Haunted House
|By Sonakshi Seetohul
Hannah didn’t remember much before the crash. Accompanied by her parents and brother, they were driving to a beach holiday in Spain – then the car began to jerk, they started screaming, then darkness.
Nobody was conscious. Hannah could stay in the car or go look for help. A mile away, she saw a sign just hanging on to a gas lamp, reading ‘Welcome to Southfield’. Getting nearer, she noticed that the buildings were unkempt and an overgrown park, bombarded by weeds and ivy, lay in a dilapidated corner. She saw a creepy-looking house at the end of the road. Tentatively, she stepped inside and discovered it was grubby, dimly lit and decorated by cobwebs. A threadbare carpet covered the floor, surrounded by knights’ armour and medieval weapons. A grim-looking portrait of what Hannah assumed was the house owner began to glow with a blue haze. Suddenly, a skeletal hand shot out of the frame, followed by the rest of its body. Standing in front of her was a creature with sunken eyes, hollow cheeks and straggly hair.
Hannah croakily asked ‘W-who are you?’.‘I’m a nobody.’ answered the ghost. When I was alive, nobody wanted to be friends with me, the ‘harmless old bag’. When I died, I vowed to destroy the neighbourhood. The ghost fixed his bloodshot eyes on Hannah. ‘I may be a nobody, but I still have enough strength left in me to kill anyone who sets foot in this town.’
After that day, Hannah was never seen again.
March 2020
It was March 2020
Nature’s own month
After so many months of winter
The sun shone
Birds sang with bees buzzing around
The sky was clear and blue
Mornings arrived early
There was a chill in the air
Winter was gone but the memory still here
The scent of flowers filled the air
Everybody awaiting impatiently for Spring
But oh! What did it bring?
Not a soul in sight
The streets were empty
People have been put on lockdown
To protect close and dear ones
Young people had to study online
As schools were closed down
No more meetings or family gatherings
As social distancing was the new norm
Although gardens were filled with flowers aplenty
The parks were empty
Only a rare few ventured out during this plight
Despite all the scenes of despair and chaos
Critters chattered playfully
While new shoots found their way through the ground
Trees were filled with leaves
Leaves were green and flowers blooming
It was March 2020…
Sonakshi Devi Seetohul, who is only 11 years old, has qualified for and become a Member of Mensa, The High IQ Society, in September 2019, after scoring brilliantly in the Mensa IQ Test. This has allowed her to join a community of more than 20,000 with a high IQ. She is the daughter of Gautam and Shoba Seetohul, who live in the UK.
* Published in print edition on 12 June 2020
An Appeal
Dear Reader
65 years ago Mauritius Times was founded with a resolve to fight for justice and fairness and the advancement of the public good. It has never deviated from this principle no matter how daunting the challenges and how costly the price it has had to pay at different times of our history.
With print journalism struggling to keep afloat due to falling advertising revenues and the wide availability of free sources of information, it is crucially important for the Mauritius Times to survive and prosper. We can only continue doing it with the support of our readers.
The best way you can support our efforts is to take a subscription or by making a recurring donation through a Standing Order to our non-profit Foundation.
Thank you.