The Haunted Shuttlecock

It was a warm, thick evening in Granny’s childhood village, the kind of summer day when the air felt too heavy, like it might suffocate you if you stood still too long. The sun, hanging low in the sky, was a ball of red fire, casting long, crooked shadows across the fields. Granny and her two younger cousins had been running wild in the park all afternoon, their laughter sharp against the silence that usually hung over the village. They decided to play badminton, swinging their rackets lazily in the fading light. But, as the game continued, the shuttlecock suddenly took off, soaring far higher than anyone could have predicted.

It flew, almost as if it had a mind of its own, and landed softly on the roof of a building nearby. Granny’s heart skipped a beat. The building was unlike anything the village had ever seen. In a place where simple cottages dotted the land, this building stood out—tall, imposing, and made of cold, grey stone that seemed to suck the warmth from the air. It was new, out of place, and no one could explain why it had been built there. 

Granny and her younger cousin glanced up at the roof, their eyes following the path of the shuttlecock as it disappeared behind the building's edge. Their hearts tightened. They needed to get it back, but how?

The middle cousin, still oblivious, was shouting about how they could use the fence to climb up. But Granny’s eyes were glued to something else—something she couldn’t shake off. 

A woman. She was climbing up the side of the building, her movements unnaturally smooth, almost floating. Her white dress billowed around her, and Granny’s stomach twisted with a strange, cold feeling. It was as though the woman didn’t belong to the world they knew. She seemed... wrong. Granny’s younger cousin saw her too, their eyes locking in terror.

“Do you see that?” Granny whispered, voice trembling.

The younger cousin’s face went pale. “Yes. Who is she?”

They didn’t speak to the middle cousin, who was still far behind. Instead, they both turned, silently agreeing to investigate. They crossed the distance to the building quickly, their hearts pounding in their chests, the air thick with unease. 

But when they reached the base of the building, the door was locked. The windows were shut tight, as if someone had gone to great lengths to make sure nothing could enter—or leave.

That’s when they saw it. On the roof, where the woman had climbed, a dark figure stood in the exact same spot. But this time, the figure wasn’t moving. It was just standing there, watching. Granny felt the blood in her veins freeze. The shadow grew longer, its shape becoming more defined against the darkening sky. And then, just as they watched in a kind of stunned horror, the figure vanished. 

Gone. Just like that. 

Granny’s breath caught in her throat. The feeling of being watched settled over her like a heavy blanket. “We need to ask someone about this,” she said, voice shaking. 

They hurried to the house next door, a small cottage where the dim light of a lamp shone through the curtains. They rang the bell. An elderly couple opened the door, their wrinkled faces full of suspicion.

“We... we need help,” Granny started, her voice trembling. “Our shuttlecock is on the roof of that building.” She pointed towards the strange structure, the words catching in her throat. “Is there any way to get up there?”

The old woman’s eyes narrowed, her expression hardening. “Stay away from that building. It’s not for you. No good can come from it.”

The old man, standing behind her, nodded gravely. “Don’t go near it. The building is bad. Stay far away.”

Granny and her cousins exchanged uncertain glances. But they had no choice. They turned away, disappointment heavy in their hearts. 

As they walked away from the cottage, the silence of the evening felt suffocating, as if the air itself was pressing down on them. They made their way back toward their house, the path seeming longer than it had ever been before. 

And then, it happened. The shuttlecock, as if it had a life of its own, floated down from above, landing softly at Granny’s feet. It came from nowhere, drifting silently through the air, like it had been waiting for them to return. Granny’s fingers froze as she reached down to pick it up. The moment her skin brushed against the cool feathers of the shuttlecock, a chill spread through her body, as if the very touch of it was wrong.

“Did you see that?” the younger cousin whispered, her voice tight with fear.

Granny looked around, her heart pounding. It felt like they weren’t alone anymore. The air was thick with something... unseen, pressing in from all sides. Granny’s mind raced. Could this be the same woman they had seen? The one who had climbed the building? Was she connected to the strange shadows that had appeared on the roof?

Granny suddenly remembered something else. A few days ago, Babu, their dog, had been barking wildly at the wall in the living room. He’d been growling, his fur bristling, his eyes locked on the wall as though something was there—something they couldn’t see. Granny had tried to calm him down, but he wouldn’t stop. It had been like the wall itself was alive, as though something was hiding just beyond it, waiting.

The shuttlecock felt cold in Granny’s hand, too cold for a summer evening. 

“We need to take it back,” said the middle cousin, holding the shuttlecock in her hand as though it were just another toy. 

But Granny’s younger cousin shook her head, her voice shaky. “It feels wrong. Like it’s... cursed. Like we shouldn’t have it.”

The unease gnawed at Granny’s insides, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that by picking it up, they had made a terrible mistake. Still, they had no choice. They walked back to Granny’s house, the shuttlecock hanging heavy between them.

And then, as they reached the front door, something made Granny’s blood run cold. A figure appeared at the corner of her vision, standing motionless, as though waiting. But when she turned to look, it was gone.

The air around them grew colder. The shadows seemed to stretch longer, darker. 

They made their way inside, the door creaking closed behind them. 

But the moment they crossed the threshold, Granny heard it: the low, faint whisper of something brushing against the wall. Something that didn’t belong. Something that wasn’t supposed to be there.

The dog, Babu, began to bark again. But this time, it wasn’t at the wall. It was at the very air itself. 

Granny looked down at the shuttlecock in her hand. It felt wrong—unnatural. And then, in a cold whisper, she realised something horrifying.

They weren’t safe. 

The curse had followed them inside. 

Now, everyone’s in trouble.