The next day, something unexpected happened.
Just five minutes into the first period, the class was interrupted by the principal.
"Everyone, you have a new classmate. She is a bit young, so make sure she feels comfortable. If anyone makes it difficult for her, I will beat the shit out of you shitheads." The principal nonchalantly left the class after threatening the students.
The students were used to the way he talked. So they didn't pay any attention to it. They were more interested in the new classmate.
"Go on. Don't be shy. They won't bite." They heard the principal's voice from outside the class.
Everyone curiously looked at the door.
A tiny head popped out from the door. The curious eyes on the little head scanned the entire class.
Then, like a skilful cat, a tiny figure jumped into the class. Before anyone could get a proper look at the new kid, the little girl disappeared between desks.
"It's a girl..." Someone screamed.
"Where did she go? And don't scream." Someone else commented.
Then, out of nowhere, the little girl crawled onto Abhi's bench from under the desk.
"Hihihiiii..." She chuckled as she proudly looked at Abhi.
"What?... How?" Abhi was flabbergasted.
But she wasn't alone.
Alen's eyes were almost popping out of his skull. His mouth was so wide open that flies were going into it. 'What the hell is that ghost doing here?' Alen screamed inside his mind.
"Since you didn't believe that I go to school, I transferred here." The young girl, who was none other than Maala, answered Abhi.
"Hey, little girl, come here and introduce yourself." The teacher who was originally ignored by everyone ordered Maala.
Maala again crawled under the desk. The entire class was in a joyous mood.
"Good morning, students. Your grandma here is named Maala Abhilash. I am eight years old and a genius. So I promoted early and reached your class." Maala happily introduced herself.
The teacher was a bit taken aback by the introduction. The boys in the class liked the introduction and laughed aloud. Many girls also liked it. But there were some girls who didn't like it.
"Don't be rude. They are your elder sisters and elder brothers." The teacher reprimanded her.
"Aleesha, go to the back seat. Maala, sit here." The teacher arranged a seat for Maala in the first row.
"But I want to sit with elder sister Abhi." Maala protested.
"Her? You will catch her stupidity. She is one of the worst in the class. Don't get into a friendship with people like them. Make good friends." The teacher mercilessly replied.
Hearing this, the expression of most of the students in the class darkened. Abhi wasn't good at studies. But she was not a big troublemaker either. So the boys in the class had no reason to dislike her.
"I want to sit here." Maala appeared beside Abhi again.
"You are short. If you sit here, you won't be able to see anything. Listen to the teacher and sit in the first row." Abhi gritted her teeth and advised Maala.
Maala half-heartedly went to the first row.
"Maala, you are a young genius. Be careful when you select friends. Try to avoid those who are at the bottom of the class." The teacher advised again.
Maala's face changed in anger.
To her, Abhi was an elder sister who brought her sweet ice cream. The teacher looking down on her made Maala angry.
At the same time, Alen started sweating. He was the only one who knew that Maala was a ghost. If she flipped, it would be troublesome.
Abhi was furious. She originally didn't mind such words from teachers. But now the situation had changed. Maala looked up to her. So, listening to such words in the presence of Maala left a huge dent on her ego.
"You wouldn't be saying such words after the mid-term exams," Abhi growled.
"What did you say?" The teacher asked in disbelief.
"You are not worthy of being a teacher." Abhi attacked.
"Shut up... shut up..." Arya was trying her best to prevent Abhi from making a scene.
"What a joke! A student like you, who is at the bottom is not qualified to talk to me. Get out of the class." The teacher was almost exploding in anger.
"You won't be talking so arrogantly after the term exams." Abhi declared again as she walked out of the class.
"From now onwards, don't enter the class when I am teaching. If you manage to prove me wrong, I will apologise to you publicly." The teacher didn't want to end the issue just because she left the class.
Abhi didn't reply.
She was extremely angry. She absolutely didn't want to be humiliated in front of Maala.
At the same time, Maala was about to explode.
Alen was praying to himself that Maala wouldn't do anything stupid. As the monarch of the Asuras, he couldn't pray to God. Also, he is the most powerful Asura. So he could only pray to himself.
Maala was furious. But seeing how Abhi made the bet with the teacher, she decided not to act.
At the same time, Alen was fully prepared to act if Maala had attacked the teacher.
'That little ghost doesn't have any negative feelings. She is actually like a happy little girl. I must find a way to make her enter rebirth. Now that the God of death is missing, I can help her enter rebirth without any penalty. This will also give me an opportunity to experiment with the rebirth cycle.' Alen secretly decided to bend the laws and let the little ghost enter reincarnation.
