Isabelle D’Mello Part 1: The Last House on the Hill The cab hesitated at the foot of the winding, gravel road. “This is where it ends for me,” the driver muttered, eyes darting to the thick trees lining either side. The evening sky above was bruised with the last pinks of sunset, and a fog had already begun to pool over the earth like breath from a hidden mouth. “Greyhill Manor’s up there. Two kilometers. Walk it if you must.” Elena Harris didn’t argue. She stepped out with her duffel bag and her boots hitting the cold ground with a…
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Ishani Varma Part 1: Arrival at St. Elora’s The jeep rattled up the winding path as mist bled through the pine trees like a silent ghost. Ananya Roy pressed her forehead to the cool windowpane, watching the outline of the valley shift and disappear. Below, the Nilgiris rolled in endless folds of green-grey, but up here, only fog and silence reigned. The driver, a man of few words named Murugan, grunted as the tyres scraped a patch of gravel and caught again. “St. Elora’s ahead,” he said without turning. “Ten minutes.” She nodded, fingers curled around the worn leather strap…
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Sohini Das The car stopped in front of the rusted gates of Windmere Lodge with a hiss, steam rising faintly from the bonnet like breath on a cold mirror. Devika Rao stepped out, pulling her shawl tighter around her shoulders. Mussoorie in late October was crueler than she’d expected. The sun had vanished behind a sheet of dull grey clouds, and even the pine trees looked like shadows painted against a darkening canvas. She looked up at the lodge — a two-storied colonial building half-swallowed by ivy and memory. The windows were arched, curtained in velvet too heavy for the…
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Dev Mukherjee Chapter 1: Arrival at Dusk The forest road narrowed as they drove deeper into Kunnur, swallowed by towering eucalyptus trees on either side. The air smelled of wet bark and moss, tinged with the chill of approaching dusk. Kabir kept his eyes on the curving path, one hand gripping the wheel, the other occasionally brushing against Riya’s fingers resting on the gearstick. She was staring out the window, her camera already in her lap. “Are you sure this is the right way?” Kabir asked, voice uncertain. The GPS had long since stopped working. Riya nodded. “The caretaker said…
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ইমন দে পর্ব ১ শিলিগুড়ির দক্ষিণ চৌরঙ্গী এলাকায় একটা পুরনো দোতলা বাড়ি। লাল ইটের সেই বাড়িটা বেশিরভাগ সময়ই নির্জন। দিনের বেলায় স্থানীয়রা পাশ কাটিয়ে যায়, রাত হলে কেউই পথ মাড়ায় না। লোকজন বলে, বাড়িটার পাশের গলিতে মাঝরাতে কার যেন হেঁটে যাওয়ার শব্দ শোনা যায়, আবার জানালার ফাঁক দিয়ে দেখা যায় এক মেয়ের মুখ—মাথায় লাল ঘুঙুরের টিপ, চোখে নিঃশব্দ আর্তি। এই এলাকাতেই নবাগত পরিবার দত্তরা নতুন ভাড়া নিয়েছে। রণদীপ দত্ত, তার স্ত্রী পৌলমী এবং একমাত্র মেয়ে রিয়া। পৌলমীর স্কুলে চাকরি হয়েছে, আর রণদীপ ব্যাঙ্কে। বাড়িভাড়া কম, চারপাশে গাছপালা, তাদের বেশ ভালোই লেগেছিল। প্রতিবেশীরা প্রথমে একটু অবাক হলেও পরে আর কিছু বলেনি।…
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Nikhil Sharma Chapter 1: The Will The road to Pinehar was unforgiving — serpentine turns through mist-covered hills, pockmarked with stones that had tumbled down long-forgotten landslides. The air thinned as the taxi climbed higher, and the pine trees grew taller, standing like silent watchers over the hillside. Riya Sharma leaned against the window, earbuds in, music off, listening only to the rumble of the tires and the occasional hiss of brakes struggling against gravity. She hadn’t been here in twenty years. Not since that summer when her mother had brought her here to meet Uncle Mahesh — a wiry…