and soon the whole building’s lights go out. There was a slow breeze and the moonlight just enters from the window. There was complete silence. And suddenly there was a loud knock on the door. All get scared.

Meena gets up and goes near the door. She looks through the keyhole, there was no one outside. She signals Sharva and Preeti that there is no one. And then there was another knock. Meena gets frightened. She unlocks the door and opens it slowly. There was complete darkness.

Meena asks “hello, who is it?”

Suddenly Sharva screams. Meena turns back and sees Rama was inside their room. All three were shocked looking at him. Half of his face was burned and they could see his skull.

Preeti, crying, points out at the door. Meena turns back, and all the old men, who were staring at Meena the other day, were standing at the door. There were blood stains on their clothes. All were horror-struck. Meena tries to stay calm but she loses her calmness when she sees Ms Shinde and Joshi family covered in blood.

Meena, Preeti and Sharva try to run from the flat. They go downstairs but the gate was locked. They try to open the gate but Rama knocks them down by hitting a wooden stick on their head. They fall on the floor, unconscious.

Meena wakes up next day, there was no one. She searches for Preeti and Sharva. She sees that the gates were still locked. At a distant, she sees a man. He was walking very fast and was coming near her. As he gets near, she recognises him, it was Rama. He looked good, no burns and blood.

But still she gets petrified and she runs for her life. As she enters the building, she sees the Joshi family. She looks at them but even they looked fine. There was no blood. They smile at her but she runs towards the stairs.

As she reached the second floor, she sees Sharva and Preeti entering her apartment. She shouts, but they don’t respond as if they didn’t hear her. She enters her apartment and gets shocked.

She sees her own body, lying dead on the floor beside that of Preeti and Sharva. She turns back and sees Rama standing near the door.

She then remembers, when she had come for the first time, there was no one in the building. But when she did Evocation for the first time, from the next day, she started seeing all the people in the building.

Rama cuts her thoughts in between.

“Madam, You were successful in your first attempt of Evocation here. I had come to the door, remember?”