There was a haunted mansion in Harinagar. There lived many ghosts and witches. Among them lived a dead princess. She lived in an empty wooden cupboard kept in a room. That room had a big-sized ceiling fan and a chandelier. A few ghosts and witches had occupied the ceiling fan and the chandelier. Those witches and ghosts were quite noisy. They always talked very loudly and often quarreled too.
The dead princess was fed with this nuisance. Moreover, she had lived there for 5 years and had started feeling bored. She felt a need to change. She found an apartment at the outskirt of the town, lying vacant. She liked it and occupied it. After a few days of living alone in the spacious apartment, she began to feel lonely and bored. When she felt bored she stood near the window facing the road and watched the passers-by. One day she saw a young man standing on the opposite side of the road. She was attracted to him and desired to make friends with him. She beckoned him to her apartment.
That young man was Rakesh. He was a 21 years old handsome young man. He was 6’ tall, fair, and master of an athletic physique. He was a bachelor. He lived in a men’s hostel and worked in an electrical switches manufacturing factory.
Rakes was fond of reading romantic novels and watching movies.
He worked in the factory in shifts, which included the night shift also. One night at around 12.30 he was returning from the factory. It started raining with a thunderstorm. Rakesh was yet a few miles away from his house when it started raining. He stopped his scooter near a shop on one side of the road. The market was closed. He parked his scooter near a closed shop and stood in the shadow of the tin shade fixed above the shop door. He was returning after finishing shift duty from 4 pm to midnight heavy rain started on the way. As soon as the rain started, electricity was cut and the town drowned in darkness.
When it became dark, a window was opened in a house on the opposite side of the road. A candle was lit. A young woman stood close to the window and started looking outside. Rakesh felt that she was watching him. She seemed to be a beautiful young woman.
Rakesh had a fantasy that he was sitting in her room and drinking hot coffee with her on that cold rainy night.
He looked towards the window. He was shocked to see that the woman was beckoning him by waving her hand. He walked towards her as if under a spell.
When he reached near her house, the woman gestured for him to come to the front door and closed the window. He reached the door of the house. The woman opened the door and asked him, "Would you like to drink hot coffee with me?"
Now he could see her. She looked beautiful. But talking about drinking coffee, two big pointed teeth came out of her mouth and her face started to look like a vampire.
He panicked and ran away without answering. He rode his scooter, started it, and sped off to his house.
After Rakesh fled, Madhu felt disgusted with herself. She had been fed up with ghosts' company so she moved to this apartment and lived alone. Now she was craving a companion from among men. When she saw a handsome-looking Young man standing in front of her apartment she felt attracted towards him and drew him to her through a spell. But when he came near she got excited and exposed her ghostly nature and frightened him.
That night Rakesh could not sleep properly. He had romantic dreams interspersed with nightmares. The fact was he could not forget her beautiful and charming smile before exposure of her hidden beast. With the sunrise, his fear disappeared and he wished to see that young woman again out of curiosity. He thought that lady might have played a prank on him. He countered this thought with a question, How an unknown lady would play a prank on an unknown man like him.
He got an answer to this question He had seen on tv a few such programs in which actors played pranks in public. He convinced himself the lady played a prank on him and had he not fled from there she would have shown a hidden camera in the room.
The next night, when returning from his workplace, he stopped and stood at the same place, where he had stood the previous night. The weather was good. There were no clouds in the sky. It was a full moon night Sky was decorated with a bright full moon and countless twinkling stars.
He looked at the window with anticipation. The window now was open. Soon the young lady appeared in the window. She was not far away. This night he could see her in the moonlight.
On seeing him she called him. He went to her apartment and waited at the door. In a few minutes, she opened the doors and invited him inside. There was a big grandfather wall clock sitting on a wall. An antique sofa set was placed in the middle of the room with a matching center table. She seated him on the sofa set and went inside. He looked around the room. There was a calendar of Lord Shiva on his right sidewall. The room was clean but not decorated. He felt odd seeing a big cobweb in a corner with a big fat ugly spider at its center. Then he noticed a human skull kept in an almirah. He was a little afraid. Then he thought somebody might be studying biology.
Then the Lady came with two cups of coffee in a tray. She kept the tray on the table and sat on a side chair of the sofa set. She lifted a cup and handed it over to him saying, "Please have this,"
Rakesh said, "Thanks, and had a sip."
"Excellent coffee." He said.
The lady said, "Thank you."
Rakesh asked, "What is your name?"
The lady replied, "My name is Madhubala. What is your name? Rakesh replied, "Rakesh, my name is Rakesh"
Rajesh thought about the situation then present there and felt intrigued.
He wanted to know who was that lady, who could have a coffee with a stranger at midnight by calling him there.
But soon he was mesmerized by the lady with her charms.
She was 5'6'' fair with a body in perfect shape. She wore a calf-length frock with big rose flowers printed on it.
Rakesh asked her, "What do you do? Do you live here alone?"
Madhubala Replied,” I write short stories.”
Rakesh liked to read fiction. He asked her, "In which genre do you write normally?"
"Horror" Madhubala replied.
They had finished their coffees.
Rakesh took leave of her and left with a promise to visit her again. She had made
Rakesh to promise.
Next week he would be working the 6 am to 2 pm shift.
He was happy that he would be meeting Madhubala during the day. The late-night meeting felt odd.
When he visited Madhubala after the morning shift around 2.30 pm She insisted that he had lunch with her. Perchance he had not taken the lunch from the office canteen.
He said, "We can go out for food."
Madhu said, "Today you take food here. I have already prepared."
Rakesh agreed. They had food together. She had prepared pancakes and vegetables, which tasted very good.
There was running a fair in the town. Rakesh took Madhubala there. She had fun and looked happy seeing her in a good mood Rakesh suggested going to Sundar Nagar’s evening park, which was a popular joint for romantic couples.
There in the rose garden, he proposed to Madhu.
To his dismay she did not accept it, instead, she ran away and disappeared in a jiffy.
Rakesh was puzzled by the behavior of Madhu. He could not understand the reason for her refusal of his proposal. He went to Madhu's apartment to ask her the reason but the apartment was locked and neighbors were not aware that any woman lived there. They even doubted his sanity when he told about his friendship with Madhu and his vising her apartment several times.
Rakesh was confused. He felt shocked wondering if he had an affair with a ghost-woman.