The sun was shining brightly as the rays were flooding the living room. The living room was adjoining to the balcony and these two portions were Abhay's favourite. He stood near the kitchen and looked at the sunlight-filled room with happiness. He loved this house. There were many memories in this house, but with time things must move on. Abhay had decided to move to a new house. Even though he fell in love with the new house the first time he saw it, but still his lingering memories with his old house continued. The phone rang.

'Have the packers arrived?' asked Vipul.

'No, they would come around eleven. I am waiting for them. I would update you once I start from here.' informed Abhay.

They had a brief conversation when the bell rang. When he opened the door, his neighbours wished him farewell. They exchanged pleasantries. After a while, the packers arrived, and all the things were loaded in the truck. Abhay stood and checked as all the goods were loaded properly. He locked the house, gave the keys to his neighbour, bid them farewell and came downstairs. The truck left with all his luggage while he followed them in his car.

He arrived at the building. It was a newly built tower. The gates shone like it was melted from gold. Guards stood outside the gate doing all the entries and checking the vehicles before allowing them to enter. Abhay waited for his turn, informed the guards, and went inside. There are three towers on the premises. Abhay had moved in the second tower. Each building had nine floors, and each floor has three houses. Abhay's house was on the second floor. As he stood in front of the tower and looked around, a strange vibe hit him. He looked at the left side. He felt as if someone was looking at him. He rejected the feeling as he was getting too much involved in all these kinds of stuff he has stopped thinking normally or maybe thinking about that is normal for him.

The apartment was newly constructed. So, very few people have moved into the building. The second tower almost wore a deserted look. The guard stood and saluted him when Abhay moved in. He gave a smile and informed the guard about his shifting. His floor had only one occupant. An old couple stayed in the house. As soon as Abhay came out of the house, the old man was standing near the lift.

'Hello uncle, I am Abhay. I am shifting to 2B.' Abhay informed the old man.

He smiled and said, 'Welcome son. I hope you have a memorable stay. If you need anything, do not hesitate to ask for help. We stay in 2C.'

With it, they exchanged pleasantries and went on their way. Abhay opened the door. The packer's guys started bringing the goods one after another and in a couple of hours they brought all the goods up to his new abode. Vipul was already unpacking things while Abhay moved around the house.

'Abhay, come on, help me out. I am not going to do all of it myself.' shouted Vipul.

'Hang on, Vipul. I am coming. Let me check the rooms first.' said Abhay.

He moved all the rooms. The smell of fresh paint filled the entire house. The white paint reflected the light, making all the rooms look brighter. Finally, he came near the living room and looked towards the balcony. A smile spread across his face. The prime reason for him selecting this house was his lingering love for a balcony and a living room filled with light. The living room was well lit, and the balcony was spacious. Both started unpacking the goods and started arranging them. The sun was slowly setting, and darkness slowly took over the sky. Vipul bid farewell to Abhay after dinner.

Abhay sat relaxed in his living room. He looked at the moon which was glowing, and the cool rays of the moon filled his balcony. He sat on his couch and started reading a book. Suddenly he heard a sound. It was like as someone was scratching the walls. He jumped and saw towards the sound. There was no one. He looked around for a bit and after that relaxed again. The sound came back. The scratching grew. It felt as if someone was scratching the walls. The sound grew, and it felt as if it was coming towards Abhay. He got up and quickly turned around to find no one. It seems I am too tired and imagining things. With it, he got up and went to sleep. The plasters of the wall started coming out as blood dripped across the walls of the living hall. One side of the wall near the entrance to the kitchen had scratch marks all over. It seemed as if someone has pulled off the plaster of the walls with big nails. The entire room looked worn-out, covered in blood and soot all over, with broken furniture all over.

