Midnight Travel

     

NOTE: This story is based on Author’s fiction. It does not apply to any historical incidents or real-life references. The story follows Linear narration this time with a slight change in the climax portion of the story. This story is a memorial tribute to my close friend Aariyaan, who passed away on 24^th October, 2022 in an accident.

NOVEMBER 14, 2018

OOTY, TAMILNADU

10:30 PM

Since November is a very cold month in Ooty, it was extremely cold that night. In the bus terminal of the city Wellington, the local city bus was ready to complete its last trip to Mettupalayam. When the bus leaves from the bus terminal, the bus was fully filled with passengers. But when the bus stops armed one by one, everyone started to depart.

Now there are only seven more stops to go to the final city, in such a case. Now there are no one in that bus. In that bus, a driver who was nearly 40-years old, and a bus conductor was an young man. The bus was managed by yhe local state transport of Tamil Nadu. Likewise, on that night along with the driver and conductor, the bus was going alone in that route.

On that cold night, there was no one in that route. Only the driver and young conductor of bus was going. Now the bus stops at a stop. A total of four people boarded the bus there. Among them, was an 19-year old young woman Darshini. A young couple who were 20 and 25 years old. And Darshini’s school classmate Aariyaan(a 20-year old young boy from Chinnampalayam, Pollachi), so a total of four people were boarding in that bus stop.

Now there were a total of six people in that bus including the driver and the conductor. Darshini sat on a middle seat of the bus as soon as she boarded. Aariyaan sat in front of her. Those young couples sat behind the driver’s seat. Now the bus were only six stops behind to reach it’s destination.

KOTHAGIRI-COONOOR ROAD

12:45 AM

Since this is the last bus on that route, it was very late at night. Not only that, it was very cold outside and was continuously snowing. There are no vehicles like cars, trucks and even human trafficking on the road. Only this bus was travelling alone on that road. Since there were less people on the bus, the entire bus was in dead silence. Not only that, since the area where the bus is going on is surrounded by a dense forest and a number of sharp bends (being a hilly road). Only the sound of the bus engine was heard.

When the bus was passing through the dense forest and sharp bends, suddenly the bus driver thought, “Why this is happening today? Normally, there will be no passenger at this time. But today, why there are so many of them? Who are they? Why they are standing in the middle road instead of the bus stop?” He started to murmur in his mouth.

When the young conductor saw him murmuring, he looked at the front of the road. There, two people were standing in the middle of the road and waving at the bus to stop. Actually, now it’s the driver’s choice whether to stop the bus or not. Because they are not standing in the bus stop but in the middle of the road.

But because of the cold weather outside and it is the last bus out of the route, Suppose if they miss the bus, they don’t know how long they have to wait for the next bus. So the lite hearted conductor, asked the driver to board them up, since it was the last bus.

“If we didn’t board them up, there will be no other bus.” He said and pleaded him to stop the bus. Initially the driver feared that they might be thieves and they could do something bad to them. Afterward, he stopped the bus near those two people who were standing in the thick forest.

Because it was very dark there, and there was no enough light inside and outside the bus, they couldn’t see clearly what was outside the bus. So they couldn’t talk to the persons who were standing outside. They were boarding through the back stairs of the bus. Only after they boarded, they came to know that, it was 3 people that stood outside and not 2.

And among those three, two people were holding a person in between them. All three of them were wearing a very old and traditional dress of Ooty. So they couldn’t see their face very clearly. Even so, the faces of the two people looked very pale. As soon as they got to the bus, they sat on the last seat of the bus.

Now in the bus, except the driver and conductor, the remaining four people started to get scared after seeing them. An uncomfortable and scary atmosphere were prevailing inside the bus.

The young conductor who noticed this, for those four people, that is, Darshini, Aariyaan, and the young couples, said them:

“Don’t be afraid, there are many shooting film industries in this town. So they might have returned after finishing the shooting. Or they might have drunk too much. That’s why those two people are holding that man. Why because, have you looked at their costumes? They didn’t even have a time to change that. The person in the middle seems to be drunk heavily. He didn’t even have consciousness. I have seen many people like this as a bus conductor. I have many such experiences.”

