Chapter 2: The Friend’s Dilemma

2

Recently, my friend has been looking for a place to rent. She’s interested in a particular duplex on the top (seventh) floor.

She’s not sure if she should take it or not.

Knowing that I’m the go-to for these things, she wanted my opinion.

She sent me the floor plan, and then we had the following conversation:

Friend: “You know Aryan Public School, right?”

Dian Deng: “Yes, that’s the very prestigious private high school.”

Friend: “Aryan Public School, to boost their board results, searches among middle schoolers for toppers and offers them big money to join. You know about this?”

Dian Deng: “Yeah, I do.”

Friend: “My colleague is from out of town. Her son was the top scorer in their city’s class 10 exams. Three years ago, Aryan Public School recruited him with a fat scholarship and he started boarding there. But just after two months, his marks dropped badly. When she found out, she lost it, so she and her husband both quit their jobs and shifted to our city to rent a place and be with their son for his studies.”

I didn’t quite follow.

Dian Deng: “What does this have to do with renting a house?”

Friend: “Of course it’s related. The colleague I’m talking about is the current tenant of that house.”

I still didn’t see the connection, so my friend explained further:

Friend: “The rent for this apartment is paid annually. He rented it in November 2018, and now it’s June 2021—there are five months left on the lease. If they move out early, not only will they lose the deposit, but the remaining rent won’t be refunded. My colleague wants to minimize her losses, so she’s looking for me to take over the lease.”

Now I understood my friend’s point.

Dian Deng: “Oh, I get it. If you move in now, your colleague becomes your sublandlord. When the lease ends, it might be easy for you to get into a dispute with the original landlord. Is that what you’re worried about?”

Friend: “No, taking over and renewing a lease is common. For landlords, a seamless handover means uninterrupted rent. Many landlords are happy for tenants to find their own replacements.”

I was momentarily stunned.

Dian Deng: “So are you worried about the size and rent? After all, it’s a five-bedroom place. If you’re living alone, both the rent and the empty rooms could be an issue.”

Friend: “No, that’s not it either. I have several friends who also want to move out and live together. The number of rooms is just right, and we can split the rent.”

Dian Deng: “Then... is it because it’s on the top floor? Climbing seven flights of stairs every day without a lift must be tiring, right?”

Friend: “It’s just seven flights—consider it daily exercise.”

Dian Deng: “So it’s not that either. Then what’s your concern?”

Friend: “Actually, there are rumours that the place is haunted.”

Dian Deng: “Haunted? Why do you say that? Is there any basis?”

Friend: “Yes, my colleague loves gossip and often talks about strange things happening in the house. I’ve heard her describe it a few times, and it creeped me out.”

Dian Deng: “Your colleague said things about the house that made you feel uneasy?”

Friend: “Yes.”

Dian Deng: “What did she say?”

Friend: “I’ll give a few examples. There’s a parcel collection counter—like the local Kirana shop that keeps parcels—downstairs. On her first day moving in, the owner told her the building was haunted. She asked why, and he said that a few months ago, someone heard ghostly wailing while using the bathroom. The sound was faint but clearly human. The scariest part was that it didn’t come from outside the window, but from inside the building. Many people in the building heard it, and it caused quite a stir in the society at the time. But the sound only lasted a few hours and disappeared by the next day.”

Dian Deng: “So the ghostly wailing only lasted for a few hours in the building?”

Friend: “Yeah.”

Hearing her confirmation, I quickly took out my notebook. My hand paused for a second, remembering the stories Dadi used to tell about restless souls wandering after sunset. In India, when a building is said to be haunted, the story travels through the grapevine in no time. The tea stalls, the security guards, even the local children start spinning tales. But a wailing that lasted only for a night? That’s the kind of detail that makes you wonder.

Dian Deng: “Interesting. Do you know the exact date the wailing was heard?”

Friend: “I’m not sure. Probably July or August. But later, people didn’t take it seriously and thought it was just kids playing a prank.”

Dian Deng: “July or August. Was it just that building or the whole complex?”

Friend: “Just that building, I think.”

Dian Deng: “Okay, I’ve noted it. Any other strange things?”

