In the late afternoon of a weekend somewhere in a library in India...Aarushi and her friends scurried around the library corridors and bookshelves, their little feet running across the floors, the sounds echoing off the walls of the otherwise quiet library. Aarushi herself tried to reach for one of the books in the bookshelves with her little hands, her fluffy frock flaying around her as she struggled. She let out a soft whine when she was unsuccessful, her whining quickly replaced by a gentle chuckle of the librarian lady, Old Mrs Neeta. She walked over with her slow steps and fetched the book Aarushi wanted, making Aarushi giggle and jump in happiness, her chubby cheeks turning pink and her eyes smiling.
"Yaay! Thank u for getting it for me, Neeta maam!" She said all excited.
Then she stomped her little foot on the ground in frustration.
" Ugh! I wish I were taller so that I could fetch it myself..."
Mrs Neeta laughed, her elderly laugh filling the air as she gently leaned down and patted Aarushi's head.
"Oh my dear...dont you worry! You will be a grown up lady sooner than you think." Mrs Neeta claimed with a wink.
Aarushi's eyes almost lit up at her words.
"Really? When?! When will I be all big and tall, Neeta maam?" She asked innocently.
Mrs Neeta chuckled again and patted her head once more.
"Just in a few years, my dear. And who knows...you might even surpass your siblings in terms of height."
With that, Mrs Neeta scooped little Aarushi into her arms.
"Now then...shall we all see what book you picked up? If your friends all gather up in one place, we might have a little storytime in our hands." She said with another wink.
Those words were enough to immediately make Aarushi all giddy with excitement.
"Yes please! Oh please, Neeta maam!" She said in an equal happy and equal pleading voice. "Please make storytime happen! I really want you to read the book I picked to me and my friends."
Mrs Neeta smileed sweetly and nodded.
"Of course, my dear...right away."
She walked over to the other kids with Aarushi still scooped in her arms, the other kids still busy scurrying around and trying to get hold of different books from shelves themselves. Mrs Neeta cleared her throat, an old habit developed throughout her years of service in the library as she called out.
"Kids! Your friend Aarushi has picked up a book herself! Say...would you all like to gather up for a special storytime?" Mrs Neeta announced in a slightly animated voice, a quick trick to grab all the kids' attention...
All the kids turned around towards her in unison...all their eyes lit up with joy and excitement. They all nodded vigorously, shuffling towards the wooden armchair where Mrs Neeta always used to sit, giggling and clapping softly, while Mrs Neeta smiled to herself and walked towards the chair too, hushing fondly at all the kids to maintain the silence in the library.
Once near the armchair, all the kids gathered in a small circle and obediently sat down, not wanting to miss anything. And Aarushi obviously sat in front of all the other kids, her chubby cheeks now red with excitement as she eagerly waited for Mrs Neeta to start her narration. Mrs Neeta smileed at the excitement of all the kids, she adjusted her saree and sat down on her armchair, leaning back slightly. She put on her reading glasses and looked at the cover of the book, reading the title...and...for a slight second...the smile from her lips fell.
She frowned slightly but quickly smiled again as she looked at the kids, clearing her throat, still sneaking glances at the cover of the book.
"Oh my...! Umm...my dears, would you all like to read some other book besides this one? How about those classical fairytales or panchatantra books i used to read to you all often?"
At those words, Aarushi's face quickly fell. She sprung to her dainty little feet, flailing her arms in a pleading gesture.
"NO! No! Please No, Neeta maam! Why can't we read this book?"Aarushi asked in a sad small voice, her eyes on the verge of getting teary.
"Is...is my pick...bad?" She asks again, biting her lips.
Mrs Neeta sighed, putting a hand over her chest, her heart almost breaking to see little Aarushi in that state as she quickly leaned down and wiped away her tears.
"Oh my, of course not, my dear! There is nothing wrong with your pick. Its just..." She sighs a resigned sigh.
"This story...might be a bit too scary or uneasy for you kids...that's all, dear."
No sooner had those words escaped her lips, not just Aarushi...but all the kids looked at Mrs Neeta with wide eyes, their small mouths agape in 'O' shapes, as they all asked in unison.
"What?! Scary story? What is it about, Neeta maam!?"
Mrs Neeta looked at the kids, her lips pursed together, not knowing how to exactly answer their question.
Almost sensing her unease, Aarushi clasped her little hands together and urged Mrs Neeta.
"Neeta maam, please! Please tell us what the story is about. Even if its scary...we want to hear it. Even atleast once. Pleeaaaseee!"
All the kids immediately joined Aarushi and started requesting to Mrs Neeta too, all intrigued by what story the book witheld.
Seeing the scene of the kids almost tearing up as they begged to her, Mrs Neeta could do little but sigh in resignation yet again...as she said in an almost hesitant voice.
"OK ok! Fair enough! I'll read u kids the story...but of course...I have a few rules that I want everyone to follow."
She began to list down one by one...
"First off, no one will shout or make any commotion anymore while I read. Second off, if it gets too uneasy for anyone, I'll stop narrating right away. And third and lastly..."
She leaned closer towards the kids and said in a soft voice...
"I want everyone to remember...its just a story...just written in a storybook...Not. Real...Got it"
All the kids nodded in agreement, sitting again silently as they wait for Mrs Neeta to finally start the storytime.
Mrs Neeta adjusted her voice in a conspiratorial, low and almost whisper like tone...her slow delivery deliberate and precise.
"This is a story...about an evil spirit, that took on a human form....a Rakhshas (trans:- A Demon)....and how centuries ago...it trapped a prince, a Rajkumar of a prosperous kingdom, in his malicious web of dark spells and put a curse upon him...corrupting him from within and killing him."
The kids remained quiet, but from their expressions alone it was easy to decipher that a chill ran down their spine, some eyes widened, some gasped...but they all remained silently still, even more intrigued by the story now.
Mrs Neeta smiled a knowing smile at that reaction...as she leaned lower, her voice still low and conspirational, as she spoke, her words signifying the starting of the scary storytime with her hook line.
"So...tell me, kids. Are you all ready to jump right in? Tell me... Would you like to hear a story?"
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