A Sinister Night

I still wonder about that night, still that recognition converts my face pale, still that clogs my further thinking. One night that completely changed me actuality.

I remember the date well. It was 17th March 2018. It will be no wrong to mention it as the calamitous day in my life's calendar.

I had no idea that a dream can be true ever. We finished our respective dinners.

"Saurav, go to your bed", my mom ordered me. My mom was a superstitious lady so she wanted me to sleep early that night as it was a full moon and according to my mom's superstition, it's a night that attracts spirits.

"I will go after few minutes mom", I exhorted her. But a superstitious person has no eardrums. She didn't listen to me and strictly ordered me to go to sleep.

My mom was a grump too so I got on to my bed as I didn't wanted her to be lambasted. I picked up my cellphone and started to scroll down to proceed further with the time. Gradually, I started to travel in the world which comes after my eyes being closed. Everything was dark there but what was that?

Something yellowish was attracting me towards itself. I didn't have any idea what it was. I just started moving towards that strange radiation. Believe me, it was as if something was calling me to pay some contribution of mine. I went on!!

I noticed a board informing me the location and it's translucent visibility took my great attention.

Omg!! It was a crematorium. What the hell I was there for?? I heard people moaning in the pain of separation.

There was a plethora of individuals crying as loud as they could. I thought as if someone was assassinated. They all gathered there for his condolence.

Yes, it was him. Till then I was aware that there was a male burning on the pyre. Someone coming out from the cremation ceremony informed me that a dead man was in the fatal fire. I found myself with zero percent interest so I simply went aside to piss off. But still that fire was enthralling me. It was calling me as if to collaborate in the ceremony. I went on and till then I was a part of the moaning crowd. I inquired about the dead man.

Ohh!! I was completely shocked. The night became darker. That news left me completely unconscious. Heart started thumping as it would break all my rib cages. It was my own maternal uncle. How could it be possible? He met me 4 days ago. He was absolutely fine then what happened to him suddenly?

I inquired and came to know that he had a cardiac arrest and brain hemorrhage simultaneously. His blood pressure had fallen suddenly. His eyes burst off. What a situation it was! A moment ago, I was pissing with a relaxation. One news completely disturbed my mind.

The man who had a name few days back was heralded a body now. Still I controlled myself. I thwart my emotions to be expressed. I don't know why I controlled it but I think it was my male egoism which didn't let me cry like a child.

The cremation was done after about an hour. Everyone was departing towards their respective homes disturbing the silence of nature with their buzzing.

I was still there at the crematorium. Everyone went out. I was all alone. I was baffled then. Jackal howling increased my fear. I was scrabbling. I started to run faster than I ran earlier when a street dog was showing his love in a bizarre manner.

After running about 100 meters, something adhered me. Oh shit I was sloshed. I somehow managed myself. I started to walk when suddenly a screech struck my ears. My face turned pale. Someone was calling me. I looked around but no one was visible there .

From a far distance, a shivering light emitted behind the trees. I was eager to know about it. I followed the path of emission. I shrugged off the leaves and started to travel among the deadly combination of darkness and the silence. With a bereavement in the first chamber of my heart and a deadly fear in the second, I was initiating to get to the goal I was pacing for.

Instantly a howling made me to adhere to a tree which was almost exhausted. The only tree which had no leaves on it. I noticed this when I looked around. And what was that?? On the tree?? Omg!! That was an owl. I saw it for the first time ever in my life. I am thankful to my nightmare for only a reason that it made me possible to feel the appearance of an owl. But I was shivering with fear. My heart was thumping. I wanted to run out of all this shit but something defied my legs to proceed backward.

I had no idea what was going to happen later? That was my indelible moment when I was doing something without any motive or without any of my profits. Somehow I reached my destination. Ultimately that source from where the light was emitting was apparent. I accelerated myself. As close I was going to the destination, as aggrandize it was appearing to me. And till then it was completely in front of me.

It was a ruined palace. With spider nets over everywhere. I was proceeding inside the palace but suddenly I stopped. I listened to something. I stood there for a while and was trying to understand what that sound was? I listened to it for many times. Till I could understand. It was a lullaby. But listening to it in a male's cacophonous sound was something strange to me.I have never ever seen a father singing it to make his child fall asleep.

All this thinking stopped instantly when I opened the gate and saw the emitter of that cacophonous. He was not less than any nightmare. His complexion was extremely white. White that was on its verge. His grey hair was showing his experience of age. His eyes were a reddish like he has just finished a smoking session of marijuana. He was in black clothes with a white sash on one of his shoulders. He indicated me to get inside the palace. I entered without any second thought. I don't know what was there in the old fellow which led me to do as he said. He subjugated me..... I think.

"Get inside, no need to worry" he told me. I was in a subconscious phase of mind, I thought twice for the first time. I was thinking whether I should get inside. But before I could think further, I was inside the palace.

Doors were closed!!

I saw a chandelier that made me to look around everything. The whole path along which I traveled to this palace was travelling in my mind. Woah!!! Now I recognized it very clearly. It was the same palace which I saw in my previous nightmare.

"Don't be so tensed. Although you should be, because your coming day would leave you in a shock." He told me in a very unusual manner.

I thought he was a senile or who else would inform me about a bad future of mine and would advice me to not to be so tensed? He was on the verge of death surely that's why he was talking about such nonsense. But his words were boisterous. I was about to die with his words only. He laughed out loud after seeing my reaction. He started his lullaby again and suddenly he got evanescent.

Doors opened and what I saw was just unbelievable. The man was outside the ruined palace. He started wandering around and started to move towards the direction of crematorium. I followed him up and he turned around and choked my neck. I did my best to escape but I found myself unsuccessful.

"Lo aa gya purani haveli ka budha aadmi" he screamed at me.

I started to pray to every God I knew. Perhaps not more than 4 or 5. I started shrieking.

"Saurav-saurav wake up! What happened??" I woke up with a coldness in my blood. With frozen cardiac muscles.

My amygdala was performing at its best. Fear was running through my each vein. Oooohh I regained my consciousness. There she was.... My mom. She held me tightly. I embraced her for a long duration of time. I sat there for a while expecting a dose of relaxation. I was solitary till then. I wanted to tell the whole nightmare to my mom. I was going through my room and suddenly my phone rang!! I picked up the call. And I was numb!!!! I didn't ever expect that call. That was the day when I felt back to back shocks, back to back sorrows. How could it be possible? How a nightmare can be true so quickly? From the other side someone informed me that my maternal uncle had left us few minutes ago.

I was agonizing if my uncle enrolled himself into my nightmare. I ran as quick as I could to inform the news to my parents. I was outside the room and heard some cackling. I partially opened the door and got stuck at what I saw. An old man was there in front of my father. The same complexion. With same grey hair.

I gathered all my courage and entered into the room. I informed them about the news I heard. The same crackling broke into moaning. Both my parents were in sorrow and they never noticed the old fellow. But that man was looking at me with a baleful smile. He came and embraced me and then something happened in which every sorrow was swept away.

"Lo aa gya purani haveli ka budha aadmi" he murmured into my ears. He left my house. He left a fear inside me. He left me with a sorrow. He left me with few sleepless nights.