Ghost and Whisky

I was the owner of this old building. I was in Canada for all the golden days of my life. I have this building in England which is my ancestral property. People say that the building is old and the building is left unoccupied. Now I was old, alone and I was not afraid of any ghosts. I was ready to sit with any ghost and hear the story if the ghost wishes to tell me.  I was ready to occupy one room in third floor.

It was a huge old building. It stands in the darkness like a ghost. The upper stories of this building are unoccupied for years. The reason is that this building is near the open graveyard and may people believe that this building is not without ghosts. You can see the dust and cobwebs everywhere in this building. It seems like this building is the close friend for the dead living in the tombs for many years.

I am not worried anymore for the dead as it was not that much fear for me. I am a man loving solitude and silence. I am not afraid of the spirits living in the tombs and I don’t feel bad or uncomfortable to invade the privacy of the dead.

I climbed up the stairs of dusty and filthy smell to reach my room. For the first time in my life, I am feeling very warm and comfortable to walk in to the darkness on the stairway and an invisible cobweb of ghost touched my face and clung there. I did not bother as I was ready to face it even if this is a real ghost I am going to meet.

I reached my room without any problem and the darkness helped me like it is torch showing me the way. The cigarette is burning between my lips and a warm feel is comforting the body. I sat in the old cushioned chair for hours, smoking and drinking brandy. I am thinking of bygone times. I am recalling the old scenes and summoning half-forgotten faces out of the darkness of the past. I was listening the silence with the great interest. It is very familiar song that nobody can sing except the past.

Pathos turned sadder and sadder. The rain outside is angry beating against everything he sees and the noises outside subsided slowly. The people in the tombs are sleeping with no noises.

The tiny fire at the end of the cigarette is over. I start feeling lonely. I got the bed ready. I covered up in bed and slowly listening to the music of rain and wind. I hear some sounds of doors closing and opening with loud noises from distance and these sounds lulled me to sleep.

I slept as sound as a baby, but I do not know how long. All of a sudden, I found myself awake. All was dead silence around, but my own heart beat I could hear. I found that the bed sheet began to slip away slowly toward the foot of the bed. I felt that someone is pulling it. The blanket slipped deliberately away. Now my breast was uncovered. I started counter action. I seized the bed sheet and drew it over my head. Then I waited, tried to listen something, waited and waited. I hear only the noises if rain outside.

Once more the bed sheet is pulled down, and once more I started dragging up. At last I was successful and snatched the bedcover back to original place. The pulling is started again and it grew stronger and stronger. I groaned and the groan as the answer came from the foot of the bed. The drops of sweat started dropping from my forehead.

I was more amid the dead than with the alive. I heard heavy footsteps in my room. The footsteps are not like anything human. I heard footsteps approaching the doors of my room. They wander away among the dismal corridors, straining the floors till they creaked again as they passed. Now there is silence spread around once more.

I was in extreme excitement. I thought that I am busy seeing a dream. “This is a dream, may be a bad dream.” I thought. Then I got relaxed. “Wow, Just dream!” I thought. Now I am completely relaxed. I was not a worried man. I was fully a normal person now.

I lay looking in the darkness until I convinced myself that it was a dream. Then a smile that comforts me appeared on my lips. I got up and put on a light. I found that the lock and bolt were just as I had left them. It made me smile again. My placid breathing was cut short with a gasp. In the accumulated dust on the floor, I found some other person’s footprints with my footprints. I found that there was another in the room and I realized that I had a visitor.

I put out the light and returned to bed. I was not without fear. I lay a long time peering into the darkness and listening. I heard a grating noise overhead like the dragging of a heavy body across the floor. I noticed the shaking of my windows in response to the concussion. I heard the muffled slamming of doors in distant parts of the building. I heard stealthy footsteps creeping in and out among the corridors. Sometimes these noises approached my door and went away again.

I heard muttered sentences, half-uttered screams coming violently. I became conscious that my building was invaded and I was not alone. I heard sighs and breathings about my bed and mysterious whisperings. I saw pallid faces which are dimly luminous and white uplifted hands, floating bodiless in the air. These were floating a moment and then disappearing. The whispering ceased and the voices and the sounds followed.  I found a solemn stillness in the atmosphere. I waited and listened. I was shivering with fear.

When everything was still once more, I crept out of bed. I was sick and feeble. I put on the light. I saw a big foot print before my bed. My furniture and other things in the room are old, may be older than a hundred years. I fell into a dreamy contemplation of that great footprint in the dust. My forefathers are not that much heavy. I noted the clear approach of not one, but many ghosts nearer and nearer.

