Amara just moved to the village from the city due to the unrest there lately. She moved to the century-old cottage at the edge of the village. Every night, she does hear a whisper through the cracks of the old wooden house. At first, she thought it was her imagination since she just moved into the house, and old houses are supposed to be like that. That's what everyone told her.
"This is different; there is something about this house," Amara said to herself one night after hearing the whisper.
"The whisper has a soft voice, melodic but always just out of reach. I hear this sound when the wind is still instead of the rustling of trees, but who will I talk to? Who will believe me?", she further asked herself.
"I'm not afraid of whatever it is that's whispering; I've survived the worst things in the city. If I could survive stray bullets from gunshots then I can survive anything", Amara confidently said to herself as she lay back to sleep.
The next morning, Amara was tidying up the house when she remembered the whisper she had the previous night, she paused and thought for a while.
"Fear is for the weak, I am a strong and courageous lady. This place was supposed to be peaceful and heal me from the troubles I faced in the city, but what was wrong?", she asked herself and reluctantly continued the cleaning.
The voice came back every night calling Amara's name, and fear crept into Amara's mind. She couldn't believe her ears. The strong and courageous Amara is now afraid that she can't sleep peacefully at night because the voice is always calling out to her.
One night Amara couldn't sleep, she was waiting for the voice as usual and just as she had thought, the voice came calling. While Amara was afraid and fidgeting, she decided to follow the voice. The voice led her to a loose panel in the wall behind the fireplace. Amara was afraid as well as curious to know why the voice stopped there.
"What could be here? wait for a ghost?" Amara shouted and stood still as she became so afraid, it sent a cold down her spine.
"Ghosts aren't real, right? Amara, ghosts aren't real, don't be scared", Amara courageously encouraged herself.
She peeped through the loose panel and she saw a box covered with dust and cobwebs. She reached for the box, brought it out, and opened it with her shaking hands. In the box, she saw dozens of letters written in a looping, desperate hand. The letter was accorded to someone named Paul of voices in the walls of nightmares becoming real. She began reading the letter randomly until she saw the most recent which was dated 1990.
"This can't be real, 1990 when we are in 2023. Who wrote all these letters? What's up with this house? Who is going to answer all my questions without thinking I'm mad?" Amara asked herself repeatedly.
Amara carried the box into her room, but the whisper was no longer behind the walls; it was in the room with her, cold air brushed her neck, and a shadow moved in the corner.
"Ahhhhh, it is a ghost", Amara screamed as she ran out of the room.
After a while, she returned to the room, but no one was there; she managed to stay in the house for the night. The next morning, Amara moved out of the cottage and now no one wants to live in the house. Amara's neighbors told her they do hear a voice on quiet nights, a soft, melodic, and sad voice calling loudly to Amara. This made Amara became terrified.
"What have I gotten myself into? Is this not from frying pan to fire?", Amara asked herself.
Amara took one of the letters written by Paul who wrote about hearing a voice trapped in the wall seeking help from the cottage. She read it over and over again and decided to return to the cottage although still scared but determined to know more about the voice.
Another night in the cottage, Amara was awaiting the voice when it suddenly appeared calling to Amara.
"Who are you?", Amara asked the voice.
"Help me Amara", the voice replied. Then Amara felt at ease. At least she could be sure the voice wasn't after her life.
For the first time, the air in the room grew warm. Amara carried the box and searched through it; there lay a picture of Paul with a girl with oblong and bound hair like Amara.
"Could this be his wife or sister?"Amara asked. There is more to this, and I will get to the root.
The next morning, Amara went to the village's old historian, who knew every story about the village. She explained her ordeal in the cottage to the historian and was promised that there would be a solution.
"You're a brave girl, a girl like you once tried to help, but she wasn't believed. We thought she was mad, but you seem courageous and persistent; with this, we will find a solution. But first, we have to find Paul's family. They once lived in the cottage centuries ago", the historian explained to Amara.
After several consultations, they found a distant descendant of Paul, the lady in the picture, who happens to be his sister. She explained how Paul lost his life in the house and she ran away because she couldn't live alone after their parent's tragic death in a train collision. Together with the historian and the chief priest of the village, a ritual was performed for the peace of the dead. From that day onwards, the voice never returned.
Though sometimes, Amara does feel a warm breeze brushed down her cheek when she reads at the fireplace, not a haunting one but a thankful one.
Thanks for your time and your comments will be appreciated.