Ravi and the Mystery of the Abandoned House👻🏡

Ravi was an adventurous eight-year-old with a never-ending curiosity. Ever since he watched the Ghostbusters cartoon, he had been obsessed with one question: Do ghosts really exist?

Whenever he asked his parents, they would simply laugh and say, "No, Ravi, ghosts are just make-believe!" But deep down, he was not convinced.

Not far from his house stood an old, crumbling wooden house. The locals whispered spooky tales about it some even claimed to have seen a woman in white lurking inside! Ravi’s imagination ran wild.

At school, he eagerly shared his ghost-hunting plans with his best friends, Amir and Awang.

"No way!" Amir shook his head.

"Are you crazy?" Awang added. "What if that ghost catches us?"

But Ravi was not one to back down. If his friends would not join him, he would go alone!

One afternoon, after school, Ravi made his move. He parked his bicycle near a big tree and took a deep breath before stepping towards the eerie house.

Creeeaaak!

A window groaned as the wind pushed against it.

"Just the wind," Ravi muttered, bracing himself.

As he reached the entrance, the wooden door let out an even louder  CREEAAAKKK!

Ravi froze. The doorway was pitch dark, with slivers of sunlight seeping through holes in the roof. He swallowed hard and stepped inside.

The air smelled of dust and old wood. His heart pounded as he tiptoed forward.

Then a hand landed on his shoulder.

"AAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!" Ravi screamed and spun around.

Standing behind him was "Pat Mat?" Ravi gasped, recognizing his school gardener.

"What are you doing here?" Pat Mat asked, amused.

Ravi trembled. Words refused to come out.

"Calm down, boy," Pat Mat said, patting Ravi’s back.

After a deep breath, Ravi finally blurted out his mission that he wanted to see if ghosts were real!

Pat Mat chuckled. "Ghosts do not live in houses like us, Ravi. If they exist, they belong to another world, one we cannot see. But you know what does exist? Trouble. This is private property. If someone catches you trespassing, you will be in big trouble. Now go home, and do not try this again..especially alone!"

Ravi gulped and nodded. Lesson learned!

That night at dinner, Ravi knew he could not keep secrets from his parents.

"Pa… you know that abandoned house near our street?"

His father looked up. "Yes, what about it?"

Ravi spilled everything. His mother gasped. "Ravi! What if a venomous snake had bitten you? That was dangerous! Never do anything like that again!"

"I am sorry, Amma," Ravi said, lowering his head.

His parents sighed but smiled, relieved he was safe.

As he lay in bed that night, he grinned to himself. Tomorrow at school, he could not wait to tell Amir and Awang about his almost ghostly adventure!