It was one of the humid monsoon days when you feel like travelling to new places, but the pouring rains make it tough to make plans.

Four young boys just out of college could not bear to stay indoors; after all, they had just been relieved of the academic stress, so they had to go somewhere in the woods and calm. They had been doing this for a long time now; on most weekends, they would sneak out to explore places that most people haven’t even heard about. All they knew was to pool in and jump-start their journeys. On the very first day of their vacations, they met up with each other at their usual meeting joint 'Wake and Bake', one of the famous eateries of Shimla. They sat there for nearly two hours to plan out a trip but could not come up with any such place.

At nearly seven in the evening, Auric received a call from his mother informing him about his grandfather's arrival. Auric looked up to him, and he always had been an inspiration for Auric. Auric had inherited his “travel-itch” from him. At least that's what everyone said.

Already on his way back home, Auric’s footsteps hurried after getting to know about his grandfather waiting to see him.

Later that night after dinner, they all sat curled up in their beds chit chatting and sipping tea, while it thundered outside. Eventually, his grandfather went back to his young days and narrated incidents and stories of his gallantry, falling in love, and hunting in the wild woods. He had served in the army during World War II, and so it all still rushed through his veins. He could talk for hours together about what life was like then; he was proud of his culture and heritage and was a true patriot.

Grandpa kept going on and on, and exactly at eleven at night, he asked his daughter-in-law to prepare the third cup of tea, maybe to keep him awake to narrate a little more. Auric's mother served them tea and went off to sleep. Auric's father, grandfather, and Auric were the only ones left to continue with the stories of grandpa’s old days.

Events unfolded, and Grandpa travelled back to the times when he and his friends used to climb up the breathtakingly beautiful peaks and meadows of Giri Ganga and Kupar in the higher regions of the Shimla district. He explained each and every detail of how the place used to give them peace and how they used to spend hours sitting there bare feet, taking dips in the waters of the moat of the temple in Giri. And of course, they had to look out for bears and leopards out hunting in the thick forests.

Auric was so involved in what he was listening to that a severe urge to explore popped up in his heart. He could barely hold himself back, and he got up and went to his room to text his friends saying, "Tomorrow at 12. The Parking Lot. We're hitting the road…!"

Early the next morning, Auric's grandfather went to his room to wake him up as he was still in bed, snoring.

"Wake up, you old chap! It's late!"

"Go away. I slept late," he said, in a faint voice.

"Ha! 12? Late? You're no man. Your dad and I were up till three in the morning. Get a life! Get up!"

He threw Auric's stinking sock towards his pillow, which made him jump off the bed abruptly. An hour later Auric got ready for breakfast and was on his phone texting.

"Hey Grandpa, how do you do it? Keep talking for so long?"

"Well, you missed the best part yesterday, you sleepy head."

###

Auric and his friends met up and planned for the very awaited short trip to Giri Ganga and beyond, as they had never been there but had only heard a little about it.

They pooled in, gathered some essential camping gear, and set forth. As it was just a night camp, they didn't find it necessary to carry much along or to inform their families about the trip.

The sun was straight up, and it was clear but humid. One could make it in a shirt or a t-shirt during the day, but once the sun set, a hoodie or a zipper was needed.

Sanshi was to drive that day. They assembled their bags and tools, got in the car, and slammed the doors shut. Auric and Sanshi studied in the same college, while Wiral and Udim had joined a college near their homes. Even if these friends lived apart, they still shared the strong bond that they had ever since they were schoolmates.

An hour passed, and they kept driving through forests, thick and thin. They kept their plans a secret as they didn't want anyone to disturb them in the lap of nature. It was 4 pm when they reached a market on the way, and they pulled over to grab some snacks and dinner for the night.

"How many cold drinks? And what for dinner?" Wiral grabbed his wallet from the glove box.

"Four. Let’s see what we can have for dinner…" Auric too got down, and they checked the menu in a tiny local eatery.

"They've got chicken and rice, I think that's great, isn't it?" Auric seemed happy.

"Just grab anything and hop in." Sanshi was in a hurry to cross that area as it was getting cloudy and roads were not so well ahead.

It was an off-road drive towards Giri from the main highway, and it had now started to drizzle. Sanshi and Auric managed to drive through the slush, muck, and mire that the rains had provided them with.

As soon as they reached Giri, they were awestruck to see the wide valley with a stream of water flowing quietly. The famous temple stood erect in sheer calmness surrounded by the water where a few birds fluttered. The tall pine trees swung gently with the breeze, and as it was the monsoon season, everything was lush green and as fresh as it could be.

The place was peaceful, and all they could hear was the gushing of the water from the tap into the moat and distant birds chirping.

Auric and Sanshi walked a little to get a better view of the creek, while Wiral and Udim were pitching up tents, as they had become experts at it by now. The sun had gone down and there was no other soul anywhere.

