the unwanted ritual

Chapter 1

Before the silence

The house was quiet.

Not peaceful—quiet.

There was a difference, Arika had learned.

Peaceful silence made you feel safe. The silence in her house always seemed to be waiting for something.

She lay on her bed, one arm beneath her head, staring at the photograph on the bedside table.

Her grandfather was smiling in it.

He stood in front of an old stone building, one hand resting on the strap of a worn leather bag. His hair was almost completely white, but his eyes were sharp and strangely alive.

Arika had seen that expression hundreds of times.

He always looked like he knew something nobody else did.

She reached for the photograph and turned it over.

Nothing was written on the back.

Three months.

It had been three months since he died.

Three months since the police had called her family and told them that her grandfather had died during an investigation.

They had never given her much information.

Only that it had happened somewhere outside the city.

An investigation.

That was what everyone called it.

Her grandfather had been a paranormal investigator for most of his adult life. He had travelled to abandoned houses, old temples, forgotten villages and places that most people wouldn’t willingly enter even during the day.

Arika had grown up hearing his stories.

Or, more accurately, half-stories.

Whenever she asked too many questions, he would smile and tell her she was better off not knowing everything.

She had always thought he was joking.

Now she wasn’t so sure.

Her phone vibrated.

Arika glanced at the screen.

Maya calling.

She answered.

“Hello?”

“Finally!”

Arika pulled the phone away from her ear.

“Why are you shouting?”

“Because you’ve been ignoring me for ten minutes.”

“I was looking at my phone.”

“You know that’s not how phones work, right?”

Arika smiled despite herself.

Maya continued before she could answer.

“Anyway, tomorrow. Eleven o’clock. Café near the park. Don’t be late.”

“Tomorrow?”

“Yes, tomorrow. The day after today. The mysterious future.”

“I know what tomorrow means.”

“Good. Then you’ll be there.”

“Who all are coming?”

“Everyone.”

“That’s not an answer.”

Maya laughed.

“Seven of us. And before you ask, yes, everyone has agreed.”

Arika looked again at her grandfather’s photograph.

“Okay.”

There was a small pause.

“You sound tired,” Maya said.

“I’m fine.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah.”

Maya didn’t argue.

“Okay. Then get some sleep. And Arika?”

“Hmm?”

“Tomorrow you’re not allowed to disappear into your own head.”

Arika smiled faintly.

“No promises.”

“Good enough. See you tomorrow.”

The call ended.

For a few seconds, Arika continued staring at the screen.

Then she placed the phone beside the photograph.

“Goodnight, Grandpa.”

The photograph didn’t answer.

Of course it didn’t.

But for some reason, Arika didn’t look at it again before turning off the light.

The next morning arrived without anything unusual happening.

Sunlight filled the curtains.

The kettle whistled downstairs.

Someone in the neighbourhood was arguing with a vegetable seller.

A motorcycle passed outside.

The world was completely ordinary.

And Arika was grateful for it.

By eleven, she was standing outside the café, looking through the glass.

She spotted them immediately.

Maya was waving both hands at her from inside.

Arika pushed the door open.

“Finally!” Maya shouted.

“I am two minutes late.”

“Exactly. A disaster.”

“She’s been waiting for you for twenty minutes,” one of the boys said.

Maya immediately turned toward him.

“Nobody asked you, Rohan.”

Rohan grinned.

Arika laughed and dropped into the empty chair.

There were already six people around the table.

Maya sat beside Rohan, as usual.

Kabir was arguing with Anya about what they should order.

Neha was scrolling through her phone.

And Sameer was attempting to steal fries from everyone else’s plates.

“Hey,” Arika said.

Everyone greeted her at once.

For the first time in weeks, she felt something loosen inside her.

Maybe Maya had been right.

Maybe she did need this.

“Okay,” Kabir announced, putting his phone on the table. “Important question.”

“That’s never a good start,” Anya said.

“Where are we going after this?”

“The amusement park,” Maya said.

Kabir stared at her.

“Obviously.”

“I didn’t know it was confirmed.”

“It is now.”

“That’s not how confirmation works.”

“It is when I decide.”

Rohan leaned toward Arika.

“She has become dangerously powerful.”

“She was always like this,” Arika said.

Maya pointed at her.

“See? This is why you’re my favourite.”

“I’m your only favourite.”

“Exactly.”

Everyone laughed.

The conversation moved from one subject to another without any real direction.

Someone complained about school.

Someone brought up an embarrassing photograph.

Rohan denied ever making a particular face in the picture, despite everyone having proof.

Sameer nearly choked on his drink laughing.

