Upon arriving at the busy Mumbai airport, Kunal could barely contain his excitement. His parents teared up as they waved him off as he embarked on this new chapter.
“Study hard, son. Make us proud,” his father said, hugging Kunal tightly. His mother clutched his hand, not wanting to let go of her only child.
“I know you will do great things in England. We will miss you so much,” she said, her eyes glistening. His friends Kartik, Shubham and Rohit were also there, slapping him on the back and making him promise to stay in touch.
Kunal felt a pang leaving his loving family and friends behind. But he was ready to pursue this opportunity abroad. His brother supported him in taking out a large loan to finance his graduate studies and living costs in London.
He wanted to make the most of it — work hard, build a successful career in cybersecurity, and earn enough to pay back what his parents had invested in him.
“It’s time to board, Beta,” his father said, glancing regretfully at Kunal’s departure gate. Kunal nodded, determination mixing with nervousness.
After tearful hugs from his mother, father and friends, Kunal hefted his bag over his shoulder and headed for the gate. He turned and waved one last time, their proud, loving faces etched in his memory. This was the start of his new life, full of promise and potential. It was all up to him now to make it count.
.
.
“We’re beginning our descent into London Heathrow,” announced the pilot over the intercom. Kunal eagerly gazed out the plane’s window as it descended into London, the city glinting with promise below. He had made it to England to study cybersecurity and build a better future.
Stepping into the tidy attic apartment, Kunal sighed with happiness. The small kitchenette, furnished living room, and bedroom with its quaint sloped ceilings were freshly renovated. Kunal pictured his girlfriend Vishaka joining him there on weekends, away from their families’ watchful eyes.
That first night, Kunal was startled awake by a faint knocking sound coming from inside the walls. He sat up in bed, listening intently to the dark attic room. The knocking repeated twice more, seeming to come from behind the headboard.
Uneasy, Kunal got out of bed and searched everywhere but couldn’t find the source. Exhausted from jet lag, he eventually fell back asleep.
The next morning over breakfast, Kunal mentioned the strange knocking to the landlord, Mr. Sayed. “Oh, I heard some odd banging sounds last night too. Any idea what it could be?”
Mr. Sayed smiled reassuringly. “These old buildings make all kinds of noise. It’s probably just pipes or the boiler. I wouldn’t worry too much about some knocking and banging here and there. Nothing to be alarmed about.”
Kunal felt slightly relieved by the landlord’s unconcerned attitude. He was likely right — this place just had some character and quirks. Still, the middle-of-night knocking had unsettled Kunal. He tried to brush it off as he headed out for his first day of classes.
But by the end of the week, Kunal had dark circles under his bloodshot eyes. When Vishaka met him, she immediately noticed his worn appearance. “You look exhausted already! What’s going on?” she asked with concern.
Kunal hesitated before admitting, “I keep hearing strange knocks every night that keep me awake. But the landlord doesn’t think it’s an issue. I feel like I’m losing my mind!” Vishaka promised they would get to the bottom of this, hoping to reassure him. But a flicker of doubt crossed her mind.
Over the next week, the knocking intensified sharply, resonating through Kunal’s room after midnight. Terrified of sinister unseen forces, he crashed into friends’ apartments just to grab some peace. He jumped at the smallest noises during the daytime, growing increasingly paranoid.
After class, Ujjwal confronted him looking disheveled and frantic. “Mate, you look terrible. People are really worried about you. Tell me what’s happening.” Kunal bristled, ashamed of how unhinged he seemed. He tried waving it off as stress, but dread still gnawed at him.
That night, at his breaking point, Kunal shouted into the empty attic, “Who are you?” Leave me alone!” The knocks stopped abruptly. In the tense silence, Kunal felt an ominous warm breath on his neck. He whirled around but no one was there. Then a sinister whisper sounded in his ear. “I am you…I will take over your life…”
Kunal cried out, stumbling back in fright. This was no ordinary haunting! He had to escape this evil presence before it consumed him. But with no family in England and he couldn’t go back to India, where could he go? Kunal avoided the apartment, wandering the streets and sleeping on park benches despite the cold nights.
Vishaka was shocked to run into Kunal looking thin, dishevelled and frantic at a café near campus. When she begged him to see a doctor, he became agitated. “You think I’m crazy too! But I know this thing haunting me is real,” he raved. Vishaka struggled to calm him as nearby customers started.
Kunal’s paranoid delusions completely engulfed him. He stopped attending classes and answering concerned texts from friends. Alone in the attic, the knocking pounded relentlessly at all hours though no one else could hear it. Kunal rocked back and forth clutching his ears in vain against the maddening sounds.
After not hearing from Kunal for several days, Vishaka convinced the landlord Mr. Sayed to check on him. Inside the darkened attic, Mr. Sayed found walls covered in frantic writing, overturned furniture, and piles of strewn clothes and books. But there was no sign of Kunal himself. “He must have fled,” Mr. Sayed said grimly. He had seen this kind of chaos before with previous tenants.
Meanwhile, Kunal wandered the city streets, thin and disheveled. He ducked into alleys and behind dumpsters when passing strangers stared at him. He was desperate for silence, for escape from the relentless knocking resounding in his mind.
Exhausted, he returned to the attic and found a foreboding black envelope waiting inside the door. With trembling hands, he opened it to reveal a letter written in red ink:
Welcome home, Kunal. We’ve missed you. Come join us within these walls where we have dwelt for centuries… Let go of your pathetic hopes and dreams. Your body and soul will soon be ours.
Kunal dropped the letter as if it had burned him. All his suspicions were horribly confirmed — this place was dangerously haunted! When he turned to flee, a bloodcurdling scream came from inside the very walls. Kunal froze as hideous scratching noises scraped down the inside of the wall by the bed.
Panicked, Kunal called Vishaka, his voice faint and trembling. “Please, you have to help me! This place is cursed!” he cried. Vishaka had never heard him so terrified. He rambled about an evil presence trying to possess him and sinister letters appearing in the night.
Although deeply affected by Kunal’s unsettling account, Vishaka persisted in urging him to seek medical help, genuinely concerned for his well-being. “Please, let me call emergency services for assistance,” she pleaded, her worry evident. However, Kunal, overwhelmed and distressed, lashed out in anger, accusing Vishaka of deeming him insane, and abruptly ended the call.
Kunal, meanwhile, tore his room apart searching in vain for the source of the now constant knocking and voices that taunted him. Defeated, knowing he could not escape, Kunal finally surrendered himself fully to the darkness inhabiting this space. He curled up on the floor as the knocking reverberated eternally in his mind. Kunal’s dreams, relationships, and future were extinguished forever.
As the authorities launched an investigation into Kunal’s disappearance, they encountered a perplexing mystery. Despite their efforts, he remained elusive. The only clue they unearthed was Kunal’s abandoned cell phone, its screen displaying the poignant, unsent text message he had composed for Vishaka — a heartbreaking farewell that simply read, “I’m sorry.”