During the next break, all the students huddled around Maala. The average age of the class was 14. So an eight-year-old kid reaching their class was unprecedented. This could happen only if the girl were a one-of-a-kind genius. In no time, she became the class pet.
"Where do you live?"
"Which school did you come from?"
"How many times did you double promote?"
The students asked questions one after another.
The unending questions took Maala by surprise, but she still tried her best to answer as many as possible.
At the same time, Abhi was getting scolded by Arya and Alen. "Are you completely out of your mind? Even if you have an issue with the teacher, going against her in public is a very bad thing to do."
"If she decides to complain to the principal, you might get punished severely."
"Even if you are right, if you insult a teacher publicly, the school will punish you."
"Also, how can you win the bet against the teacher? She is teaching us one subject. If she wants, she can cheat and make you fail in her subject."
"Now don't do anything stupid. I will give you my notes. There is only one week for the exams. Do your best."
Arya and Alen took turns and scolded her. Arya even knocked her head twice.
All the teachers who taught them were curious about the young genius who appeared in their class. During the break, some teachers even came to see the little girl. But they had to leave without completing their aim, as the students were even more curious.
The bet between Abhi and the teacher also became a hot topic in the school. Unlike the previous rumours, this one was quite famous.
After lunch, Abhi finally got to talk with Maala.
"How can you change school just because of me?" Abhi asked.
"I am a genius. So my parents make sure I am comfortable with everything. Also, this school is closer to my home. Now, every day we can go home together."
"Where do you live?" Arya asked.
"I live by the banyan tree. It's on the way to elder sister Abhi's home." Maala answered.
"You live near that tree? Don't you know it's haunted?" Arya asked with great interest.
Alen, who was listening to the talk, chuckled. He knew that the tree was haunted by the same little girl who was sitting in the middle of them. But the poor girls had no idea.
"Don't lie to me. I am already scared of ghosts." Maala shrank in fear.
'What the heaven do you mean? You are a ghost!' Alen cursed in his mind.
"Hi hi hi... Then let this elder sister tell you the story of the infamous ghost who lives in that tree. She even has the same name as you." Seeing Maala's fear, Arya was excited and decided to bully the poor little girl.
Arya herself had no idea that the story she was going to tell. She excitedly started her story.
"Long, long ago. During the British era, there was a famine in our village."
"Poor people who had no money didn't have anything to eat."
"Once they ran out of grains, they started eating the edible leaves and roots. They also caught the small fish in the rivulet in our village. Then they killed the animals one by one. Even cats and dogs weren't spared. "
As Arya started her story, more and more people started listening to her.
"One by one, the sources of food disappeared."
"The extreme poverty and famine made people cruel and selfish. Those who had food or grains to eat kept them hidden. They even guarded their plants with weapons at night."
"Some people hid and protected everything they had, while some others died of hunger. Some people even committed suicide because of hunger."
Arya continued the story with expressions. She was a good storyteller.
"In that extreme poverty, there were two families, staring death face to face. The family members got thinner and thinner day by day. The cries of the children made the hearts of the parents bleed."
"The parents from both families couldn't watch their kids starving to death. All they had to do was wait for one more month. Once the harvest at other parts of the country was over, the famine would stop. Even if they don't have good food, they would get something to eat."
"They found a method to keep the kids alive for a bit longer. They made a deal."
"Both families picked a kid from the other family."
"Little Maala, who was eight years old and a genius just like you, was picked by the other family. Her parents told her that the other family would give her food to eat and water to drink."
"She was happy to hear it and happily went with the other family. The father and mother of the family asked her to follow them."
"She obediently followed them. Even though they weren't her real parents, they took good care of her before the famine. So she respected them just like her parents. But this feeling didn't last long."
"She started getting an uneasy feeling as they left the place occupied by the villagers. After walking for a good amount of time, they reached the rocky area outside the village. It was a deserted area."
"She originally believed that they came to collect something to eat. But she was sure that there was nothing to eat here in the rocky region."
"Then, she saw the look on the faces of the couples. They were looking at her like a predator looking at its prey. It scared her."
"She asked them why they were there."
"There was no reply."
"She wanted to go back."
"But before she could take ten steps, she was caught by the mother."
"She fought back."
"But she held her tight."
""Please forgive me. I cannot let my kids die." The father apologised as he hit her head with the club in his hand."
Arya imitated hitting, and Maala was startled.
"Then they cooked her meat and brought it to the kids."
"Eeekk...." Maala screamed as she hid behind Abhi.
Every student had an uneasy expression on their face as the story was a bit disturbing. Alen's face was twitching. Because combined with the bits and pieces of information he already had, he was sure the story was true.