The corridor was dark. It was so silent that the faint sound of water droplets leaking out of tap could be heard in the corridor. Not all the lights in the corridor were lit. No one was around. The place wore a deserted look. The corridor looked clean as if it was cleaned moments ago. The entire corridor reeked of strong disinfectants. There were various doors in the corridor. Suddenly the lights went out. A distant light bulb started flickering. A strange smell filled the area. It felt like something was burning. The area was filled with smoke. A distant coughing sounds were heard. The smoke covered the entire corridor. The burning smell covered the entire corridor. There were sounds of sparks coming from one end, and suddenly there was a loud blast. Fire engulfed the entire corridor as the sounds of the screams replaced the coughing sounds all over.

There was no water sprinkler anywhere in the corridor, which seemed strange. Every building is now equipped with it. The walls turned black and the layer over the doors melted. The glass panels attached on the doors cracked and the fire gushed into the rooms. The screams grew louder. At the end of the corridor, a person was seen running, covered in fire. He was shocked beyond reason to scream. The light bulbs broke, and the floor was covered with pieces of broken glass. All the rooms in that corridor were already under fire, and no one would have survived that fire. A person was seen dragging out from one room. She had covered herself with a blanket and was trying to dodge the fire. Her room was still fighting the fire. As she stepped outside, suddenly it seemed as if the fire moved all its concentration on the lady and just as a raising wave fell on her, drowning her under the rage of the fire. He could only stand at a corner and see.

His eyes opened. He was sweating, and his brows on the forehead justified the horror he had just seen. He looked at the clock. It was 2:19 am.

Abhay sipped his coffee as he stood on the balcony. The morning sun shone brightly, and it's a real luxury to bask yourself in the sun's warmth on a chilly winter morning. He looked at the watch. It was still 7:45 am, but the roads were filled with the hustle-bustle of the daily crowd. He was still pondering about what he saw last night.

Here I was thinking of taking a break and it seems I am stuck with a new vision. But why this peculiar vision, or is it just a dream? While he was thinking about it, he suddenly came back to his senses when his phone rang. He came inside and saw the name of the caller and smiled.

'Good morning, sir. How are you?' said Abhay with a smile.

'Good morning, Abhay. I am fine and I hope you are all done with your shifting. I am sorry I could not come over to help you as I was stuck in a court hearing. Let us meet tonight at your place.' said Madhav.

'Sure, why not? Let us meet tonight at my house.' said Abhay.

'That's great. Don't forget to call Vipul or he has also shifted along with you.' joked Madhav.

Abhay laughed and said, 'Even if we forget to invite him, he would be there. So, let's meet at eight tonight.'

Madhav agreed, and after exchanging pleasantries, they disconnected the call. Abhay informed Vipul and asked him to meet earlier to plan for tonight's party. Madhav kept the phone and looked at the file kept in front of him. He wanted to discuss with him but kept it from him for now. If something comes up, he would be in touch with him.

The night arrived. Abhay, Vipul and Madhav sat together and were talking. The glasses clinked as the laughter grew. They were talking about various things. The aroma of the food had filled the entire house. Slow music was playing in the background. All were sitting on the balcony and were talking.

'So, Abhay, how do you like your new house?' asked Madhav.

'It is beautiful. To be honest, I need time to blend in the society but there are very few people in this society.' said Abhay.

'How is your neighbour?' asked Vipul.

'Sharma uncle? He is a sweet guy. I met him yesterday and spoke to him. There are only two occupants on this floor, including me.' said Abhay.

'Next time don't forget to invite Sharma uncle.' said Vipul.

As the night became darker, the party ended. The moon was shining brightly. Madhav and Vipul bid farewell to Abhay and left. Abhay turned around after sending them off from the lift and went towards his house.

As he went inside, the walls of his living room turned black and the floors were covered with blood. There were multiple footprints on the blood, and it varied from small to large ones. The room went grim, and the lights flickered. The room was filled with smoke. There were multiple footprints on the floor as the room was filled with blood. The scratching sound grew as Abhay felt someone was scratching his door. He ran and opened the door and found Mrs Sharma standing in front of the door and scratching the door. She stood in front of Abhay and kept on staring at the door.

