When Shruti last went to her late paternal grandparent’s house, she could feel something had changed. She had been there a few times after they were no more. But this time it felt different.
Shruti was a freelance content writer and editor. She had the occasional freedom to travel and work, one of these working destinations being her grandparent’s house. Not only for work but also for any required work regarding maintenance of the two floored house.
On the ground floor, was the courtyard with a small patch in between for plants to grow. The patch remained barren now. Then there was the old kitchen and a room that was used to attend to guests and was even used as a bedroom when needed.
On the upper floor were the three bedrooms, a study room and balcony with a good amount of space. Surrounding the balcony stood the windows of the lobby. It was a pleasing sight for someone intending to stand and take a moment to view and realise.
The neighbours were friendly, and there were some local friends who came by for a word or two along with tea. The house itself stored so many memories. Shruti was glad her family didn’t rent it out or she wouldn’t have been able to come like she used to whenever she started to feel like she was beginning to lose her momentum of life.
Shruti was here for something more serious in nature than her other visits. She was finally going to start writing her book that she has been planning for what felt like forever.
But this time things felt off. As if someone was there in the house. It felt uneasy. Shruti casually asked the house help Tanvi, if she felt anything. Tanvi brushed it off, pointing to the imaginations of a tired mind. But then the laughter began.
It was like three people laughing late at night. People who were nowhere to be seen or found, but they began to come each night, never at the same time, laughing in a subtle manner, like the ones that people try to cover up with their hands covering their mouths. It started slowly, with the first laugh usually being of one person and then it happened for a short duration and then it went away.
None of the neighbours had heard it. The night guard was asked to pay more attention to this side during that hour. Nothing suspicious was found, but the laughter remained. Nothing else occurred, nothing was touched or moved, nothing beyond the laughing occurred. Shruti could not avoid it because she worked late at night as was the habit
Although it was uneasy, Shruti had started to ignore it. She had to gather proof previously, she tried recording laughter but nothing was ever recorded. She had asked Tanvi to stay over for a night. But Tanvi did not hear anything, she probably was in sleep like normal people.
Shruti avoids going back to her grandparent’s house, if possible; with no proof she has stopped telling people the real reason why. Her book somehow had a lot of unexpected elements in them, she says it sounds more like a horror story than the romance she was trying to write.
Written by Anuran Chatterji
Early Morning Memories 