I got enough courage and looked in to the darkness as if I am seeing the ghost with heavy body before me.

I was happy as if my cheerful spirits returned at once and I posed like I was in sympathy with them. I was so glad to welcome the company of the ghost of heavy body as I was the friendly to greet the giant.

“Hi, do you know, you had scared me for the last few hours? In fact, I am honestly very glad to see you.” I said in cheerful tone.

“Yes, I know that you look like that. Can I sit in a chair?” Ghost asked politely.

“Why not, you can sit. But I am afraid the old chairs in my home are not good for you. I know you are heavy. I suggest you to sit on the floor”

I said with some expectation that he is with a heavy body. My guess is with the dragging sounds I heard and the big footprint on the floor in the dust I saw.

But it was too late. He was in one chair before me. I never saw a chair shivered so in my life. It was finally broken and some pieces of the chair are shattered in the room.

“Do you ruin all the furniture in my room? Sit here before me.”

I also got down from the bed and sat on the floor. I understood that the ghost sat before me with the heavy body. He is like a warrior and he is a drunken ghost. Whisky smell is coming from him.

“I am sorry friend. I know that I am heavy, but I don’t know that your furniture is so weak.” The ghost said.

“Yes, my furniture is weak, because it was as old as hundred years or more.” I said.

“You don’t know one thing my friend. I am wandering from hundred years or more and all these years, you know, I did not sit and I did not talk to anyone. First time I am talking and so I tried to sit first time in the chair, but unfortunately your furniture is broken. Are you unhappy for the broken chair?” The ghost enquired.

“No, no. I am not at all unhappy. You know, I came from Canada just today and took the keys from my agent and entered here.” I said with assured tone.

“Oh, I see. This is the reason why I could not see you all these days here. Is it your building?” The ghost asked.

“Yes, this is my building and all these years it was vacant just because of you.” I made a complaint on him.

“Sorry friend. This is the building I have constructed. I was a marine business man. My son James cooper sold this to some Henry.” The ghost said.

“Yes, that Henry is my ancestral forefather.” I said confirming his doubt.

“Well, I will not break any more furniture.” The ghost said with a sorry as if he weeping for the broken chair.

“Forget friend,” I said, “I should not have been so harsh with you.” I said consoling the ghost.

As he stopped sobbing, I gave him a cigarette. I lighted his cigarette. I lighted one for me. We are smoking and speaking.

“I have Brandy brought from Canada. Do want to have some?” I asked him.

“I am sorry. I take only whisky.” The Ghost said.

“I have no whisky now. I can arrange whisky for you tomorrow.” I confirmed.

“It’s okay. No problem, I had my whisky today in the cellar.” The Ghost said.

Now I can see him. My eyes adjusted and saw him in marine dress. His face is swollen with booze. He looks like a soft hearted person. He looked at me with some hesitation.

I understood that. He wants to say something to me. His hesitation is not suppressed.

I asked him to get relaxed. I asked him, “How many are here?”

“We are total five. All the rest four are my assistants on the marine voyage. Now I want to tell you one secret.”

As the ghost was telling, I wondered what the secret will be. I was trying to understand something that the ghost is about to tell me.

“Tell me tomorrow. No problem.” I said with an effort to make the ghost comfortable.

“No, I will tell you. I could not tell this to my son, I was dead all of a sudden and the secret is buried with me.”

I was looking at the ghost of marine merchant. He is in full intoxication of whisky.

“I have buried million gold coins under the ground in the kitchen. As I could not say this truth, my son was in debts and this building is sold to your ancestral grandfather. If he knows about the treasure, he might be the richest person and he needs not sell this building.” The Ghost said.

“Yeah, I know.” I said.

The ghost took me in to an underground cellar. There are whisky bottles. Number empty bottles are there. I understood that this is the place where he drinks his whisky daily.

The ghost opened the new bottle and finished it in no time. I was wondering that the ghost was a well to do one while he is alive.

Ghost took a sharp tool and started digging the ground at one place. I found that a leather bag is there and it is full with gold coins.

“What can I do with this treasure?” I asked the ghost.

“I am called the ghost of whisky while I am alive. Now my whisky bottles are with me even after I am dead. You do anything with this money. You can start whisky factory. But don’t allow anyone here. I want to stay here with you and I will guide you in your new venture.”

The Ghost said and soon the whisky manufacturing factory is opened.

When I ever I want to speak with the ghost, I take a bottle of whisky and go to the cellar. I find the whisky ghost there. He slowly comes to me, takes the whisky bottle and while drinking he gives his valuable suggestions.

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