The Ghost Story

The Ghostless Story

 

The story belongs to the times prior to this long pandemic, when we were like the wild animals in the jungle, had no boundaries, and roamed everywhere like free birds. That was a chilling Friday evening, and for software employees, Friday is an emotion, a door to freedom, and a start to a new life (the new life lasts for just a weekend). I planned to go for a night out to the Charminar with my friend, doing my favorite things, shopping, roaming, and eating… shopping, roaming, and eating… and this goes on overnight.

 

The watch showed 10pm. One more hour for my freedom. I had a 2 to 11 shift on that day. The day was so boring with meetings and KT sessions. “I don’t want this weekend to go in the void like the previous one. My night journey would start with a bike ride in this cool weather when my hair is dancing to the rhythm of the breezy air, and my eyes are witnessing the beauty of the foggy pathways that are just about to reveal the path to me. Finally, I’ll reach the Charminar, my favorite spot in Hyderabad. As soon as I go there, I’ll have the yummy paneer dosa. Then I’ll shop for bangles, earrings, and all the matching jewelry for my new dresses. And... yeah, I’ll have to buy a saree this time. The last time when I visited, I didn’t have much time for shopping. But I would never miss this time. After all, I have the whole night, and there is no stepping back! Then, I’ll have the delicious biryani and… oh god, how can I miss that faluda… mmm that’s mouth-wateringly gooood!”

 

The watch showed 11pm. I spent the whole one-hour drawing imaginations about the coming hours. And finally, it is eleven, and no one in the world can stop me for a single second. I rushed to the parking lot to check for my cab. There were already a handful of people at the Roaster. I was moving ahead by pushing people so gently to reach the Roaster. I found my cab number in the third sheet after a slight struggle. I ran to the cab slot but in vain. The cab came to the allotted slot after about 10 minutes. Though he arrived late, we started fast and reached the exit gate at 11.20 pm.

 

Once my cab crossed the office, I settled down and called my friend, my companion for tonight, who has enough capacity to bear me for the long night out. He told me to be at the spot in 10 minutes. So, technically we would reach the spot at the same time. The plan was that I should get down at the Sagar Complex bus stop, which is 15km away from Hyderabad city, from where he picks me up and starts our journey. The driver turned on the FM in the car, and I heard a rear song there, “Chana Chayya Chayya Chayya…”. The song added an extra creamy layer to my happiness and lit up the mood even further. I started humming the song while watching through the window, feeling the cool breeze.

 

As expected, I got down at the Sagar complex bus stop at 11.30pm. That was a very less dense area, and barely I could see anyone at that time. The only living creatures I can see are the dogs- barking and running all over the streets. I dialed his number sitting on the bench at the bus stop, but he didn’t pick up my call. I thought he was driving and stopped calling him again as he should be very nearby. I thought of continuing watching the 'The Family Man' series that I left in the lunch break, in this small gap, but my phone says low battery, only 9%, leave me peacefully! There was no way to watch the series now, considering my phone’s condition. So, I kept my phone away and started observing my surroundings.

 

Just about twenty meters from the bus stop where I sat, there was a tree to my left. The streetlight was a bit far from the tree, so I could see the picture in an unclear manner. All that I could see was a person standing beside the tree on that foggy nightfall. I thought the person was waiting for the last bus to Ibrahimpatnam, a nearby village from Sagar Complex. My hands went back to my mobile to call my friend. This time, he picked up the call and told me that his bike got punctured and he was at the mechanic shop. I got so angry with him, and I cut the conversation without uttering a single word. I started scrolling Instagram and hitting likes for every other post on my newsfeed.

 

After some time, suddenly, I felt like someone was watching me for a long time. Without any further look, I turned my face towards the person beside the tree. Though the picture is not clear, I can clearly see that he turned towards me and was staring at me. I changed my look the other way and casually turned towards him again to check whether he was looking at me again. I can see no change in his position. He is still staring at me. This brought a slight tension in me. I unlocked my phone to call my friend again but no answer.

 

The time was 11.55pm. I called my friend again, and suddenly my phone got switched off. My heart started beating abnormally. I got an idea to stare back at him so that he would be embarrassed and change his looks. I gathered my wits and stared back at him angrily for about 2-3 minutes. But there is no change in his position. Suddenly, a thought came to my mind, and that panicked me even more. A ghost!

 

It was 12AM at midnight! It's known for demon's party time. I had heard many rumors about city outskirts like this village from my childhood. The stories that my dad used to tell me when I was a child terrified me at once. The headless ghost, The long-haired Jaganmohini, korivi deyyam, Kashmora...oh no. Sweat all over my face dropping down to the neck. I didn’t want to jump to any conclusion before I was clear about whether that was a person or a ghost. I intended to combat and confirm what it was. Yeah! I decided to do that. I didn’t want to hold my fear unnecessarily. ‘If it’s a human, I don’t have to fear. If it’s a demon, I’ll remember my courage after I became the ghost!’ I thought.

 

I started my steps towards the tree. My body was shaking and sweat occupied my palms and soles. My heart was beating heavily, that I could clearly count it in that silence. My ears were burning so badly, and my tongue was desperate for water on that chilled winter night. But my eyes are determined to know the truth. Even the breezy air could not dare to close my eyes.

With each step, I was remembering one horror movie I watched till now. Kanchana, Bhoot, Anabelle, Evil dead, and the Nun. When a thought of the Nun movie struck my mind, I closed my eyes unintentionally with fear. But then I was afraid to open my eyes, imagining the ghost would stand just in front of me, waiting to look into my eyes as in all those horror movies. I couldn’t dare to open my eyes and I closed them even tighter. Tears rolling down from my closed eyes with fear. I want to scream and cry aloud but dare not to.

“Lavanya”, a shout from my friend made me open my eyes. He is just beside me with his bike. I was happy, angry, and sad at the same time. But I don’t know how to express them and I’m not in the position to express them. I got on his bike quickly, keeping my face downwards. When we were reaching the tree, which was a few meters away, I rolled my eyes towards my left without lifting my face, to confirm again. I was shocked by what I saw. I could not take back my look in any other direction even I’m going far from that tree, till the picture disappeared completely and vanished in the fog.

 

It was two different trees attached slightly to each other and were in a very close position. In between them, there was an old cloth that resembled a loose t-shirt to me, and the other tree which grew shorter with a strong trunk showing its one-third part mislead me as if it was a person. Finally, I realized that nature presented a well-depicted horror film for me. What a dumb ass I am!

 

It took me a few minutes to read through the picture. I felt so relaxed and featherlight knowing that my last one hour was a fair fake horror play. I leaned towards him in sheer relaxation, touching my right cheek to his back while my hair started dancing to the rhythm of the breezy air and while the foggy pathways teasing me mischievously.