Cherreads

Chapter 1 - Unnamed

*The Tea Estate at Midnight*

Rafi worked as a night guard at a tea estate in Sylhet. Every night at 2 AM, he heard the sound of anklets — _jhun jhun_ — coming from the foggy tea rows.

One stormy night, curiosity got the better of him. He followed the sound with his flashlight. Between the wet tea bushes, he saw a woman in a white saree, picking leaves. Her basket was already full of fresh leaves, even though it was the middle of the night.

Rafi called out, "Who's there?"

The woman slowly turned. Her face was pale and hollow, and her eyes were completely black. She smiled and whispered, "I never finished my quota... they buried me before I could."

A cold wind blew, and Rafi's flashlight died. When it flickered back on, she was gone. Only her basket remained, full of tea leaves that were still warm to the touch.

From that night on, Rafi never worked the night shift again. But the estate workers say, if you walk near row 13 at 2 AM, you can still hear anklets... and the sound of leaves being plucked.

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