Chapter 1 The storm begins
The rain hammered against the old wooden house in a relentless rhythm, as though the night itself was trying to get inside. Outside, the trees swayed violently, their branches scraping against the windows with sharp, scratching sounds. The power had been gone for hours, leaving the house in complete darkness except for the occasional flash of lightning.
Ananya lay curled under her blanket, listening to the storm. She counted the seconds between the lightning and the thunder, a game she had played since she was little, to convince herself that storms were nothing to fear.
But tonight felt different.
The air inside the house was unusually heavy, almost thick, as though the walls were holding their breath. And beneath the roar of the storm, something else stirred—a faint, rhythmic sound she almost didn’t notice at first.
She froze.
It wasn’t the wind.
It was… a whisper.
Soft and muffled, it seemed to be coming from behind the wall near her bed. She sat up slowly, straining her ears, trying to make out the words. Most of it was too low to understand, but one word made her blood run cold.
Her own name.
“Ananya…”
It was so faint she thought she might have imagined it, but then it came again—clearer this time.
“Ananya… come…”
A sudden chill slid down her spine, and she gripped the blanket tighter. Her parents’ room was on the other side of the hallway, so maybe… maybe they were calling her?
But she knew the voice wasn’t theirs.