Even Arika found herself laughing harder than she expected.

For a while, her grandfather disappeared from her thoughts.

The photograph.

The investigation.

The unanswered questions.

All of it.

Gone.

Just for a little while.

The amusement park was louder than Arika remembered.

Music blasted from the rides.

Children ran between groups of adults.

The smell of popcorn and fried food filled the air.

Their group immediately split up.

Maya wanted the biggest roller coaster.

Kabir refused.

Anya called him a coward.

“I’m not a coward,” Kabir protested.

“Then get on.”

“I have a medical condition.”

“You were eating three burgers ten minutes ago.”

“That’s unrelated.”

Rohan laughed.

Arika stood beside them, watching the argument.

“You’re all idiots.”

“You’re coming with us,” Maya said.

“Where?”

“The roller coaster.”

Arika looked up at the enormous ride.

“No.”

Maya grabbed her hand.

“Yes.”

“Maya.”

“Come on.”

“Maya!”

Five minutes later, Arika was sitting beside Maya, gripping the safety bar.

“Why did I agree to this?”

Maya was laughing.

“Because you love me.”

“No. Because you threatened me.”

The ride started moving.

Arika screamed.

Maya screamed louder.

When they finally got off, Arika’s legs felt like they belonged to someone else.

Rohan was waiting near the exit.

“You look terrible.”

“You should see yourself.”

“I’m naturally handsome.”

“You’re naturally annoying.”

“Same thing.”

The afternoon passed like that.

Games.

Rides.

Arguments over food.

Pictures that everyone promised never to post.

A ridiculous amount of laughter.

At one point, Arika noticed Maya watching her.

“What?”

Maya shook her head.

“Nothing.”

“You’re staring.”

“I know.”

Arika raised an eyebrow.

Maya’s smile faded slightly.

“You’re still thinking about your grandfather, aren’t you?”

The noise around them seemed to become distant.

Arika looked away.

“I’m okay.”

“I didn’t ask if you were okay.”

Arika didn’t answer.

Maya stepped closer.

“It’s been three months, Arika.”

“I know.”

“You don’t have to deal with it alone.”

Arika swallowed.

Maya’s voice became quieter.

“We’re here. All of us.”

Arika looked at her.

“You can tell us anything.”

For a moment, Arika wanted to tell her.

About the strange things her grandfather had said.

About the boxes he kept locked.

About the investigation nobody would explain.

About the feeling that his death wasn’t as simple as everyone wanted her to believe.

But the words wouldn’t come.

So she smiled.

“Thanks.”

Maya smiled back.

“That’s all I’m asking for.”

A voice suddenly came from behind them.

“Are you two having an emotional moment without us?”

Rohan.

Maya immediately rolled her eyes.

“Go away.”

“Never.”

Arika laughed.

And just like that, the moment disappeared.

By the time everyone returned home, the sky was dark.

The group chat exploded almost immediately.

Maya: NEXT WEEKEND. SAME PEOPLE.

Kabir: Absolutely not.

Anya: You have no choice.

Rohan: I vote for another amusement park.

Sameer: I vote for food.

Neha: You always vote for food.

Sameer: Because food has never disappointed me.

Arika smiled at the screen.

She was lying beneath her blanket, reading the messages as they appeared one after another.

Someone sent a terrible meme.

Someone else started an argument about who had screamed the loudest on the roller coaster.

Arika joined in.

For the first time in a long time, she wasn’t thinking about tomorrow.

Or yesterday.

She was simply there.

Laughing.

Typing.

Feeling normal.

Then—

THUD.

Arika froze.

Her fingers stopped above the keyboard.

She slowly looked toward the ceiling.

Silence.

She waited.

Nothing.

Probably the pipes.

Or the wind.

She looked back at her phone.

The messages were still coming.

She typed one word.

Arika: Guys—

Another sound came from above.

THUD.

This time, she knew exactly where it had come from.

The attic.

Her smile disappeared.

She sat up slowly.

The room suddenly felt colder.

Arika stared at the ceiling.

For several seconds, she didn’t move.

Then she heard it again.

A faint scraping sound.

Something was moving upstairs.

Her phone slipped from her hand onto the bed.

Arika stood.

She looked toward the bedroom door.

Then toward the ceiling.

The attic door was at the end of the hallway.

She had never liked going near it.

Tonight, she had no idea why.

She took one step toward the door.

Then another.

And somewhere above her—

something knocked three times.

Knock.

Knock.

Knock.

Arika stopped.

The house went silent.

She stared at the ceiling.

And for the first time that night, she wondered whether her grandfather had been keeping something from her.

Something that was still inside the house.