Meher moved forward slowly, each step filled with hesitation. Her heartbeat was racing wildly, her eyes darting repeatedly toward the Haveli that now stood distant and wrapped in darkness. The night was deep, silent, and unnervingly still.

She had clearly told Farhad that she wouldn’t come. She had refused again and again. But he was stubborn, infinitely so. He had called her over and over until he left her with no peace, his persistence breaking through every layer of her resistance. Now, trembling, she had finally stepped out of the house. It wasn’t easy for her, she rarely went out, even during the day. And tonight, the world was shrouded in such heavy darkness that strange thoughts began to crowd her mind, each one colder and more unsettling than the last.