Four of them got into the tent and sipped tea, which they had brought along with them. Udim pulled out a few bags of chips to munch on, and they all seemed happy and excited to explore the place later. The rain brought a chill in the air, and it became a little cold, so they all put on extra clothing to warm up themselves.

It had gone dark, and it wasn't raining any more. They had all been recalling the stories of day hikes from their past trips and realised they were out of snacks. Auric pulled out his phone and saw it was quite late. "I think we should have dinner now, it's already pretty cold, and I don't want to eat frozen chicken with rice."

They unpacked the food and started to have it with coke. They were having a good time in the dark woods, and just when Udim packed the last plate in the bag, he felt something move outside the tent. He asked the other three to shush and listen. It was as though there was someone out there and all four went silent. Someone had to gather courage and check who it was. At this point, none of them wanted to go and check but decided they all would go together.

Wiral stepped outside first, followed by Auric, Udim, and Sanshi. They all tried to see who it was and flashed their torches wherever they could.

"Guys! What is that? Something moved there in the dark!"

All three went in the direction where Udim stood and saw a figure but couldn't make out what it was.

"Is that a bear?"

"Shush! Sanshi, you'll get us killed!"

All four went pale and feared it to be a bear or a leopard, as they are commonly found in that region. Wiral stepped a little forward, grabbed a stone, and threw it. The figure moved a little, and they saw a pair of big green eyes. They froze.

"It's a cow, or is it a...oh! Guys, it's just a bull. Phew!"

They all looked closely and took a breath of relief. It was indeed a bull standing beside a tree. Only a minute had passed when the boys saw two more pairs of green eyes, and then four more, then six, and nine. That was weird. When they flashed their torches, they saw the same bull, but as they turned the torches off, it seemed as if it was a herd. It went on for a few seconds, and then, they finally saw nearly four to five bulls when the torches were on and saw those five turn back into one. Freaked out, all four of them rushed back to the tent.

Their hearts were pounding, and they couldn't understand what they had just seen. They had been on hikes and trips before but hadn't experienced anything like this. It was pitch dark and silent as death. The incident had disturbed them, but eventually, they calmed down.

Auric was busy editing some pictures on his phone, and Wiral was trying to fix the torch string, which had torn from one side. Udim was sitting close to his sleeping bag with his eyes closed, and Sanshi was on a call.

They heard drops of water fall on the tent, and soon, it started to rain again.

"Ah! Just when I was about to think of making a fire! I'll just check the clouds."

Wiral grabbed his torch and went out again, as he wanted to light up a fire to warm himself, but it was all wet outside. He came back with a surprised look on his face.

"Guys! Step outside. It's the strangest thing happening!"

They all went out and saw that the entire area was quiet, and the rain fell only on the tent. They looked up, and there were no clouds at all. It was a clear night, and it rained nowhere but on the tent. The moon was shining bright, and it helped them see a little. Gradually, it started to rain so heavily that the entire thing shook, and it bent from the right side and was just about to break. The boys couldn't do anything. They stood still, with torches in their hands, and kept watching.

This was still going when Auric heard a distant voice. He tried to focus and hushed his friends in the hope that it was someone who could help them. They just wanted to go home now. They went silent and heard someone call out Auric's name. The voice sounded familiar.

"It's dad! He's here!"

"But how could he? Your father is in Shimla, Auric!"

"Maybe he isn't; hold on let me call him."

They all felt hopeful as the boys didn't want to stay there any longer. Meanwhile, Auric was on the call and then he hung up.

"What? Auric? Where is your dad?"

"Shimla!"

The voice seemed to come from all directions of the forest now, and it got clearer and clearer. All the friends stood jammed together. Their hands shook, and their legs trembled, and each could hear their hearts beat out loud. Sanshi was about to pass out.

"Guys...Run!"

They all held their flashlights hard, managed to walk a little, and finally ran down the slopes without looking back. They all kept close and didn't leave anyone behind.

Nearly half an hour later, they reached the car, got in, and slammed the doors tight. No one said a word. Sanshi pulled out the car keys, which luckily were in his jeans’ pockets, and handed them over to Wiral. He was in no position to drive. They reached Auric’s fruit estate, which was in a hamlet a few kilometres away from the national highway, after a few minutes.

###

It was a clear morning, and the wide-open valley was just waking up. The boys had been up all night thinking and going back to what had happened in the woods. Eventually, they fell asleep in the morning hours.

The sun was already up and hot, and the curtains of Auric's room were already warmed up by its strong rays. Suddenly Auric's phone rang which startled everyone.

"Hello son, what's up?"

"Nothing dad, still sleeping"

"Are you alright? It's 11:30. And why did you call me so late yesterday?"