So she asked everyone not to be scared. The passengers also know that there are many people in the city who are in film industry. So they thought that, it was just like what she said. So everyone was relaxed and normalized except one. And it was Darshini.

Darshini is still nervous. She kept on looking at those three people who were sitting at the back. Since there is no one at the next bus stops and since no one boarded the bus, the bus kept on going. Now, the young couples who was sitting behind the driver, got down, when they reached their stops.

The young couples didn’t know what. But as soon as they got off the bus, they felt relieved. They felt like they escaped from some big danger. The bus which dropped them. Now, the driver, lady conductor and Darshini. Aariyaan was sitting in front of them, and those three people who were sitting in the last seat of the bus. Only they were on the bus now.

When that bus was going, suddenly Swarsha stood up. And looked at Aariyaan who was in front of her, and started to shout like something crazy. She asked him, “Aariyaan. Tell me the truth. Whether you took my purse when you boarded the bus. My purse is missing da…You should have taken it.” And she asked him to return her purse.

A shocked Aariyaan said, “Hey Darshini. How can I take your purse? Are you crazy? I’m sitting in front of you. How can I take it? I didn’t take it.”

Seeing this, the conductor came and asked what happened. To that, Darshini said that he stole her purse. The conductor who understood the situation told her: “Look here. Definitely he didn’t take it. He was sitting before you, how he can take your purse madam?” And he added that: “She might have missed it somewhere.” But that young girl started fighting that he only stole it. She asked the driver to stop the bus at the next stop.

“I am going to take him to the police station. After going there we’ll know whether he took my purse or not?”, she said.

Now Aariyaan said, “I didn’t have any problem, Darshini. Because I never took it. Even if we go there, the police will say that I’m innocent.”

ARUVANKADU

3:30 AM

Now the bus stopped at the next stop called Aruvankadu. The door opens and both Darshini and Aariyaan got down. The bus door closes and the bus started to leave. Darshini was looking at the bus continuously. Only after the bus disappeared from her sight, she felt relieved and took a deep breathe.

Aariyaan who was standing in the road with Darshini became very angry after seeing this. He asked the girl, “Hey Darshini. Why are you standing here?” And he asked her to go to the police station. Darshini said that they are not going to the police.

Then Aariyaan asked whether she is really crazy. He asked her, “This is the last bus for me. How can I go to hometown?”

“Don’t you know, you should thank me. I saved your life.” Darshini said to Aariyaan. Aariyaan becomes confused when he heard this.

“What? You saved my life! What are you saying? I couldn’t understand, Darshini?” said the young man. For that the lady said, “Aariyaan. Those three people who got on the bus in the middle of the way, they are not human beings.”

“What are you saying?” asked Aariyaan.

“Yes, I have had my doubts since their arrival. I had a feeling that something was wrong. So I turned around and looked them continuously. That’s when suddenly a breeze came into the bus. And their dresses were slightly lifted up. At that time I saw them, they has no legs. First I thought it must be any imagination or delusion. But again when I watched it carefully, then only I came to know that it is not a human being. It is something else.” Aariyaan was terribly shocked and tensed upon hearing this from Darshini.

“It was definitely ghosts only. I not only saved myself, but to save your life also, I said my purse was missing and you only took it and we got off at the next stop by saying that we are going to the police station. So no one will suspect us and most importantly those three people. After Janani and Adhithya, you are one of my close friend during our school days. So only I saved you. Because I didn’t wish to lose a precious soul” said Darshini.

And what did Aariyaan immediately said was, “Then you could have told to the crew member of the bus. We could have saved them also, Darshini.”

For that, Darshini said: “I already told to that conductor, Aariyaan. But when I said, she said that it was my illusion. And she also said me not to be scared.” Now Aariyaan asked her: “Ok. What can we do now?”

