Summary

Eleven-year-old Usha and her younger brother, Suresh, hang their clothes out to dry. Usha must go to the market bazaar alone today, and her brother warns her about the ghosts on Haunted Hill. Usha runs her errands before she begins to worry about getting home before dark to avoid the ghosts. Usha gets caught in the rain and decides to shelter in some colonial ruins. She sees small ghostly figures and screams before she realizes they are her brother and his friend, Binya. The children run back in the rain and wind, hearing what they believe to be the call of the ghosts sending them off.

In Chapter 4, Romi mounts his bike and seeks smoke rising beyond the trees. He is initially not worried because the fire seems to be far enough away. He begins biking through the forest to bring medicine home...