Rusha Lodh

Horror Fantasy

2  

Rusha Lodh

Horror Fantasy

An Encounter

An Encounter

6 mins
214


A year and a half?

Or two?

Memory fails me.

How have you been?

Do you recognize me?

For

I am no more the girl

You can scare off

With the same old trick. 

 

To me,

"No night is so dark as it seems."

         3:45 a.m.- showed on the phone's screen as I sat up, struggling to adjust my myopic eyes to the immediate darkness stretched to every corner of this house. Nights are now sleepless by choice; a habit I don't intend to get rid of anytime soon. Mildly sleepy, I help myself to a cup of iced milk. I enjoy tea when it's hot as summer and milk when it's cold as snowy winter. June has come to an end giving way to the beautiful possibilities of July skies. I reach up to the window and slide one open. A welcoming waft of early monsoon breeze sneaks into the room, filling it with a sweet fragrance of night flowers. Streets, presently abandoned by the humans, have bee taken over by a number of cats and dogs who, in the middle of the paths, stretch themselves peacefully. The houses look very much still and mysterious in the orangish light of streetlamps. Every now and then you can hear sounds of different kinds- the humming of air conditioning units from some of those houses, the rustling of the leaves in the wind, distinctive whistles of little nightjars as they break into urgent conversations, occasional barks of nearby strays at the night guards who, aged and bony, make rounds of the area with their flashy torches.


Ruskin Bond, in 'a Night Walk Home', shares his admiration for night's unparalleled beauty- something I can relate to despite the fact that night in the mountains is scarcely similar to that in the plains. 


It was not like this always. There was a time when this omnipresent darkness toyed with my nerves. I couldn't risk falling asleep at night for a silhouette would choke me to death had my eyes been closed. All the shadows of night seemed so alive and dead at the same time. The age of anxiety as I'd like to call it; it is when the darkness inside you is no longer separated from the darkness outside. A strange hollowness threatened fearful storms that almost tore me to pieces. 

I stood midst of a crowd waiting for the bus to home, just when, out of nowhere, swallowing up all the cries and honks, my heart started to pound so loud that I felt suffocated. No, it couldn't be love. An unknown sensation, nagging inside the stomach, soon increased to a toxic fear mixed with bile. No more my mind was capable of thinking straight. Had I eaten something poisonous?- I asked myself. Suddenly, it was a sunless gloomy day, the sky washed up in monotonous grey. What is happening to me? - I screamed inside my head but it had already been caught up in a torrent of ominous thoughts and images. What had caused this fright? My hands - cold and numb that of the dead- no longer felt mine, nor could I recognize myself. Desperate to appear undismayed by this sudden infestation of some unknown parasite, I started to look around hoping to find someone who would break the spell. No sooner had I seen a decent smile of some kid distorted into evil grimace in a flash, I knew these eyes didn't belong to me anymore. Am I being punished? Have I sinned? - It's the day I discovered, to my misery, that this body is not mine alone to abuse it according to my whims just as this mind which, too, unconsciously I share with them.


Lost in thought I take a sip of milk; it helps me to relax. The sky is bright with blobs of white clouds floating silently towards the north. My heart flutters with joy as the sight of a star glowing brightly draws my attention-shining with much grace amongst all other fellows. It wasn't there a moment ago,I am certain, for like a diamond its radiance is too pure to be ignored. I stand here holding breath while it slowly disappears into the blue, leaving no trace behind as though it never existed. Confused, I give my eyes a quick rub. Where did it go? There wasn't any cloud behind which it could hide. So, right here, in front of my eyes it died ever so elegantly- a shooting star you'd call it. Alone, standing at the window, at this very moment, I see a beautiful death that is the only mine to relish. Call me selfish if you have to, because, like many of you, I also made a wish upon a star's demise. In the time of 24 years, I have seen quite a few shooting stars, but compared to all, it has burnt the brightest. 

        

Darkness is like a weed, it overgrows in places neglected, then better avoided. An abyss where no Sun can reach to its bottom. In that stone-cold space, they live and grow up in secret, feeding on my fears and painful memories. No matter how hard I tried to run away to a safer place, they kept on following me until I reached a dead end. Terrified, gasping for air, I let out a scream in desperation for help. But, no one answered. The scream echoed bouncing off the walls only to return to me; it was their world I had escaped to. This world is a round clump of dust. The shadows, darker than any night, were drawing closer for I could now feel their coldness. In no time two hands were at my throat and bloodshot up to my head as it squeezed the air out of me. Tears started rolling down while I strived to thrash away only if I could move an inch for my entire body was paralyzed by then. My head hurt in tremendous pain- dizzy due to the absence of oxygen. Its grip further tightened to the point of crashing down the last speck of my spirit. Dark clouds of despair were slowly descending upon me when with a loud thud, outside, streaks of thunder flashed brightening up the place for less than two seconds. And, to my terror, I saw myself seated across me, except she had eyes of her own kind. I couldn't see the others nor did I want to. What kind of dream it is? Is this night not going to end? Next, I heard a voice calling out my name with alacrity; the call- unbearable- shattered the walls, the windows down to flakes. A massive wave of light flooded in turning me blind and in its intense brightness she appeared as thin as a figure cut out of paper- as powerless as a shadow. It was that night when I first saw her. 


Over the past six months, I have tended a cordial bond with the night, provided I worked night shifts for a period of time. So, with my experience, I have come to this conclusion that a night confined within four walls is far less friendly than the one you'd see outside. It's rather gentle and giving in nature if you dare to unlock the door and step outside. 

         

 A year and a half?

Past a winter and spring?

Do you remember me?

Or, you too,

 tricked by Mnemosyne?

Is the world any better

On the other side?

I am not anymore the girl

To remind you.

My wishes still

Of the girl's

Whom you saw

Lost, scared and searching eternally

For light.


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