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Song: Look what you made me do by Taylor Swift

Chapter 1 - I can't believe we are going to live with the witch.

~~~

Once upon a time, in a village on the southern side.

There was a little girl who lived in a huge castle, away from prying eyes and far from meddling neighbors.

Every evening she would look out of her high balcony, at the beautiful garden and frown. She hated the pretty colors. She hated the striking view.

It was only after autumn when all the flowers had disappeared and the colors were dull and pale, she could smile. She liked the austere view, it matched her heart.

Every night before going to sleep, her mother would read her fairytales, she would tell her the story of a princess who slept for too long, the story of a mermaid who dared to walk, the naïve girl who ate a rotten apple. In each story there were two things common – there was a princess and then there was a witch.

The little girl would smile as she listened to the stories. "Ma, I am princess, right? Will I be in a fairytale? Will I too get a happy ending?"

Her mother would lightly pat her head and without a smile, she would reply. "Oh darling, you are a witch. And there are no fairytales for a witch. There are no happy endings for a witch."

And so that's exactly what the little girl grew up to be – a witch.

...

"That's a great opportunity! To be able to redecorate and design such a huge house." Alesha grinned, clapping her hands. "It would look so good on the resume."

"Yes, it would. But it is really worth it?" her colleague asked, staring at the huge haunted house.

"I agree." Another voice prompted. "Living in that place for 5 months is like having a death wish."

"What I don't understand is why she needs the redecorating done every 5 years. I mean some people don't do it for 15 years too,"

"Water leakage?"

Alesha shrugged. "Maybe she gets bored of looking at the house."

"Yes, that is why she should go out of the house. I don't think she's ever stepped out."

Another guy shivered. "Do you know those who went there 5 years back returned as different people?"

"Yeah, it seems they had forgotten to smile. Like they had been cursed."

Alesha hummed. "Yes, but they earned so much after it. Because of that redecoration, most major companies wanted them too."

The guy with brown hair scoffed. "Do you only think about money?"

Alesha glared at him. "Yes, because I don't have a father who still gives me pocket money." She snapped.

The guy swallowed, lowered his eyes and looked away.

The door to the conference room opened and a woman dressed in a navy-blue skirt and pastel pink shirt walked in. Round glasses on her oval face.

"Have you read the report, the assignment?" she quizzed the 6 students in front of her.

They all nodded.

"Four of you will be going there." She informed them. "You can choose among yourselves or should we do a chit system."

When no one answered, Alesha raised her hand. "I am ready to go."

The woman, Ms. Blaze, nodded and looked at the other five. "No one else?"

The three guys and two girls looked at each other, none of them wanted to go and live at the haunted house for five months.

Ms. Blaze tore a blank paper from her notepad. "Chit system it is."

She wrote down five names on the pieces of paper carefully folding them into four and placing them in front of her.

She motioned for Alesha to come towards her.

Alesha walked towards the papers.

The guy with brown hair whispered as she walked past him. "Don't remove my name."

Alesha smiled at him, mentally praying his name was the first one.

She randomly selected two pieces of paper to be excluded from this assignment.

Ms. Blaze nodded at the three folded papers. "Open them."

Alesha opened the first one. She smirked as she read the name. Her prayers had been granted. "Viaan."

The guy with brown hair groaned and threw his head on the chair's back. "Dammit."

Alesha opened the second paper. "Olivia."

The girl with blond hair and purple streaks shrugged and nodded. "Sure. Whatever."

Ms. Blaze pointed at her hair. "Go back to your original color."

Olivia scowled but didn't argue. She knew better than to argue with Ms. Blaze.

"The last name." Alesha said and picked up the last piece of paper.

The three boys looked at each other, each mentally praying it wasn't them.

"Rishit."

The guy with round eyes and messy black hair took a deep breath. "Well, it's official. I hate my life."

Ms. Blaze stood up. "Pack your bags, you leave in one week."

The four aspiring interior designers looked at each other, a mix of fear and excitement in their hearts.

"I can't believe I'll have to live with your stupid asses for five months." Viaan muttered sullenly under his breath.

Alesha snorted. "I can't believe I'll have to see your ridiculous face every day for five months."

Olivia twirled a strand of her purple hair. "I can't believe I'll have to go back to my boring brownish hair."

Rishit stared at the pictures of the haunted house and pressed his finger toward the black shadow on the top window. "I can't believe we are going to live with the witch."

--

She was dressed in a long black dress, with a lace low neckline and no sleeves. Her nails were painted black and a dark red lip shade brightened her face.

She delicately placed her feet in her favorite 5-inch black stiletto and grabbed her black round purse.

She looked at herself in the mirror, her black eyes gazing back at her herself and black hair down to her waist.

"So colorful." She whispered at the reflection.

After a 20-minute journey, she walked inside a bakery, heading straight to the counter.

She looked at the array of cheesecakes and cupcakes. She licked her lips, drumming a forefinger over the bottom lip in thought. "Hmm. What should I eat?"

She was confused between a chocolate pastry, a red velvet pastry, and a blueberry cheesecake.

Her long manicured nails tapped on the glass. She looked at the three columns of pastries. "Eeny meany, miny, moe." Her fingernail tapped against the glass. "What should I eat now?" her finger stopped at the red velvet pastry and she took a deep breath.