Mrs Sharma said nothing. Her eyes were blank, and he spoke nothing. The area was so silent that Abhay could hear the heavy breathing sound of Mrs Sharma. Mrs Sharma stood still, and her face was blank as a sheet.

'D... Do I know you?' asked Abhay.

There was no response from the other side. The blank stare was even more terrifying than the spirits Abhay had encountered. But he stood still and repeated the question, but this time in a tone of authority. But the blank stare continued. The eyes looked blank, and the breathing was heavy.

Mr Sharma came running outside and said, 'I am sorry, son. She is my wife. She suffers from sleepwalking. I am sorry for all the trouble.' His tone reflected embarrassment.

'Uncle, please not an issue. I hope aunty is fine. If you need any help, please let me know.' said Abhay with a smile.

Mr Sharma nodded and closed the door after taking his wife with him. Abhay turned back when he saw everything was normal. The room looked lighted and there was no speck of blood or any soot anywhere. Maybe it's the booze.

He closed the door and went to sleep while a pair of cynical eyes kept on looking at him.

'It was kind of strange. Therefore, Sharma aunty never comes out.' said Abhay.

'People sleepwalk. My brother talks during sleep. It is nothing unusual.' said Vipul.

'I know but I feel it strange. There is something different about it. Sharma uncle would feel bad if I ask him directly. Let's see if it repeats, we will do something about it.' said Abhay.

Abhay reached his house at night and went straight to sleep. He was too tired to do anything. It was an exhausting day and last night he could not sleep properly.

While lying on the bed, he thought about yesterday's incident. He got up suddenly realising that he felt he smelt something similar. That was strange, but still, it got his head confused. He got up to drink water when he heard faint footprints walking over some liquid. He could hear the splash of liquid as the feet landed on the floor.

Abhay slowly moved towards his living room. His eyes became still on seeing the scene in front of him. The room was dark, the smoke had filled the room, and he could feel the warmness of the blood on his feet as blood coloured his feet red. He looked down and his feet were already inside the current of flowing blood. The walls were covered with soot and he could see sparks coming out from the broken tube lights, fans and switches. The tube lights had broken and were hanging from the wall. Abhay tried to scream but realised his mouth was covered by a hand which smelt like burnt flesh. Chunks of flesh were hanging from the hand. The other hand strangled his neck. Abhay muffled and tried to release himself from the clutches of the hands. The more he tried, the more he was getting held in the grip of the hands. Suddenly, a pair of hands from whom skin had already ripped off, and the muscles were in gore display held his legs and pulled him down. Shreds of skin were falling from the hand while it tried to pull Abhay down. Abhay tried to release from the clutches. He forced his way out of them and ran towards his bedroom. He sat on the bed, breathing heavily.

As he was panting, he felt the room had already turned cold. He could sense mist coming out of his mouth when breathing out. He felt another set of heavy breathing in the room. He slowly turned around. He screamed and slid to the corner of the room. He sat cuddled with his hands covering the face. He saw an old man lying on a bed and many tubes were inserted inside him. He was wheezing. His face looked weird. There was no skin on the face. The muscles on the face were slowly melting away. As Abhay stared at the person, he got up from the bed and sprang at Abhay.

His eyes were filled with horror. He felt blood all over him when suddenly his eyes opened, and he was covered in sweat. It was 2:19 am.

'This seems serious.' said Vipul after hearing the entire incident from Abhay.

'How do you suggest we should take it forward?' asked Abhay.

This time Abhay did not understand about the place. All he saw was the corridor in some place, which looked like a hospital.

'But why a hospital?' thought Vipul. 'I don't think we have heard any news on any fire incidents in any hospital or any such place.'

'I know. I am still confused. Last night also I felt the same in my house only. It was very weird. I felt as if I was in that place. I could even feel the physical pain.' said Abhay.

'How should we go ahead with it?' asked Vipul.

