Once, there was a family of four. Let me give you some details about them. There was a son and a daughter; the son's name was Pravin and the daughter's name was Bunty. Their father's name was Ramesh, and their mother's name was Ramadevi. It was a very happy family. Ramesh had a good job, Ramadevi took care of the house, and the kids were doing well in their studies.
One day, the family went on a trip. Everyone was thrilled—the son, the daughter, and the wife, all were very happy. They set off for a vacation to Shimla in their car, laughing, having fun, and playing Antakshari along the way.
Their car breaks down in the middle of the road. Ramesh tries to call a mechanic from his mobile phone, but there is no signal. The night was terrifying; it felt as though someone had intentionally ruined their car to stop them from going any further.
Just then, Ramesh's wife suggests, "The four of us should walk and ask someone for help." Ramesh agrees. The four family members set out on foot. After walking for an hour, they spot a mansion. Thinking they could get some help there, the family heads towards it.
However, Ramesh's wife tells him, "I feel something strange about this mansion." But Ramesh dismisses it, scolding her, "There's nothing strange, just keep quiet."
After walking a little further, they reach the mansion's door. Ramesh rings the bell, and the door opens. It was opened by an old woman. She asks, "Who are you people?" Ramesh replies, "We were traveling with our family when our car suddenly broke down." He adds, "It would be a great favor if you could let us stay here for the night." The old woman agrees, saying, "Alright, I live alone in this mansion anyway."
Ramesh and his family step inside. They chat for a while and look around the mansion. Once again, Ramesh's wife senses something eerie, but she keeps it to herself and says nothing to her husband. It was 10:00 PM, and the strange part was that everything seemed perfectly normal to Ramesh.
A little while later, the family goes to sleep in one room, and the old woman goes to another. No one knew what was about to happen to this family next. The clock struck 12:00 midnight, and the family suddenly starts hearing the sound of someone crying.
So, Ramesh and his wife Ramadevi thought to themselves, 'Apart from the four of us and that old woman, there is no one else in this mansion, so who is crying so late at night?' The crying sound they heard belonged to a little girl. In that mansion, there was only the old woman and Ramesh's family, and everyone in the family had gone to sleep in one room. Ramesh's children, Bunty and Praveen, were sleeping in the same room with them, so they knew the crying sound wasn't coming from their kids.
Ramesh and Ramadevi go out to see who is crying. As they are walking, the girl's crying stops, and suddenly, the old woman starts crying. Ramesh and Ramadevi go into her room. Upon entering, they ask her, 'Mataji (Mother), why are you crying?'
The old woman then tells her story to Ramesh and Ramadevi. She says, 'I used to live in this mansion with my son Rahul and my husband Subhash. Everything was going perfectly in my family. We owned shops, my son had gotten a job, and we got him married to a beautiful, well-mannered girl. After the wedding, my son was happy, and my daughter-in-law Sushila was happy. However, even after 5 years of marriage, my daughter-in-law wasn't able to have children. We went to priests and visited temples, but nothing helped.
Two years after that, our son and daughter-in-law died in a car accident. We were deeply heartbroken at the time. After that, it was just the two of us—me and my husband—living in this mansion. After some time, my husband also passed away, leaving me behind. I started living alone in this mansion, just passing my remaining days. Now that you people have come here, I feel very happy. I miss my son and daughter-in-law a lot, which is why I sometimes cry at night.'"
When the old woman told her story to Ramesh and Ramadevi, who had arrived that night, they felt very sorry for her. Ramesh consoled the old woman, saying, "Please don't be sad. We are like your own children."
The old woman replied, "Alright," and then asked, "Will you help me?"
Ramesh and Ramadevi agreed, "Okay, tell us, how can we help you?"
The old woman explained, "If my son had a child, a daughter, I would have gifted her a gold chain and sent her to a good country for her education. But what can I do? For whom should I do all this now? I have nothing in my destiny; my son is gone, and my daughter-in-law is gone."
Hearing all of this, Ramesh and Ramadevi—who were staying in that mansion—realized that the old woman was completely alone with no one to look after her. Greed crept into their minds. They told the old woman, "We have a beautiful young daughter. If you wish, you can pamper and shower her with love for a while."
Upon hearing this, the old woman said, "Alright, but I wish to perform a pooja (ritual worship) for your daughter, and I want to do it following all the proper traditional rituals. Are you willing?"
Ramesh and Ramadevi figured that she just wanted to do a simple prayer and that it wasn't a big deal. They told the old woman, "Okay, we will go bring our daughter. You can make the preparations for the pooja." The old woman said, "Alright."
But Ramesh and Ramadevi had no idea what was about to happen to them, or what was going to happen to their little girl. This was only the beginning.