She looked at the cash counter right next to her. There was a teenage girl working, taking orders. "You." She pointed at her. "I'll have the chocolate pastry and the blueberry cheesecake. To go."

The girl blinked at the woman dressed in black. Had she come from a funeral? Her eyes wandered towards the people patiently standing in queue to place their orders. There were at least 5 already in line.

"There's a line. Please stand in it." She politely said to the woman.

The woman didn't even turn to see the queue. She kept her eyes strained on the counter girl who started to fidget under her authoritative gaze.

"Excuse me, there's a line." A middle-aged man said from behind and the woman in black finally turned. Her dark eyes landed on the man who took an unsteady step back, taken aback by the lack of emotions in her eyes.

"And?" her smooth rich voice had an underlying warning to it, daring him to talk back and ask her to stand in a stupid worthless queue.

The guy swallowed and averted his eyes. "Nothing." He nodded at the counter girl. "Give her the order first. Please."

The counter girl took out the pastries with thin trembling hands.

"Yes, I see the lemon cheesecake. There's only one." A male voice came from next to her.

"Yes, yes, I'll get it for you." And he cut the call.

The woman in black looked at the lonely lemon cheesecake, it seemed this man wanted to take it for someone. Someone special. Someone who likes lemon cheesecakes.

"I'll have that too." She told the counter girl, pointing at the single lemon cheesecake.

She heard the guy next to her swear in irritation and displeasure and she mentally smirked.

She paid for the cakes and grabbed the paper bag. She took out the lemon cheesecake and glanced at the guy who desperately wanted it. He wasn't bad to look at, rather handsome too. She raised the cheesecake to him like it was a glass of wine and then winked. "Oops."

Rishit was baffled and continued to stare at the woman as she sauntered past him. His jaw fell on the floor when he saw her throw the lemon cheesecake into the dustbin without even tasting it. She walked out of the shop as if nothing had happened.

"What the hell was that? Who the hell was that?" he muttered to himself.

He turned to the counter girl. "Was she for real?"

The girl showed him her unsteady hands, proof that she, in fact, had interacted with her.

Rishit looked back at the dustbin and scoffed, shaking his head. "What kind of weirdos live in this world? Why go out of your way to make someone else miserable?"

...

The four students stood a few feet away from the castle – their home for the next 5 months.

Alesha looked at the tall black gate with rusted spiral design and frowned. "For someone who does interior designing every 5 years, why doesn't she maintain the gate too?"

Viaan snorted. "Because this scares away the humans."

Rishit agreed. "Possibly the animals too." His finger traced the dust. "Look at the dust. It's like no one has ever opened it."

"This is the hills, so it's always dusty." They jumped at the gruff voice.

There was man, possibly in his fifties. He was short and almost bald but had a welcoming smile. "You must be the house makeup people."

"Designers. Interior designers." Alesha corrected.

The man waved his hand in dismissal. "Same thing. You will make the house prettier."

They entered through the gate, following the man inside the premises as he walked past the garden.

"Who are you?" Rishit questioned.

The man walked slowly, breathing in the fresh air loudly. "Take a deep breath." He told the kids. "You'll notice how air has changed."

It sure had, it was fresher now. The air carried hints of pine, cedar, and other earthy scents from the surrounding tress. The fragrance of wildflowers was surreal, adding a touch of sweetness to the overall refreshing aroma.

Olivia smiled, taking another deep breath. "Damn, this makes me realize just how much the city stinks."

Rishit nodded. "Yes, I had forgotten we could smell anything other than pollution and smoke."

The man chuckled. "You should go farther up this hill. The view is even more beautiful from there. Earth is a beautiful place to live in, if you know how."

Alesha clapped her hands happily. "I can create some amazing content for my Instagram now."

Viaan rolled his eyes. "No one even cares."

Alesha glared at him. "You have liked all my photos."

Viaan looked away sheepishly and cleared his throat, walking towards the old man. "So, what do you do here?"

"I am the watchman, the gardener, the housekeeper, everything." He answered. "You can call me Mr. Pence."

They reached the front door and Mr. Pence banged on the lioness door knob.

"Wow." Olivia breathed out, looking at the magnificent brown door and the rich bronze door knob. "I never thought I would appreciate a door so much."

The others were equally mesmerized.

"I am so excited to see the interiors." Alesha rubbed her palms in obvious excitement.

Mr. Pence waited for a few seconds and then opened the door, letting them in.

They crowded through the door, eager to see the insides. But their eyes landed on the woman, standing in the center of the enormous castle hall, she was decked in a knee length black dress.

She stood straight with no smile, her hands folded across her chest.

Even with the massive space and beauty in the house, their eyes couldn't move past the captivating figure.

"You must be the kids they sent." She spoke, her voice void of any emotion.

Not one had the courage to reply.

Her eyes scanned each one, from head to toe, appraising them. They tried their best to not show their nervousness, they failed miserably.

Her eyes finally landed on Rishit and there was a shimmer of surprise in her dark eyes. She recognized that handsome face. "Lemon cheesecake."

Rishit's eyes widened as he too recognized the enigmatic woman. "Woman in Black."

---

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