Nitu placed a hand on her shoulder. "Aai, it's alright now. Please take some rest. You haven't slept since that day."

Hearing her words, I felt a pang of guilt for lying to her.

Aai finally let go of me and said, "Yes, I will rest in a while. I just need to make a call to your Mama."

The moment she finished her sentence, I saw it. The creature was right behind her, tilting its head to the left, sneering with its wide, unsettling eyes.

"Does she really think that loser will be able to help her? The necklace's power is weakening. It's only a matter of time before I take my precious Nilu away," it whispered before breaking into hysterical laughter.

I stared at it, fearing the worst, but no one else seemed to see it. The creature didn't make any moves either.

"What is it?" Baba asked.

Clearing my throat, I forced a smile. "Nothing. I'm just worried about Aai."

Clearing my throat, I forced a smile. "Nothing. I'm just worried about Aai."

Turning to her, I added, "Aai, please go and rest. I won't be able to get better if you keep stressing yourself and making your health worse than mine."

Aai hesitated, worry etched across her face. "Okay, bachchu, I’ll go and rest."

The creature smirked and started mockingly repeating Aai's words. Seeing this disgusting creature mocking my Aai snapped something inside me.

In an instant, I pulled my Aai toward me and glared at it.

It sneered.

"I wish I could punch it in its gut right now," I thought, anger boiling inside me.

As soon as I completed this thought, something unexpected happened.

The creature convulsed, placing its hands on its stomach. Suddenly, its stomach burst open, leaving a gaping hole in its body. The creature touched the wound, its fingers coming away bloody.

It stared at me, shocked—but I was more shocked than it was.

Then, it smiled.

"Oho! Looks like our darling Nilu can fight back now! You used to be so docile, doing whatever I asked when you were little!"

What?

What does it mean by that?

Is this not just a creature in my Nani’s form—but actually my Nani? That’s not possible! My Nani used to be…

She used to be…

Wait.

How was she?

Why can’t I remember anything about her?

A sharp pain shot through my skull, so intense that it felt like my head would split open.

The creature suddenly appeared right in front of me, its head tilted to the side.

"What’s wrong, Nilu? Tired already?" it sneered.

I glared at it again, hoping for something—anything—to happen. But this time, nothing did.

It grinned and let out a teasing laugh.

"Hihihiihihi"

Horrifying.

I wanted to scream from the pain, but before I could, a male nurse stormed into the room.

"Will you let her rest? Why are so many people in a patient’s room? Leave at once!"

The headache instantly faded. I gasped in relief.

The creature turned its head toward the nurse, its expression unreadable.

Then, without warning, it backed away from me.

Baba held my hand. "I’ll be back after talking to Dr. Kabir."

As my family left, Nitu guided Aai out, but Aai kept glancing back at me, concern still in her eyes.

I waved at her. "Bye, Aai. Go rest."

Finally, I was alone—except for the nurse.

"Take this pill and sleep like a good kid," he said, handing me a glass of water.

"But I’m 29," I muttered.

He shrugged. "Anyone with that face and height qualifies as a child in my book."

I rolled my eyes. "Gee, thanks."

He smirked. "And girl, you need to work on more than just your health if you wanna fight that old b**ch that was hovering over your face."

My eyes widened. "You can see her?"

He gave me a deadpan look. "No, I’m just saying random sh*t because that’s a totally normal thing to do."

The creature stood frozen, staring at him in shock.

I frowned. "Why isn’t it moving?"

The nurse flicked his wrist dismissively. "Baby, I’m special. My words hold power over spirits and crap like that."

His casual tone caught me off guard. "That’s why I insisted on being your assigned nurse to Kabir the moment I saw her through your window."

The creature suddenly twitched, then leaned in close to him.

"Interesting," it whispered. "I’ll devour your soul—slowly, painfully, piece by piece—and take your powers."

Panic surged through my body.

But the nurse—unfazed—sighed dramatically. "Shut up and get out of my way, you dumb-dumb."

Immediately, the creature was yanked backward, as if an unseen force was pulling it away.

I exhaled a breath I didn’t realize I was holding. What would have happened if he hadn’t intervened?

Then something clicked in my mind.

"Wait. Dr. Kabir… isn’t he the one who came in when I woke up?"

"Yeah? And?" the nurse replied, his voice dripping with sass.

"You called him by his name so casually… Do you two have a special relationship?"

A grin spread across his face. "That’s right! He’s my boyfriend!" He giggled.

His energy was so unexpected that I actually laughed. "Thanks, Roshan Sir," I said, reading his nameplate.

He pouted and flipped his imaginary hair. "It’s Rosha-ahn."

"Sorry, sorry," I chuckled.

"Now take this pill and go to sleep," he ordered, pressing the glass back into my hands.

I took the pill and drank the water. As soon as I swallowed the pill, he gently pushed me down and tucked me in.

Then, turning to the creature, he said, "And you—get out of this room and don’t enter."

As my eyes grew heavy, I saw him walking away, the creature being pulled out along with him.

For the first time in a while, I felt at ease.

---

I don’t know how long I slept before I woke up to a strange murmuring.

The room was dark now, and my head was still heavy with sleep.

A shadowy figure in a doctor's coat stood near my bed.

"Dr. Kabir?" I asked groggily.

"Yes, yes, it’s Dr. Kabir," a voice giggled.

Something about the tone sent a shiver down my spine.

I tried sitting up, but before I could fully process what was happening, the voice suddenly said—

"Not!"

My breath hitched.

That wasn’t Dr. Kabir.

That wasn’t even human.

A hunched-back figure in a doctor’s coat loomed over me, rubbing its hands together.

Its head was swollen, almost bursting, thick purple veins bulging across its balding scalp. Its small, completely black eyes gleamed as it grinned, revealing shark-like teeth.

"Sooooo... you caaaan seeeeee meeee, huuuuuh?"

Its voice was eerie—stretching each word into a sing-song melody.

It inched closer, its movements lumpy and unnatural.

I tried to scream. I tried to move. But my body wouldn’t obey.

"Hihihi… you caaaaan’t leave! I woooooonnntttt leeetttt youuuuuu! How will I eeeeat if you leeeeave me aloooooone, haaaahh?. Thaaaaaat's whyyyyy I haaave gluuuued youuuuu tooo the beeeeed my my poooowers! As loooooong asssss I can seeeee youuuu, you caaaaaaan't leave!"

My body feels paralysed and terror swept through my mind.

He is the reason why I am unable to move.

I tried inact what I did with the Nani creature, but nothing happened.

Why? What do I need to do to protect myself? I can't even call Roshan for help

I see the creature coming towards me in a strange, lumpy way while waving his hands up and clapping, saying "I am gooooonnna eat sooooooooooo weeellll toniiiight"

Tears welled in my eyes and a thought came to my mind

Is this how I am going to die?

-to be continued