"Ah! Long story, Dad. I want to sleep. We'll be coming back today."

It was nearly 3 pm when Auric asked one of his orchard helpers to get their belongings back from the spot from the previous night. They had their food, got ready, and drove to the national highway. Later, they grabbed their stuff from the man and packed it in the trunk of the vehicle.

"Is everything okay, sir? Your belongings were all scattered everywhere and some were burnt."

"Oh! Well, yeah, my friend wasn't feeling well, so we all had to come down. That's all."

Auric grabbed the stuff from the man and smiled back.

They started at 5 from the place. Sanshi kept driving, and the others hardly spoke.

The sun was lowering now, and the golden hour beautifully draped the pine trees while driving downhill through Chharabra. Things were getting calmer, and Auric received a call from her mother inviting his friends for dinner at his place.

The boys reached Shimla just a little before dinner time, shivering and loaded with their backpacks and other belongings.

"All this was happening, and you didn't tell us? Nothing at all? Do you boys know how dangerous it could have been?" Auric’s father asked.

"Relax, son! All four of them are here. Trust in him!" Auric’s grandfather said.

"Yes; but, father, you know all the paranormal things that happen there all the time!"

"I know, I'll talk to them. Have a seat!"

Auric's father obeyed and took a seat beside the halogen heater. The boys sat quietly without saying a word, and Auric looked at his mother, standing by the dining table with a ladle in her hand. Knowing what all had happened with the boys, Auric's father and mother only thanked their Devta for their safety.

"Sip up your tea, warm your hands, sit back, and listen," Auric's grandfather took over. "What haunted you there was no one but the Bansheera.

“The Bansheera? Meaning?" asked Wiral, with eagerness in his eyes.

"They say that the Bansheera was once a normal man like you and me. He was a shepherd, and once he was walking uphill in Kupar with his fellow shepherds. They were nearing the highest point of the Kupar peak, when they started to chop off the grass with a sickle to clear out some space for them to sit and relax a little. While they were cutting the grass, accidentally, the shepherd cut his palm with the sickle blade. He stopped and saw that the gash was bleeding. He then tried to brush his palm against the wild grass to make the bleeding stop. He sat down and saw that not only did the bleeding stop, but the wound vanished as if it was never there. He was awestruck. It seemed as if he was dreaming. The fellow shepherds were a little far away and didn’t really know what was happening. He then purposely slit his palm once again and rubbed his hand on the grass. It happened again – the wound healed and was gone. Finally, after a few minutes, he found the magical herb hiding in the wild grass, and he repeated the same for the third time, and it worked. The shepherd was so excited that he beheaded a sheep passing by and rubbed the magical herb on its head, and the sheep was alive again. He was amazed to have found the magical herb that he now called his fellow shepherds and asked them to behead him. At first, they refused, but eventually, they agreed after being told that he could magically heal things. His friends were surprised and wanted to see a miracle. He asked his friends to chop off his head; he wanted to see his head healed back on his shoulders later. They finally chopped off his head with one powerful swing. Now, the shepherds kept waiting and looking. Nothing happened and they all started to panic. The excitement of the magic made the shepherd forget to tell his friends about the herb in his pocket. They didn’t know the herb was to be rubbed on the wound to make things heal. The man was blinded by the powers of the herb to such an extent that he ended up taking his own life and involving his friends in the crime. Now that the herb was in his pocket, he wasn’t supposed to die, and that is the reason he wanders and lurks in the woods of Kupar as the headless man, Bansheera: Ban – without – and Sheera – head.

“Since then, he has been haunting the peak, and mind you, it's not a spirit, but a lot more than that. It's a powerful, deceitful, and devouring demon lurking in the mesmerising beauty of Kupar. What you told me that had happened – the calling, the animals, the rain, that is what he does best. It was only the beginning, you all evacuated the scene on time.

“The only power that can control it, are the deities and Ma Kaali, the creator of the universe, who resides in the Kupar heights."

There was silence in the room once again, and Udim and Sanshi sat patiently, listening and imagining every detail that Auric's grandfather told them.

"Why didn't you tell me all this before?" Auric asked.

"You were too sleepy the other night, sonny!"

"One question though, what did you take along for dinner?" asked his grandfather.

"A couple of cold drinks, chips, and stuff, and I think... chicken and rice!"

"Chicken? There you go!" He raised his hand and slammed it on his thigh, making a loud sound. "No meat in the woods! Never!" He repeated the same twice and went to the dining table.

"That was a hell of a story. Phew! I'm never going there again, ever." Sanshi stood up nodding his head and went to the washroom.

"Hey guys, how about I jot all this down? Like a book or something!" Udim could see it in his eyes.

"Cool, and what will be its title?" Wiral laughed and questioned.

"Let's say... Call of the Bansheera!"