Suspense Short Story – Ghosts of 2012
Photo credit: lynette from morguefile.com
The very word strikes fear. The same word has been used by show-off and drama queens to make their so-called life experiences to sound cooler. but then, my dear friend , what really is a ghost?!
Its a natural feeling that goes in every bodies mind when you walk through that lonely Sunday street with gloomy street lights hovering upon you, When you go past that dark ally without seeing the darkness hidden inside, even when you are seeing a little girl appearing out of no-where in those Chinese movies that you watched with your beloved ones. Personally,i never actually had these natural feelings….
I don’t believe until i see,that was my mantra. Be it an Apollo space mission or a 3-foot dog,if my eyes didn’t see i don’t believe I still remember that eerie afternoon when my perspective changed,the afternoon after which i was never the same.
“why don’t we go and check out that place?!” asked Manoj,who happens to be one of my best friends.
“nahh! i might as well check out Facebook” i replied fiddling with my touch screen.
He was basically talking about a haunted place near his house that has been spooking him for almost a month now. He thinks that he has seen a figment of an old lady sitting in one of those empty rooms kneading a thread when he and his mates when looking for their miss-skewed football.
“why does it always have to be an old lady?!” i would joke. but he was determined to convince me one day since i was only one who didn’t believe to his usual stories
He lived in a railway quarters, surrounded by trees which made 6 o’clock seem to be 8 pm. we had it all planned out. 6 pm- video cam, snacks, helpline number; 6.15 pm- documentary of the paranormal; 6.20 pm- Return to base. For Manoj this 20 minute expedition seemed to be like watching goosebumps day and night and you could make that out from his funny face reactions.
“* psst* don’t you think this is too early for a haunting?! i mean seriously macha, 6 pm???” i whispered , feeling the gloomy surrounding getting to my brain
“shush! its just the perfect time….” he said, carefully entering the abandoned house with lots of dead leaves on the path and of coarse lot of insects as well.
i was getting a little nervous, the yellowish street light wasn’t doing any good either, being in a place like that seemed to have some effect on me.
“its locked man! let’s go back!” i said, looking at the huge lock on the door.
“you don’t expect it to be opened do you?! this is not a movie , this is real…you gotta jump the window to get inside”
These words made things serious, I thought “you gotta be kidding me” but it was a “get the hell out of here” rather.
Slowly and steadily we went near the window pane, i could feel the chillness of the night creeping in…The absence of a torch light in our “mission twilight” seemed to have a great effect
Manoj was leading the way with me having the camera like a machine gun, very much cautious to see anything that moves in the screen.
suddenly I saw that very old woman.MY BLOOD FROZE.
The aftermath was pretty much obvious, we tore down the compound like wild bees , I almost tripped on my way out and I haven’t seen Manoj run that fast without his girlfriend nearby.
It was the next day. I was totally convinced that i was normal and i had those natural feelings . It was lunch hour. The hour of gossips. I was mocked at for being a coward, and i wondered “what was that all about?!”
Facebook time. i was more than happy that Manoj had tagged me in something. It turns out that the old lady was Manoj’s neighbor who had been seriously interested in making funny videos. and without a clue i have fallen for it. It was worth a good laugh though. but still, if Manoj hadn’t tagged me, i would have still thought ghosts were real.
So thank you for reading and i might as well stop writing because there is a scarier thing waiting to engulf me.scarier than ghosts. its them…….the EXAMS!!!!
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