"Just listen. The story is not over." Arya continued.
"Months passed. A period of abundance followed the period of famine. Trees and plants grew abundantly. Even the poorest of the community benefited from the abundance. The fruits in the trees were many times normal. Animals gave birth to a lot of younglings. It was prosperity everywhere."
"But this happiness didn't last long."
"One day, a boy from the village went missing."
"The villagers searched for the boy with torches and sticks."
"They spent almost the entire night looking for the boy. By morning, they managed to find the remains of the boy in the rocks."
"It was a gruesome scene."
"Blood was splattered all over the scene. As for the boy, only the bones, internal organs and clothes were remaining."
"Eeekk..." Maala cried again in fear as she hugged Abhi.
"Stop the story. You are scaring the child." Abhi decided to stop.
"No. I want to hear the ending." Maala said.
Arya continued the narration.
"Everyone felt pity for the family of the boy. Also, they were scared. With some unknown animal lurking in the dark, they wouldn't be at peace."
"All the villagers reinforced their houses and barred the kids from going out alone. Even the adults didn't want to go out alone with some unknown animals lurking in the dark."
"But none of the preparations were effective as one more kid went missing."
"Within hours, they found the remains of the kid from the rocks."
"Then one more kid went missing."
"After the death of three kids, the villagers decided to guard the village the whole night. With torches and the sickles, they guarded the village at night."
"The villagers prepared traps around the rocks. But the animals didn't even touch the traps."
"Days passed. Even more people ended up dead. In the end, the landlord of the village concluded that it wasn't the action of animals."
"He hired a black magician from a faraway land."
""There is a malicious spirit. She is very angry at the village." The magician declared the moment he landed in the village."
"He drew magic circles and did a lot of prayers for a week."
"About one week later, one evening, the magician ran out roaring. He ordered everyone to follow him with weapons."
"He ran like a mad animal to the rocks. The villagers followed him without any question. When they reached the rocks, they saw an image they would never forget for the rest of their life."
"Tooo scary...." Maala cried.
'Why are you scared? You are the ghost in this story!' Alen was confused by the scared little ghost.
"Listen to the story. When the villagers reached the rocks, they saw four people eating the body of a child."
"Seeing this scene made some people vomit."
"They tied up the culprits and beat them up. The magician questioned them, and then they found the truth."
"It was the same parents who ate the kids. After tasting human flesh once, the guilt of what they had done made them crazy. The magician also realised that they were also cursed by the ghost of the girl who was killed."
"Soon, the villagers realised that the kids who went missing earlier were all eaten by them."
"Aaahhh..." Maala cried in horror. She wasn't alone. Many other girls who were listening cried. Even the boys were totally uncomfortable.
At the same time, Alen was going mad.He couldn't understand why Maala was scared. As an asura, he could sense the true feelings of others. So he knew that Maala was genuinely scared. She wasn't acting.
"The magician started his rituals. With three days' effort and using a bit of his own life force, he managed to catch the ghost. It was the young ghost Maala. He asked the ghost why she was doing it."
"From the ghost, the entire village heard the horrible story. The magician was extremely furious. In his eyes, the situation wouldn't have been this bad had the villagers not hidden the food."
"So he gave the ghost one night time. That night, the ghost haunted the village. Many people who acted selfishly during the famine were met with misfortune that night. In the morning, the magician used the blood of the villagers as a sacrifice to seal away the evil nature of the ghost. The good part of the ghost became a guardian."
"That's scary," Abhi commented.
"I'm going to have nightmares..." Maala was almost in tears.
Alen was feeling helpless. He cursed in his mind. 'What the heaven is wrong with these dumb heads? Why is Maala scared of her own story? And why can't Abhi realise the truth even after hearing the story?'
"Ever since then, the villagers from our village offer food and clothes at the banyan tree to appease the guarding ghost." Aarya finished the story.
"So she is a good ghost." One boy commented.
"Well... not exactly. She is a bit naughty. If the villagers ignore her for a while, she will come out and start pulling pranks. She would scare people or steal from villagers. Then everyone would gather together to throw a party in memory of Maala."
Alen completely gave up on the girls. He already accepted that the witch and the ghost were complete idiots. At the same time, he was a bit relieved. He finally understood why he couldn't sense any evil aura from Maala. The evil in her was extracted and sealed in the tree. So Maala was just another naughty child. It was safe to let her stay in the school.
Alen decided to make a quick visit to the banyan tree. He slowly slipped out of the class. Then he went to the backyard of the school.
Once he made sure that no one was looking, he jumped over the back gate and went to the infamous banyan tree.
The last piece of evidence was there.