Rahul and Preeti were walking down a deserted road. It was a dark, quiet night, and there wasn’t a soul in sight. They were returning from a party at a friend’s place. Their cab had dropped them off at the edge of the village, leaving them with a fifteen-minute walk home.
Neither of them knew that this short walk was about to turn into something they would never forget.
Rahul and Preeti were neighbours and good friends. Rahul was concerned about her safety, so he kept urging her to walk faster. But in her hurry, Preeti stumbled, fell to the ground, and injured her leg.
As Preeti screamed in pain, Rahul became even more worried. The village road was not a safe place for a girl at night, especially since it was already late. And now, with Preeti injured, their journey home would take even longer.
Just as Rahul was trying to figure out what to do, he heard a strange sound coming from behind the trees.
A cat slowly emerged from the woods and stood directly in front of them.
Preeti was still groaning in pain, but she turned to Rahul and asked him to help her get up so they could continue walking home. Rahul didn’t answer. He simply kept staring at the cat, as if he were under some kind of spell.
“Rahul?” Preeti called.
There was no response.
She called his name again and again, but Rahul remained completely still, his eyes fixed on the cat.
Fear began to creep over Preeti. She tried to get up on her own. Her eyes darted nervously from Rahul to the cat.
But the cat didn’t move.
It simply stood there, staring at them.
When Rahul didn’t respond, a wave of fear swept over Preeti. With her heart pounding and every shadow making her flinch, she decided to leave the place and seek help from the village. Limping in pain, she hurried along the path, glancing nervously over her shoulder as she made her way towards the village.
She must have walked only a short distance when she suddenly heard Rahul’s voice behind her.
“Preeti… Preeti!” he shouted.
She stopped in her tracks and turned around. Rahul was hurrying toward her.
“Were you really going to leave me behind?” he asked.
Preeti stared at him in shock. “Why weren’t you responding earlier?” she asked, her voice trembling. “I was terrified.”
Rahul simply smiled. “I was just looking at the cat. Nothing else.”
He reached out and gently took her hand, helping her walk. Together, they continued toward the village.
But Preeti couldn’t shake off the strange feeling that had taken hold of her.
When they finally reached the village, Rahul walked her to the doorstep of her house. “Should I come inside?” he asked.
“No, don’t worry. I’ll be fine now,” Preeti replied.
Rahul nodded and turned away.
Preeti watched him leave, but her mind kept returning to what had happened in the woods. Something about Rahul’s behavior, and the way he had stared at that cat didn’t feel right.
She went inside. Her parents were already asleep.
She quietly went to her room, rubbed some balm onto her aching feet, and slipped under the covers. Exhausted, she soon fell asleep.
The next morning, when Preeti opened her eyes, she froze.
A cat was sitting on her bed.
She stared at it for a moment, startled. A sudden wave of fear tightened every muscle in her body. Before she could move, she heard footsteps approaching.
The door opened.
Her parents entered the room. But they weren’t alone.
Standing beside them was Anandi, Rahul’s mother.
Preeti’s heart began to pound.
Anandi looked at her anxiously.
“Preeti! Where is Rahul, beta?”
Preeti stared at her, confused.
“Rahul?”
“He hasn’t come home since last night,” Anandi said, her voice trembling. “We thought maybe you both had stayed at a friend’s place for the night. But your mother told us you came home last night.”
She took a step closer.
“Where is he, Preeti?”
Preeti couldn’t answer.
Her eyes slowly shifted toward the cat sitting silently on her bed.
Something about its presence suddenly felt wrong.
Preeti gathered her courage and replied, “He came back with me. He left me at the doorstep and then left. I thought he must have gone home. I have no idea where he went.”
A case was reported at the police station. Rahul was missing.
Three days passed, but there was still no news of him. Preeti had taken refuge in her lonely room. The cat had now become an integral part of her life. It slept with her, woke up with her, and was always by her side.
One day, while Preeti was eating, she tried to feed the cat. Her mother and father, who were sitting beside her, were taken by surprise.
“What are you doing?” her mother asked.
“I’m feeding the cat.”
Her mother looked fearfully at her husband. Then she turned back to Preeti and said, “Preeti… there is no cat.”
Preeti was taken to a psychiatrist in a nearby city. The police accompanied her.
After carefully analyzing her condition, the psychiatrist concluded that the cat was a manifestation of Preeti’s fear and grief. She had a psychological condition that caused her to create things in her mind that were not real.
The doctor took Preeti into confidence and gently asked her about the night Rahul had gone missing.
Preeti began to cry.
She cried so hard that, for a moment, she could barely speak. Finally, she revealed the truth.
“We had taken the less-travelled route to reach home early,” she said. “On the way, I fell and injured my leg. I was in pain, so Rahul helped me walk. After some time, I asked him to stop and rest with me for five minutes near the old well.
“The well was deserted and had not been used for years. It was dry and filled with dry leaves.
“While I was sitting there, Rahul started peeking into the well. Suddenly, a cat jumped onto him. He lost his balance and fell into the well.
“I started crying. I was scared.”
The doctor looked at her carefully.
“Then why didn’t you get help for Rahul?”
Preeti lowered her head.
“I was scared,” she whispered.
The doctor paused before asking, “Preeti, you imagine cats. Was there really a cat?”
Preeti remained silent.
“You won’t be able to live peacefully if you don’t let the truth out,” the doctor continued. “I am here for you. I will help you. You can tell me the truth.”
Preeti sobbed quietly.
The doctor continued, “The police questioned your friends who were at the party that night. They told the police that Rahul had proposed to Shalini. You liked Rahul, didn’t you?”
Preeti said nothing.
“He cared for me,” she finally whispered. “I loved him. I loved being with him. I did everything I could to get his attention. But he proposed to Shalini.”
The doctor looked at her sympathetically.
“Where is Rahul, Preeti?”
She remained silent.
“Where is he?”
Preeti’s lips trembled. Tears rolled down her cheeks.
Then, barely audibly, she whispered,
“In the well.”
The doctor immediately informed the police.
A team rushed to the abandoned well. They lowered a rope and searched the bottom.
For several tense moments, there was no response.
Then one of the policemen shouted,
“He’s here! He’s alive!”
Rahul was found unconscious beneath a thick layer of dry leaves. He was badly injured and severely dehydrated, but he was still breathing.
He was pulled out of the well and rushed to the hospital.
The doctors worked tirelessly to save him.
Rahul had spent an entire week trapped inside the abandoned well, injured and unable to climb out.
But he had survived.
Preeti stood outside the hospital room, crying silently. Her hands handcuffed and police standing by her side.
Rahul was alive.
But now, the truth about that night could no longer remain hidden.