Darshini said: “Aariyaan. We can go to the police station.” Both of them went to the police station to tell everything that had happened. When they went to the police station, they told all the details of what had happened. But which police will believe the story they tell. So they didn’t file a report, instead they said that they will look after it and sent them to their house.

Both Aariyaan and Darshini went home.

NOVEMBER 15, 2018

Now, the next day, On November 15, 2018 morning, the bus terminal officers in Wellington noticed that the bus didn’t reach it’s destination. Not only that, the bus was last seen when it was four stops before the destination. After that the bus was not seen by anyone.

They filed an official complaint in Wellington police station that: “The bus and the crew member were missing.” So they informed all the police station that the bus crossed. That’s how, On the night of November 14^th, the information came to the police station where Darshini and Aariyaan complained.

Immediately the police officer called both of them, and recorded the statement of what happened that night. After that, this news started to spread all over Ooty. Darshini and Aariyaan started to give interviews to the magazine. These were the headlines of the newspapers of that day. The rumors said that the bus was teleported.

But the next day, that is, two days after the incident, bus was founded. Where the bus was found is…85 km away from the place where both the lady and the young man got down. That is, in the opposite direction where the bus actually want to go, and that too, it was also found in Bhavani river in a sunken situation. Also there were five dead bodies in that bus.

They immediately took out the bus from the river. Now there were doctors, police and more people. All the five dead bodies were taken out from the bus. Seeing that, everyone who was standing there was very shocked. Why because, among those five dead bodies only the driver and the conductor’s dead bodies were correct. And normal. But the dead bodies of those three people were in a very rotten condition.

That means that is, it was like left for several days, in a single day.

20^TH OCTOBER 2022

CHINNAMPALAYAM, POLLACHI

8:30 AM

“Okay, now let’s decode about this incident.” Aariyaan said to his friends Dinesh, Rohan, Varsha, Adhithya and Rahul Tharun. They were terribly shocked and frightened after Aariyaan finished his narration.

A few seconds later, Aariyaan continued: “Actually it was not a true story da. It was an urban-legend story.”

A now-relieved Rohan asked him: “Oh. Is it an urban-legend story? I see.”

“What is urban legend story?” asked Adhithya to which, Aariyaan said: “Urban Legend story means…like the stories of devil, demon, and ghost in our villages. Like that, each country has many stories that are suitable for that country and that town. And there will be many characters. And this bus number 375 is one among them.”

“What? Bus number 375 ah?” Rahul Tharun laughed. Now, Aariyaan revealed to him that: “It was an urban legend stories said by Chinese people. I changed the settings to suit the people of India and Tamil Nadu.”

Pausing for five minutes, he said that: “There are many versions of the story. The names also, Bus 375- Beijing, The last bus to Fragrant Hills, The mid-night bus. There are lot of names like this. Not only that, there was only small amount of petrol in the bus 375. And it has no petrol to travel 100 kilometers and drowned in that river and when the police pulled over the bus and opened the petrol for checking, they said that there was blood all over the petrol tank. In another version, bus number 375 was not found yet. Even now some people say that they have seen this bus on the same road at night.”

“Do you like to add any other versions in that story for your short-film da?” asked Dinesh, who had been hired as an editor by Aariyaan. Apart from Dinesh, there were three more people, hired by Aariyaan for his short-film. He hired Adhithya as the screenwriter, Rahul Tharun as the Cinematographer and Photographer. While, Rohan and Aariyaan’s close friend Varsha was chose to play the role of the young couples. 

“Yes. I wish to write like this. I and Darshini went missing the day after the interview.” Adhithya and Dinesh were amused upon hearing this version. They said: “It would be thrilling and enthralling experience da.” After few minutes, Aariyaan fixed a date for shooting their upcoming short-film once he comes back from Mysore, where he is leaving on October 22^nd, 2022 with his family members.

When leaving the house of Aariyaan, Adhithya suddenly got a question in his mind. He asked him: “Ah! Aariyaan. Have you decided the title of this short-film?”

Thinking for a minute, he replied him: “Yes. I decided the title buddy. It’s The Midnight Travel.”