They moved into the caretaker’s lodge just before the snow began.
It was an old British rest house, perched on a pine-covered slope in Uttarakhand — creaky floors, long-forgotten furniture, and a heater that smelled faintly of burnt coins. The heater hadn’t been cleaned since ages. The inlet pipe was clogged with ashes and dust…
Ravi, 12, was a bright boy. He read RD Sharma and solved Rubik’s cubes faster than his teachers.
Until… the winter came.
Act I — Whispers in White
It began with little things.
He couldn’t finish his math homework — the numbers blurred.
He’d lose his balance while standing, blinking as if he forgot where he was.
His mother called it “growing up.”
Then came the dreams.
“There’s a man in the snow,” Ravi whispered to his sister one morning.
“He waits outside the window. He has no face… just teeth.”
The next day, he stayed home with a headache.
He vomited before breakfast.
His hands were cold.
His father told him to wear socks.
Act II — The Vanishing Spark
His school called a week later. Ravi had fallen unconscious during the morning prayer.
When he awoke, he couldn’t name the Prime Minister.
That evening, he stared at the television, eyes wide — even though it wasn’t on.
“You smell that?” he asked suddenly.
“Like… rust?”
No one else did.
The family began to worry.
Maybe it was epilepsy. Or a spirit. They weren’t sure which terrified them more.
Act III — Clocks Without Time
In the clinic, Ravi was pale, confused, barely answering questions.
Pulse: fast.
O₂ sat: 98% on room air.
No fever. No rash. No neck stiffness.
The doctor looked puzzled.
Routine bloodwork? Nothing alarming.
But something tugged at him. A gut feeling.
He checked the fingers. Pink. No cyanosis.
But Ravi’s lips looked odd… almost too pink.
Act IV — The Room Upstairs
Back at the rest house, the power had been out for two weeks.
They used candles and gas lamps.
But it was the heater they relied on most. An old, metal thing with a pipe venting into the chimney — barely.
They slept with the windows shut. Every night.
And every morning, Ravi woke up more tired than the night before.
What do you think has been happening with Ravi?