The Pendant

John woke up startled. He heard the deafening sound of a mixer grinder coming from the kitchen. He looked at his bedside clock. The time was 2 A.M. The sound of the mixer grinder continued which scared him. There was no one else in the house at the time beside him. He gathered his courage and slowly removed his blanket and got up from the bed. His room was on the second floor of the house. The Kitchen was on the first floor. He opened the door slowly and switched on the lights of the hallway. As he switched on the lights, the sound of the mixer grinder ceased. He climbed down the stairs from the hallway to the first floor cautiously. He carefully switched on the lights of the kitchen. Everything was in its proper place. He went to the mixer grinder to check if he had kept it on my mistake. To his horror, the mixer grinder was disconnected from the power plug. He got terribly scared and ran back to his room. As he ran on the stairs, the crashing sound of the mixer grinder rang through the house. John got scared out of his wits, tripped and came tumbling down the stairs.

Blood started dripping from his forehead and his head started spinning. As he lay dazed on the ground, his blinking eyes saw the image of his Mom at a small distance from him. “Mom!” he exclaimed utter in shock. “John, my child, it’s me”, she replied softly and with so much affection. “It’s impossible, Oh God, how is this possible?”, John exclaimed in horror. “My child, don’t feel scared of me. I won’t harm you” she replied trying to calm her son. “But M-Mom, you are already dead. Are you a G-Ghost?”, John managed to stammer the words. “Yes, my child, that I am. But, please don’t feel scared of me,” she replied gently and moved closer to her son. John stood up now but his feet still shaking in fear. “Why are you here Mom?”, he asked her without any fear this time. His mom came close to him and handed him a pendant. John took the pendant and looked at the gleaming blue ruby inside. The stone shone brightly and he could see his multiple reflections inside it. “Why are you giving me this pendant, Mom?”, he asked his mother’s ghost. She warned him “My child you are in great danger. An evil force has cast its spell on you. Give this pendant to your wife on the first night of your marriage. This will protect you both from evil forces. Remember that she should never remove this pendant. If she removes it a great danger will befall you both”. “I have to go now my child. Remember what I told you. I love you,” saying this mother’s ghost started to disappear. “Mom, no, please come back,” John ran after his mom’s ghost but she disappeared. John stood confused and looked down on the amazing pendant which his mother’s ghost had gifted him. He remembered her warning and kept the pendant securely in a locker.

John never heard back from his mother after that. Slowly the years passed and he became a Psychology professor. He fell in love with one his students called Elizabeth and married her. On his wedding night, he gifted her the pendant given by his mother’s ghost and asked her to wear it always. His wife loved the blue ruby and pendant and was enchanted by its beauty. She promised him that she would always wear the pendant as a token of their love. Many years passed and everything seemed to be going very well. John had almost forgotten about his encounter with his mom’s ghost. John and Elizabeth became parents to two beautiful girls. The younger daughter was named Sally and she was five years old. The elder daughter was named Stella after John’s late mother and she was eight years old. The two girls loved to run around and play in their big house. The girls were very mischievous and liked to play little tricks on their parents. One hot afternoon, when their mother was sleeping they decided to remove the pendant from their mother’s neck and hide it somewhere. They knew their mother would come looking for it and then they could pretend to help her in searching it. When they find it and hand it over to their mother they would ask her for some new pair of sandals. The younger girl kept a watch over the door as her elder sister sneaked inside slowly. Stella moved silently and slowly like a tigress waiting to pounce on its prey. She sneaked up to her mother and very gently removed the pendant from her mom’s neck. Her mother turned around and Stella got scared thinking she had woken her up. But, Elizabeth’s eyes were closed. Stella heaved a sigh of relief and stepped back carefully. She came out and instructed Sally to close the door. Sally closed the door gently and ran to her sister. The two sisters sneered, proud of their naughty achievement. They ran to the basement and hide the pendant in an old trunk. Having finished their prank, they ran outside to play in the garden.

Elizabeth who was sleeping in the bedroom woke up shivering as she felt a cold chill run through her spine. “I have you at last,” she heard a nasty voice whispering in her ears softly. She tried to scream but could not find her voice. She tried to run but her feet were frozen. A rope appeared out of thin air and twisted itself around her neck and started pulling her up. As she rose from the ground, she struggled to remove the rope tied to her neck with her hands. She closed her eyes and prayed to God for help. Just then the door opened and John entered inside. He looked at what was happening and pulled out his Holy Cross “Leave her you foul beast”, he commanded to the evil spirit. The spirit seemed to be scared as it gushed out of the house crashing the window panes. As the glass shattered, Elizabeth fell to the ground and lost consciousness. John noticed the missing pendant and called out to his girls. The little girls saw their mother lying unconscious and got scared and started weeping. They confessed to their mischief and returned the pendant. John tied the pendant back to Elizabeth’s neck.

After sometime Elizabeth regained her consciousness. She opened her eyes and saw a doctor nursing her. John and the children were by the side of the doctor. “John!”, she exclaimed weakly as John held her hand kissed it gently. The girls ran and kissed their mom. The doctor left soon after and suggested John give her the prescribed medicines on time. John assured him that he would and returned to his wife. That evening after the children had slept, John told his wife about his encounter with his mother’s ghost and her warning. When she asked her why he had not told her before, he said that he did not want to scare her. Next day, John and Elizabeth approached a famous Psychic called Emma. Emma visited their house and sensed something evil. She advised them to vacate the house immediately. Emma carried out an investigation and discovered that there was a family staying in the house before John’s mother had bought it. Apparently, a husband and his wife used to stay in the house. They quarreled often over small issues. One day there was a huge quarrel among them and the husband had strangled his wife in her sleep. He had later shot himself. It was a very grim story. John and his family vacated the house and vowed to never return ever again.

The End