As they sat silently and were thinking they heard the doorbell. They looked at each other. Who could be at this time? Abhay got up slowly while the doorbell rang again. He moved in slow steps and looked through the peephole. The face was not visible as the person has turned back. It kept on moving. Abhay opened the door and saw Mr Sharma standing in front.

'Hello, uncle. Please come in.' said Abhay.

Mr Sharma looked tired and old. He meandered towards the living room. He met Vipul who stood up and greeted him with a namaste (Indian style of respectful greeting to elders). He responded and sat on the couch. He was silent for some time.

'Uncle, can I get you something? Tea, coffee or some juice?' asked Abhay.

'Nothing Beta (son). Please sit down. I have come to talk to you. I hope I am not disturbing you. I can come later.' said Mr Sharma.

'No issues, uncle. You can come anytime. He is my friend Vipul. Please tell me uncle, what is it you wanted to talk to me?' said Abhay.

Mr Sharma looked at Vipul to which Abhay again responded, 'Don't worry uncle. Vipul is like my brother. You can tell your concerns freely.'

Hearing it Mr Sharma felt relaxed and started, 'First I would like to apologise for my wife's behaviour the other night. I never wanted you to experience it, but I am sorry.' He was really embarrassed while saying it.

'Uncle, please. You do not have to be sorry. It is fine. I completely understand and I would like to help you.' said Abhay reassuringly.

'Thank you, Beta. I hope you understand it is her age which is affecting her. I want to reassure you, she would never trouble you.' said Mr Sharma.

With it, Mr Sharma was getting up when Vipul started, 'Uncle if you don't mind can you tell us if you have found anything strange in this building?'

Mr Sharma looked at both. He said nothing. After some time, he started, 'I know you must have felt that something strange over here because of my wife's unnatural behaviour but trust me there is nothing in this place. It is a new building, and we have stayed here for quite some time.'

'Not that uncle. We would never say that about aunty. Vipul is just asking if you have seen anything strange in this society?' clarified Abhay while Vipul nodded in agreement.

'I have seen nothing. It is a pleasant place.' Saying it, Mr Sharma got up and left.

'Something is wrong. He was lying. Sharma uncle knows something.' said Vipul.

'Even I think so. What do you think we should do now?' asked Abhay.

'Let's ask Madhav sir if he has any idea about such building which you were describing?' said Vipul.

'Are you sure? Won't it be too early for us to disturb him.' said Abhay.

'I think we are already late.' said Vipul.

Abhay dialled Madhav's number. After two rings he picked up. 'Hello, sir. We need to meet you.' said Abhay.

'This is serious. I wanted to talk to you about something, but before that, you came up to me. It is like that the story came to up before you could go to it.' said Madhav.

Abhay and Vipul looked at him, surprised. 'What are you talking about, sir?' said Abhay.

Madhav took out some photocopied papers from his bag and showed them. Both looked at the papers in a surprising way. They were left speechless.

'When did this happen?' asked Abhay.

'Thirty years ago, when the town painted a different picture. This incident had occurred during that time, and the coincidence is the file came into light a few days ago as someone filed a case against the builder. This hospital incident is a tainted bloat in the colourful history of our town,' said Madhav.

'What do you mean by someone filed a case? Did anyone survive this mishap?' said Vipul.

'I don't think so. Some staff members were not on duty on that particular day. Some immediate family members of the ones who died in it had filed a case. It was in court for quite some time, but when the sessions court rejected the plea, they have now filed in the high court. Meanwhile, the builder used his influences and completed the building.' said Madhav.

'Can we meet them?' asked Vipul.

'I don't think so. Let me check first. I wanted to inform you about it on the day we met at your house, but I did not want to spoil the fun. I think the building may create a problem in coming time.' said Madhav.

'So, according to the reports, there was a mental asylum in the same place where my building stands today!! Are you sure, sir?' questioned a puzzled Abhay. 'I have just shifted to this building.'