A Twist in the Tale: Story 2 : E-Spirit D Corpse

Chirag was very excited. He was going to play the Ouija board along with his room mates, Tharur, shan and Seth. The Ouija board, also known as the spirit board or the talking board, marked with numbers, letters and symbols, was popular among teenage girls. They believed that the board would help them contact the dead and ask them questions about their future. Chirag and the others had heard some girls from their class talk about it. They had used the board to find out details about their so called love lives, and were animatedly talking about their séance session. Chirag had got hold of the board from one of the girls, who, after a lot of coaxing, had agreed rather reluctantly to lend it to him, “but just for an hour”.

 He set the board and the coin on the floor and went to call out to his friends, “Hey Shan, Seth, Tharooor!!! Come on guys! I have to return the board to Sylvia in another hour. Chop chop guys!!!” Tharur entered followed by the other two. They closed the door behind them and sat down. “Come on man Chirag!! Where’s the eerie ambience?? Let’s light up some candles and incense sticks for that ‘soul soothing’ experience!!!” sniggered Seth and they all laughed. “Sorry buddy, no time for romantic candle light dinner with the spirit. Have to return the board soon!!” 

There was a knock on the door. They all turned to see their final roommate Bhagwant. . “Bhagwant bai!!! Our knight!!!” This was a standing joke among them. Bhagwant was hardly seen without his black leather jerkin and his helmet that had two fierce eyes on the black visor. He was called the “knight in shining armor” by his roommates. The only thing missing was a sword, which they had set right by gifting him a cardboard made, silver painted one on his birthday.

 “What happened to your jerkin Jerk??” said Chirag

 “It’s hot, in case you didn’t notice!!!” 

“Hey Big B, Come join us in the quest for knowledge!!!” snickered Tharur..

“What that spirit calling game eh? No spirit can tickle my soul boys!!”

 “Ha a non-believer, I see!!"

 “wha…do you guys actually believe that thing? I thought you were just playing for fun!!” 

“Alright then come join us and have some fun of your own!!!” 

“nah…. Not interested kids!!! Gotta rush. Have to stop by the hardware store and then drop my bike for service. Chi, where are my bike keys??”. 

Chirag threw it to him. “Ciao.. Let’s hope you guys attain enlightenment before I return!!!!”. Off he went. 

The others huddled around the board. “oooohh do u know what your gonna ask?” said Tharur looking at the others.

 “I’m dying to know if either Tanya or kanya is in love with me. V-Day is round the corner. Have to decide whom to approach!!!” said Shan with a teasing twinkle in his eye. 

“What if the spirit says both, boss?? What will you do then” laughed Seth. 

“Big heart, buddy, big heart!! I’m very accommodative” 

“ Ha ha… the question is are they accommodative??? And what if the spirit says neither???” asked Chirag

“No problem… Reena is next on the list. You see, my heart is adaptive too!!!!” said Shan.

 “What about you guys? What do you want to know?” Seth said, "I want to know if I’m ever going to clear any of my back log papers. I mean, if it says I’m never going to, then there is no point studying, is there. At least then I can redirect my focus on USEFUL stuff!”

 “Like what? Clicking crap with that 3000 year old excuse for a camera you own? Very useful indeed!” quipped Tharur 

“You wait and watch pal, one of these days I’m gonna convince my dad to get me a Hasselblad camera! May be I’m the one who’s gonna click a pic of you that makes you look at least human!” 

“May be we can goad the spirit into revealing some of the questions professor Davies has set for our finals!” said Chirag. 

“From when do you call him ‘professor’” mocked Shan. “Don’t we all usually call him….” “Burger bun” they all chorused. 

“I’m yet to see a bun as smooth and brown as his bald head!” laughed Shan. 

“Alright! Alright!!! We are running out of time. Let’s get on with the task” said Chirag.

 They all turned to the board. “All of you put a finger on the silver coin on the board” said Chirag. “Why silver?” asked Shan. “It’s supposed to be effective against spirits. Shhhh… no questions” said Chirag They all put their index finger on the coin. “Concentrate” said Chirag. “Close your eyes” “Holy spirit. Are you willing to answer our questions?” Suddenly the coin moved a little. All of them opened their eyes in shock. Somehow, they had thought the whole thing would be a farce or a bluff. But Slowly their fingers automatically moved the coin to “yes” on the board. 

"Guys, which one of you is doing this? Stop playing the fool!" said Chirag. His voice gave away his nervousness.

"Not me dude!". " Me neither!" said Shan, Seth & Tharur!. 

They looked at one another with fear in their eyes. They were all so dumbstruck that they couldn’t think of what to ask next. They hadn’t really expected anything to happen. 

Tharur blurted out without thinking, “How did you die?” The others were shell shocked!!! The girls had said again and again, “NEVER ASK THE SPIRIT HOW IT DIED!!!” They couldn’t take it back now. 

Before they could think of how to repair the damage, the coin started moving very fast. ‘a-c-c-i-d-e-n-t’ Shan mustered up some courage and asked,” when” ‘t-o-d-a-y’. They looked at each other, squirming uncomfortably. This spirit wouldn’t have been laid to rest yet. They should probably let it go. They were still deciding how to say goodbye when the coin started moving again. ‘k-n-i-g-h-t-w-i-t-h-o-u-t-a-r-m-o-r’

They all sat staring at the board unable to move. After a few seconds, all the roommates together turned to look in one direction. The eyes from Bhagwant’s helmet started back blankly at them.