Friend: “Yes, her family is very clean. When they first moved in, there were no mosquitoes, bugs, or rats. But by the next spring and summer, the bathroom was full of flies, and sometimes they found signs of rats. To avoid affecting her child’s studies, my colleague hired a pest control company. For the first few days after treatment, it worked, but soon the flies returned to the bathroom. The strangest thing is, this lasted from June to October. By November, the flies disappeared, and it never happened again.”

Dian Deng: “Hmm, flies that can’t be exterminated. Was it serious?”

Friend: “Very serious. She even took photos. In that small bathroom, dozens of flies were flying around.”

Dian Deng: “Looking at the floor plan, there are bathrooms on both the first and second floor. Did both have this problem?”

Friend: “Yes, both.”

Dian Deng: “Could it be she didn’t close the doors or windows properly? I see the first-floor public bathroom has a window to the hallway, and the second-floor secondary bathroom has a window to the balcony.”

Friend: “Definitely not because of doors or windows. The bathroom windows have mesh screens. Besides, who’s ever heard of a hallway or balcony breeding so many flies? She even asked the neighbours downstairs—only her apartment had this issue.”

That was truly odd. I made a note: a fly infestation that lasted just one year. They buzzed against the frosted glass, making the bathroom smell slightly sweet and rotten, like overripe mangoes left too long in the sun.

I continued to ask.

Dian Deng: “Any other strange things?”

Friend: “Hmm... yes, the house ‘steals electricity’.”

Dian Deng: “Steals electricity? What do you mean?”

Friend: “Let me explain. There’s a circuit breaker on the first floor, on the wall to the right of the entrance.”

Following her description, I marked it on the floor plan and sent it to her.

Dian Deng: “Here?”

Friend: “Yes.”

Dian Deng: “Okay, go on.”

Friend: “On the first day my colleague moved in, both the power and water breakers were off. The landlord specifically told her all utility bills were settled and she wasn’t being scammed. He told her to turn on the breakers herself after moving in.”

Dian Deng: “That’s normal.”

Friend: “Nothing strange there. The key is what happened next. This year, because of the pandemic, they couldn’t go home for the New Year, so they planned to celebrate in the rental. They decided to clean the house on Chhoti Diwali. In the study on the second floor, there’s a row of bookshelves against the wall near the door, filling the whole wall. While cleaning, my colleague moved the shelves and found another closed circuit breaker behind them, right next to the study door.”

After hearing this, I was a bit confused, so I opened the second floor plan and marked it as described.

After drawing, I sent the plan to my friend.

Dian Deng: “Like this?”

Friend: “Yes, exactly.”

Dian Deng: “Why is there a second circuit breaker here?”

Friend: “She doesn’t know either. This breaker is really odd because you can’t tell what it controls.”

Dian Deng: “What do you mean?”

Friend: “When they moved in, they turned on the first-floor breaker, right?”

Dian Deng: “Yes.”

Friend: “After turning it on, she checked all the lights, sockets, and air conditioners on both floors—everything worked. So the first-floor breaker controls all circuits. So what does the second-floor breaker control?”

Dian Deng: “Hmm.”

A chill ran down my back. I found myself glancing at the shadowy corners of my own room.

Dian Deng: “Did your colleague try to figure it out?”

Friend: “She did.”

Dian Deng: “How?”

Friend: “She turned on that breaker and checked all the circuits in the house one by one.”

Dian Deng: “What did she find?”

Friend: “The only result was that the electricity bill skyrocketed, but nothing else changed.”

Dian Deng: “Skyrocketed?”

Friend: “Yeah, after turning on the second-floor breaker, she checked everything—no shorted sockets, no broken appliances, neither breaker tripped—so she just ignored it. But a month later, when it was time to pay the bill, she found that month’s electricity bill was ₹11,000.”

Dian Deng: “₹11,000? That’s a lot, but considering it was around Chhoti Diwali—late winter, early spring—they might’ve used the air conditioner and spent a lot of time at home. Maybe that’s reasonable.”

