"Did you feel that? She must know we're out here. She's already casting some kind of voodoo shit spell on us. Let's bounce already.", I heard my brother, Aakaash, mutter as we crouched behind the bushes in front of the old haunted house.
"It's called wind, you moron." I smacked him lightly on the back of the head. "I seriously doubt she can make the wind blow. And I am not leaving until it's done. You can go, if you want."
Aakaash stiffened but said, "I am not gonna leave you alone. You never do." I nodded in acknowledgement, remembering about the bloody nightmares he gets every night. Of which he's never told anyone about, except me.
"But NK said that she's a witch. She can do anything. You shouldn't have accepted the dare."
I narrowed my eyes at him. It was NK's, our friend's birthday party and we were playing this truth and dare game. I, being the kind of person I am, chose dare. And that's what brought me here, in front of Madam Aaliyah's lad house. Madam Aaliyah's a witch.
The dare was to go inside the house, and get something as a token from Madam Aaliyah that would show, that we have had actually been here. There wasn't a door bell buzzer, so I knocked the door, one and twice.
Madam Aaliyah's porch light sprang on, jolting me lightly. out As the paint-chipped front door creaked open, there stood the witch, with a frown in her expressions. She's an old lady dressed in black and had weird things round her neck.
"Kids, what are you outside my house?", she asked. She was the most ugliest lady, I had ever seen, and I doubt I'll ever see a more ugliest thing in future.
"Arnav, I think we should go.", whispered Aakaash, his voice full of fear.
"You would g away, without taking what you are here for?", the witch, Madam Aaliyah asked. I was shocked that she knew.
"Then why don't you give us something, that we can show to our friends. Showing that we had been here.", I asked, feeling courageous.
"A temperamental kid, huh! I have nothing..", she stopped in mid-way and looked at me, actually stared.
"I won't go without a token. I have promised and I keep my promises."
Ice cold blue eyes stared at me. To my surprise, she gently touched my hand first, but the took hold of both my hands in hers. Her touch cold. Behind me, Aakaash was shivering lightly. The witch stared at me like that, holding my hands, for al-most 5 minutes, but then as if she was repulsed by something, she left my hands and scurried backwards, as if I had scared her.
"You are back!", she whispered.
Now what was that? Was she scared of me? Did she cast-ed a spell on me? What the f**k had she done?
"You came back for her! You had to! I am just amazed and what the fate has in store for you!" Now she's pulling off the fate crap!
I rolled my eyes, but she shifted her gaze from me to my brother, "And you too! Oh lord, you both are unaware of the thread connecting you both. Not only you two but people around you. So blissfully unaware."
"Will you please give us, what we need and let us go?", I muttered. She's was making me angry by every passing second.
"Kid, anger is not good for you. You better control it or you'll lost what you hadn't found yet!", she chastised and I frowned.
She smiled lightly, "Only she knows how to channelize this anger of yours. I wonder if she knows about you, if she remembers. She's your destiny and you are hers. Here..", she moved close to me again and placed a hand on my forehead.
At first I felt nothing, but after few seconds, I felt little tremors going inside my body. What was happening. I closed my eyes and tried to shut off the nagging feeling.
And then I saw her. She had her back towards me, dressed in baby pink and pale white, her hairs were flowing lightly with the wind. I felt like I was drawn to her. As I tried to walk towards her, something pulled me back.
And then there was this second vision, and she was again there. She was now wearing a red colored dress and was standing up at the tower terrace. I could not see her face again, but the whole mansion was a pretty clear vision.
It was a brick mansion, so magnificent and exuded power. I entered the mansion but everything around me was blurred, except the staircase and a little area surrounding it. I walked upstairs. The whole staircase was a maze like thing, twisting and turning at points.
I was suddenly now on terrace of another now. And from here I could see the girl again. But as I called for her, someone I couldn't see properly pushed her down. She screamed and I couldn't do anything.
And then the third vision. The whole room was burning, someone had ignited the fire. Where I stood, there was a pool of blood around me, but I wasn't bleeding.
I felt sucked into oblivion but I just saw another vision. I was dying. I was lying on the floor, close to my death but I had stretched out my hand to hold something or to hold someone, and then I could see another bleeding hand. But there was another dead body lying beside me. Death and fire engulfed the room.
"There. You have your little memories now." Her ragged old voice angered me.
I opened my eyes and managed to glance up at her. "Wha . . . what was that? What did you do to me?"
"I gave you glimpses. Of your life."
"You gave me a what? What the hell is a glimpse? What does it mean?"
"Mean?" She cocked her head as if confused by the question. "Everything. Things you couldn't change that time, but you can now."
"So that's what my future is?"
"No, your future depends on how you'll shape it."
"Arnav, let's go.", said Aakaash, pulling my hand.
"Wait!", the witch said, as she turned her gaze at Aakaash, "You kid, I know about the nightmares. They are not just nightmares, they are the truth, the harsh reality. Be strong and face your fears."
Aakaash just nodded, "And here take this,", she gave me a black beaded bracelet of hers. Holy shit! She was actually giving me a token!
Handing the bracelet to me, she said, "I gave you much more than you needed. Remember what I said, try to overcome your anger and fear. Choose well and live your life to your heart's content."
Before I could say anything else, she scurried into her house and slammed the door shut, leaving behind me and Aakaash and we both were shocked and numbed.
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