No. 7: They're Calling (Nandita Banerjee, Velvet Crab)

Priya and her husband, Ravi Gupta, are immigrants from India. They live in Houston in their house, No.7, mindful of its moral code and the previous owner’s warning, “Take care, the house is special.” Life is more-than-perfect until Priya’s dead friend, Hema’s book arrives at their door. It not only triggers memories of the uncanny circumstances surrounding Hema’s death, but the old charcoal sketches in it stain Priya’s fingers. The marks grow ominously dark. Spooked, Priya shoves the book under her bed where it disappears. Could the floor have sucked it in? Odd yet not improbable—both the house and the book are magical—but with what consequences?