Kundan | Nani Ka Ghar | A True Horror Village Story

".While strolling in the vicinity of the garden, I began examining it up close during the daytime. All of a sudden, a voice caught me by surprise.

'Oye! Who's there?'

I turned around and saw a man. 'Who are you?' he questioned.

'I'm Kundan. I had visited the village,' I said.

"Do you know where you're standing?" he questioned, taken aback.

"Yes. Why?" I asked, perplexed.

'This is the haunted garden! Don't approach it, or you'll vanish,' he cautioned. 'Didn't you watch the news? Just last week, Master Ji vanished close to this very garden!'

'I did watch it on the news,' I confessed.

'This is not a joke! People really disappear here!' he said. 'Even I've heard weird sounds at night.'

I paused, trying to make sense of what I'd just heard. 'But what sounds?' I asked tentatively.

He leaned in nearer and said, 'The garden is shrouded in thick fog at night. You can't see two steps ahead. And now, since Master Ji went missing, there are voices too. It wasn't like this earlier…'

I couldn't say anything more. He pointed to a field behind the garden and said, 'Let's go there. It's a nice place to play.'

We arrived at the field, which was vast, with a giant banyan tree beside it. I couldn't resist asking, 'What about that tree? It gives me a creepy feeling.'

'That is the Old Tree,' he explained seriously. 'A long time ago, there were many villagers who hanged themselves there out of desperation, harassed by the landlord. Others say their ghostly spirits now haunt this village, particularly the garden.'

He stopped talking before going on, 'I don't know for certain, but all of this began happening after their deaths.'

We played, and he knocked the ball into the garden by accident. He hesitated but finally decided to go and get it. As he approached the ball closer to the gate, strange things started to occur.

".As he reached out to pick up the ball by the gate, the ball somehow rolled deeper into the garden by itself. Surprised, he attempted again, but the ball rolled even farther into the garden. Neither of us knew what was going on.

He eventually said, 'I guess I'll have to go in and get it.'

I objected, 'But how will you enter? The garden is unsafe!'

He brushed aside my worry, 'That's only in the evening. It's still day, and I can see the ball right there. Don't worry; I'll go fetch it.'

And with that, he jumped over the gate and entered the garden. But when he reached out to the ball, it rolled away by itself, coming to a stop by an empty hut.

I cried out to him in alarm, 'Rajveer Bhaiya, don't go any further, please!'

Paying no heed to my requests, he walked towards the hut, exclaiming, 'It's just inside near the door. I'll take it and come back.'

Reaching the doorway of the hut, a light flickered on within. Observing this, my heart went down—i.e., I knew that we were in great trouble. There was surely somebody within that hut.

Shaking with fear, I screamed out, 'Rajveer Bhaiya! Return, please! Let us leave from here!'

He hesitated and answered, 'All right, I'm returning.' But as he turned to go away from the garden, a haunting voice from the hut came: 'Where are you going? Carry your ball along.'

We were frightened, Rajveer Bhaiya and I, and ran out of the garden and to our home as quickly as our legs could carry us. He escorted me back to my residence, but as he was going away, he asked, 'Do you live here?'

'Yes, Bhaiya. Why?' I inquired.

'Then you know Master Ji, right? He used to come here frequently.'

'Master Ji? The one who disappeared?'

'Yes. You've lived in this village long enough—you should know him.'

'No, Bhaiya, I just came here,' I clarified.

'Who stays here with you?' he asked.

'My grandma and aunt,' I replied.

'Do any of them play music or study music?' he asked.

Perplexed, I said, 'Why music?'

'Because Master Ji used to give music lessons. Ask your family about him. Perhaps they know something.'

With that, Rajveer Bhaiya departed, cautioning me against approaching the garden again, particularly at night. I remained there, curious as to why my grandmother had never spoken of Master Ji, even when the news reported his disappearance.".

Most chilling of all, the voice we heard in the garden sounded uncannily like my grandmother's. Could it have been her? I decided to confront her.

'Grandma! Grandma! Where are you?' I shouted.

She replied from outside, 'Why are you shouting?'

'Were you outside?' I asked.

'Yes, just walking around. What's it to you?' she replied casually.

'Nani, do you know Master Ji? The one who vanished?'

She paused and replied, 'I've only met him once or twice. Your aunt knows him better.'

'But why didn't you tell me he used to visit here?' I asked.

She waved it aside, 'I didn't think it was important. Stop brooding over all this.'

Her haughty demeanor only served to deepen the enigma. What was the relationship between Master Ji and our family? And why did the voice in the garden sound so much like hers? I couldn't help but feel that there was something she wasn't sharing with me.

".the closer I walked to the gate, the more loudly the whispers increased, now so clearly shouting my name. My heart raced, yet my curiosity propelled me onward. The gate suddenly creaked open by itself, and I felt a chilling shiver run down my spine. The fog within the garden seemed to come to life, swishing and shifting as if to urge me further.".

I hesitated, caught between fright and a desire to find out the truth. I turned around, shocked, as I felt a hand on my shoulder. It was my grandmother. She looked stern but calm.

'Kundan,' she spoke softly, 'You shouldn't be here. The garden isn't what you think it is. Come home with me now.'

I trailed behind her reluctantly, with questions running through my head. I could not sleep that night. The hushed voices in the garden remained in my ears. I questioned, was my grandmother guarding me from something she knew but refused to tell? Or was she keeping something more profound regarding the garden herself?

This experience left me questioning more than I had answers. To this day, the reality of the cursed garden and how it relates to my family is still a mystery, one that I might never know the answer to.