Friend: “That’s what she thought, so she didn’t think much of it. But after another two months, the bill was still ₹8,000 or ₹9,000. By then, the weather was warm—no need for air conditioning. She thought it was odd, so she downloaded the State Electricity Board app to check usage for the past few months. She was shocked to find that in February, March, and April, the usage was 1,800, 1,400, and 1,300 units, respectively. Arre yaar, that’s mad! Nearly 1,000 extra units? Kya ho raha hai?”

Dian Deng: “...”

Friend: “Hey, why are you silent?”

Dian Deng: “It just sounds really strange.”

Friend: “Strange how?”

Dian Deng: “A breaker is just a switch—it doesn’t use electricity itself. But after turning on the study breaker, power usage soared, and you can’t find the source. It’s like there’s a hidden space in the house...”

Friend: “She thought of that too, but it’s not realistic. She measured the house, and it matches the floor plan exactly.”

Dian Deng: “Are you sure the floor plan’s area is accurate?”

Friend: “Yes, because it’s drawn from the property certificate, and it matches the actual layout.”

Dian Deng: “I see.”

Friend: “It’s not just the floor plan. More importantly, as you said, a breaker is just a switch, only connecting or disconnecting power. The real consumption comes from appliances. But what appliances turn on automatically when powered and use a lot of electricity? Even a fridge, which starts automatically, only uses 30–40 units a month. You’d need more than thirty fridges to use that much.”

Dian Deng: “An appliance that turns on automatically and uses a lot of power... maybe a small electric heater?”

Friend: “A small electric heater? The kind that looks like a fan and glows hot when switched on?”

Dian Deng: “Yes, that kind will start automatically if left on, and fits the high power use.”

Friend: “Are you saying the study breaker controls a small electric heater?”

Dian Deng: “No, just a hypothesis. But that doesn’t really make sense—those heaters can short out after a day. Running one nonstop for three months is nearly impossible.”

Friend: “True, and you’d have to consider wear from continuous operation.”

Dian Deng: “Could someone else be living in the house?”

Friend: “Impossible. There’s no space, and even if there was, it’s been two years. How could someone survive two years with no power?”

Dian Deng: “Good point. So what did your colleague do?”

Friend: “She told the landlord, who said he didn’t know either. He bought the place from a family of three. The previous owners said their son had an accident and they needed money urgently, so they sold the place to the landlord at a 20% discount. Three days after the transfer, the landlord rented it to my colleague, so he doesn’t know the details.”

Dian Deng: “How did it end?”

Friend: “In the end, my colleague just turned off the study breaker, and the power usage quickly returned to normal.”

Dian Deng: “Anything else?”

Friend: “One more thing. The State Electricity Board app lets you check previous years’ monthly usage. My friend found that in August, September, and October 2018, the apartment’s electricity use was zero. So before my friend moved in, the place was empty for three months.”

After hearing this, I started to feel uneasy too.

Connecting the strange events so far:

A few hours of ghostly wailing in the building.

A summer-long fly infestation in the bathroom.

A circuit breaker hidden behind a bookshelf in the study, controlling who-knows-what.

A house unoccupied for three months.

Looking at these, I could imagine some possibilities, but they seemed far-fetched and couldn’t be confirmed.

So I kept asking my friend.

Dian Deng: “Besides these, are there any other problems with the apartment?”

Friend: “Hmm... not really. She sometimes mentions the place’s advantages.”

Dian Deng: “Advantages? Like what?”

Friend: “For example, when she first moved in, there was still a slight paint smell, like it had just been renovated. She thought the landlord was considerate, but later realized the renovation was done by the previous owner. Also, top-floor apartments are usually hot, but this one is very well insulated—even in May, when the city feels like a tandoor, the second floor stayed cool enough that you barely needed the fan. And the rent is very cheap.”

Listening to her, I frowned.

Often, things that seem strange can have ordinary explanations.

Maybe the problem with this place isn’t complicated—maybe we’re just overthinking it.

I continued to ask.

Dian Deng: “Did your colleague talk to the neighbours about the apartment?”

Friend: “Probably not. She has to take care of a student preparing for board exams, gets up at six every morning, and is busy until bedtime. She hasn’t really talked to the neighbours these past few years.”

Dian Deng: “I see... Don’t agree to rent the place yet. Give me some time to look into it.”

Friend: “Okay.”

……