“Auto….” I screamed
as loudly as I can but still that damn auto didn't stop.
“Damn it, that stupid Murphy’s Law always holds, these
annoying drivers would continue disturbing you when you don’t need them, and
today when I finally need them, no one would stop”
Some more minutes passed and now my frustration was
increasing with every second. It was getting late. I had to reach bus stand anyhow
by 9 pm and it was already 8:30 pm. The road was almost empty, not a trace of any motion could be seen and I, who always consider myself, as the daring and risk
taking guy, was somehow trying to remain calm and stable in this inner turmoil
to satisfy my inner ego. I have heard various stories about this path to highway and particularly how dangerous it is in night and I always discarded them as nothing but source of amusement and imagination of certain naughty people.
I was now reproaching my decision of leaving for home town
late. But the urge to go home as soon as I can and the temptation of spending
more time there, having dinner with family and funny chit chats, had blinded my
conscience for a while and I can’t do much now other then blaming myself for
showing such a hurry and impatience.
“Could have slept early and taking the morning bus would
be the right and less risky decision”, I thought.
Though I never
preferred taking lift from any stranger, may be because of my ego of not taking
favour or my nature of not disturbing others and a small trace was based on the
story I have heard of people taking lift and later robbed , kidnapped or even
subjected to syringe of AIDS by the driver.
But I was having second thoughts on the idea of taking a lift and I decided to
venture for it today.
It was a cold night and I was sweating and shivering at the
same time now. Travelling with bus was nothing new for me. My home town was
only 2 hours by bus from this city, but I was never this late. I was not even
sure that there will be buses after 9 pm. Suddenly, a sharp noise broke my thought process;
a man with a very old and noisy bike was coming. He was covered fully in an old and dark
blanket with some other woolens and not even a single part of his body was
visible. I reluctantly asked for lift, he stopped. I asked him whether he would
give me lift to the bus stand. He responded with a positive nod, without caring
to utter any word.
The bike started again with its annoying screaming like voice and I was not sure which thing was causing me goose bumps; the strange rider, the silent and chilled wind, or the sudden strange voices that were breaking the stark silence of night at regular intervals. The coincidence that this stranger agreed to carry me to bus station was also contributing to the unusual fear and insecurity in me, but I was helpless in the situation. Somehow, I was holding my breath and praying to reach station safely.
“And what made you to venture late at night for station,
sir”? He asked in an expressionless yet strange tone with a rural accent, his
voice a little uncomfortable and timid, which usually happens when villagers
talk with any urban person and becomes a little self conscious of their manner.
“Holidays started and I wanted to be at home as quickly as I
can” I replied, trying to sound confident and comfortable.
“Avoid travelling at
this time sir, roads are not safe, you must have heard stories about the roads
here” He said with a very strange tone that almost scared me.
“Are you talking about the haunted experience and encounter
with ghosts that people had on this highway?” I enquired as casually as I
could.
“No sir, the dead always lives in peace and didn't harm anyone unless provoke to do so, it’s the evil in human which we must be afraid of, peoples
are frequently robbed here and harmed by robbers and thieves, so the farther
you stay the safer you would be” He replied.
“So why are you travelling that late, you not afraid of
thieves and robbers, what makes you so safe” I commented in a sarcastic manner,
little annoyed by his remarks and advise.
“I have my reasons for travelling that I can’t avoid and
have to gone through all such risks” He replied in a tone of not pulling the
topic further.
We didn’t talked much after that, just a little, the road as
it appeared like a deserted city, not a single noise of even any creature.
Darkness was on its peak that day, it was like someone sucked light
intentionally and covered the whole sky with a dark blanket. But, darkness,
which generally is portrayed as the primary source of horror was in fact the
least reason for this tonight. It was something else, it was something unusual,
which existed, but can’t be described in words. Though I have roamed late
nights various time in streets, both with friends and alone, have studied till
dawn without giving a single thought about the time or darkness, have sit on
roofs late night gazing the stars and thinking about the vastness of the sky
and the beauty of the silence that comes only with night and the tranquillity it
gives to mind and the way it boosts positive thoughts and give peace to our
running life, a sudden stillness which relaxes the very single muscle of the
body, I never consider nights as scary but they were always the example of
beauty and a serene stillness to me.
But tonight was different. It was not beautiful, it was not
serene and it was certainly not at all relaxing. The silence mixing with the
stark darkness and loneliness was turning into something else, a source of a
feeling akin to being lost and depressed devoid of any hope of finding the path
again. In addition to all this agony, the worst thing was what broke the
silence, the small spurts of chilling wind and the hissing sound that they made
in the ears was enough to scare me. I never ever experienced such a horror; I
who used to make fun of horror movies and used to jeer the scary scenes and
characters was getting uncomfortable just because of this combination of
darkness and silence.
As it happens with us generally, all the horror movies which
hitherto were more like a comedy movies, suddenly started flashing into my
minds, and my mind started making various pictures from the darkness and
started hearing various sounds that I, somehow knew, was originating in my own
mind. I was trying to think about something else, what would I do when I will
reach home or the beautiful girl that I had just seen today in college and how
I would approach her and befriend her. Even such beautiful fantasy failed to
make any permanent place in my mind and I was back to the scary thoughts again
and again.
Lost in thoughts, timid and squeezing up my body to as less as I
can, I somehow continue to struggle in that treacherous voyage where nothing
was different and scary yet I was scared. Suddenly, the sound of motorcycle was
lost and for a moment everything halted as if power has been snapped.
“Here is the station sir and there is your bus” said the biker.
I, stupefied for a moment as we had reached much early than
the usual time, took some time to respond but all I could say was “thank you”.
“Take care sir, I wish you reach home safely and in a single
piece, there is no guarantee of it when you travel by a bus” and he started
laughing. Though, there was nothing unusual in either his tone or his joke but
somehow his joke sounded like a sarcasm or allusion to me for some bad omen and
his laugh sounded hysteric and gave me goosebumps. I still couldn’t figure out
how we reached station so early and the most frightening fact was that, I don’t
remember his face and I don’t remember if I have seen his face or there was a
face at all, all I remember is something covered in blanket and something dark
inside but I can’t figure a shape out of it.
“Good bye” He said, his bike screamed again with full
intensity, and he was lost in darkness again and at that time I realized that
his bike didn’t have any headlight and we crossed all the roads in darkness.
“The road was empty, who needs light anyway, we men can
drive with the help of our instinct” I thought, comforting myself with strange
logics that I formed so that my mind won’t started thinking about anything
paranormal.
I entered into the bus and realized I was entering into a
dimension of next level of darkness. Nothing was visible, I can figure out some
shadow figures sitting on seats silently and even I was not confirmed about it.
Suddenly, a sudden flash of light perplexed me as it went straight into my eyes
and I shouted angrily “remove it from my face, what nonsense”.
Stay tuned for the next part to see what happens in the bus, meanwhile feedbacks and suggestions are welcome !!
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