Reminiscence

CHAPTER-1

I was woken up by my head hitting the roof of the car.

 “Ow! When did I fall asleep?” I checked my phone. It was 9 am. 

I have been in the cab for one hour. 

The train arrived later than I thought and I reached the hotel at 1 am in the morning. Also, I had to wake up at 6 to get ready for the road trip. No wonder, I fell asleep so fast.

Oh! By the way, I am Omanshi, a 25 years old software engineer. I am now on my way to my hometown, Rankhira. 

I moved out of Rankhira to the capital with my family at the age of 15. 

Honestly, it feels weird going back after such a long time. I am pretty nervous. I looked out of the window, watching the passing scenery, my mind filled with all the memories of the town. 

As I was reminiscing, the car reached its destination. 

I paid the fare and got off. In front of me were the gates of Rankhira. Beside those gates, was a small office for the security guard. 

As I walked through the gates, I was surprised.. 

It was...empty. It was as if no one ever lived here.

I have heard of the stories that go around about Rankhira. The first time I heard of it was when I was 18. They say that the people suddenly vanished overnight. When people came to check the next morning, they found that nothing was taken, but there was no one in the town anymore. 

I never thought it was actually true. But, now that I have seen it, I can’t deny those tales anymore.

 To be honest, this scares me. Where did everyone go? My friends? Teachers? How come their belongings are still here? Would I have also disappeared had I not moved out? 

Right now, I am the only soul in this town. Everything is so silent that it scares me. Not even the birds are here.

On one hand, I wanted to go back. But, I also wanted to look around more. After all, it has been so long since I saw this place. Also, I am curious. What if I find a clue to this mystery?

At the end, curiosity won over fear and I headed deeper into the town. 

CHAPTER-2

My first destination was the general store at the right side of the road. It used to be my duty to buy milk and other things from the store every morning. It became a routine - get up at 6, brush,bathe, and dress. That usually took me one hour. Then, in the next half an hour, I would eat breakfast, run to the store , get back, take my bag and then, again run to the back gates where I would meet my friends. From there, we would go to the bus stop together. 

“Hey! What’s that?” Reva asked Apeksha. 

“It’s an Anemometer. I had to make it for the science homework.” She pressed the button on the model and the cups started rotating. 

“ Oh cool!”

“That’s not how it works.” Garima started, “ Anemometer is used to measure wind speed. The cups have to move with the wind, not on their own like this.”

“Oh!” Apeksha looked down. She turned it off. 

“Don’t worry too much. Just don’t use the button to rotate it. Use the wind instead.” Shravya comforted her. 

“Hey! The bus is here. Get your bags.” I shouted from the bench, where everyone’s bags were kept. We got our bags and boarded the bus.

_____

“Omanshi, can you show me your file once?” Shravya asked.

“ I don’t have it now.” I replied. Then, it hit me, “ Wait, did we have to submit it today?”

“Yup! You forgot?” 

“Yeah, stop the bus for me.” I continued, taking off my bag, “ I will run home and bring it real quick.”

With that being said, I took off. I crossed the field and ran all the way home and back. 

Luckily, I came just in time to catch the bus.

_____

“ Last to the bus stop loses!” With that Apeksha handed her bag to her father and took off. 

“Hey! Wait for me!”

“No fair!”

“I was not ready!” 

We all then handed our bags to our fathers and took off after her. 

Our fathers followed behind, laughing at our silliness.

_____

I smiled at those memories as I entered the store. Everything was the same, just covered in dust. Packets of chips and bhujia were hanging next to the door. The shelves beside the counter still held bread at one end and stationary at the other. The fridge was also filled with all kinds of drinks. Jars of chocolate and candies filled half of the counter. I opened one of the drawers at the counter, it was filled with coins and notes. No one in their right mind would leave that much cash behind. It seems that they really vanished into thin air.

“What happened? You did not come for a long time, beta” Uncle asked. He owned the store. 

“ I just went on a family trip.” I replied.

“Oh! Where to?”

“ My mother’s hometown.”

“Ok. By the way, tell your father to come to settle the accounts.” 

“Sure.”

_____

“ One chart paper,” I said. Uncle took out a roll of chart papers and turned to me, “Colour?”

“ White”

“ That will be 8 rupees.”

“ Uncle, one set of sketch pens.” I said. I had forgotten about them on the first trip.

“That will be 20 rupees.”

“Uncle” I came for the third time, “ one bottle of fevicol.” I was out of breath by now from all that running. Uncle was at the back of the store

“ 50 rupees” He came back with the bottle. “ Come with a list if you forget so easily.” He suggested.

“ Uncle” I cried for the fourth time.

“Again?”

“This time mumma sent me. I am invited to a birthday party this evening. One Cadbury celebration pack for that.” 

I collapsed on the bed when I reached home and refused to go anywhere for the rest of the day. 

_____

CHAPTER-3

I exited the general store. Opposite to the store stood a bookshop. One could buy, sell or rent books and comics from there. I crossed the road and entered the shop. The shelves were filled with books. On the counter at the right, laid a book, open and upside down, as if someone had been reading it. I picked it up. It has collected a thick layer of dust, so has all the other books here. I wiped off the dust. It was one of the astrology books. I walked up to the shelves and placed it with other astrology books. 

The shelves held all kinds of books. From children's stories to novels, from coloring books to cooking books, from textbooks to comics.

Along with those books, this place also held several memories.

“Hey Omanshi! Omanshi! Listen!” 

I turned around to find Apeksha walking towards me. She had one of the editions of Champak in her hands. 

“Answer this. Which building has many stories but no one can live there?”

“Library.” I replied.

“Whoa! Smart.” 

“ I have read that one before.”

“Oh!” She started, “ By the way, what are you looking for?”

“Anything. I am bored.” was my answer.

It was afternoon and no one came in the afternoon. So, we had the shop to ourselves. 

Shravya was sitting at one of the corners of the shop with a Harry Potter book in her hand, Garima and Reva were looking at the celebrity news in the papers and Apeksha was searching for riddles, puzzles and jokes in the magazines.

I was the only one who couldn’t find anything that interested me. 

After looking around some more, I decided to do riddles with Apeksha.

_____

“Hey Omanshi! What did you find?” Apeksha asked. Today she was the one being bored. I had just found a section of Geronimo Stilton books to read.

“Geronimo Stilton. Let’s read it together.” 

We both went to one of the corners of the shop and sat down. 

“Read it to me. You are faster than I am.”

I started reading it to her. After some time, Reva also joined us and listened, while Garima sat with Shravya opposite us, reading Twilight.

_____

Those were good times. We would always go to the shop in the afternoons to read stories and comics. Whenever we found a comic, we would divide dialogues and try to enact it. It was fun.

I came out of the shop. I walked around, looking at all the houses that stood along the road.

I remember when we all used to roam around during the last days of Navratri, going house to house for Kanyabhoj. Our hands would be filled with plates of food, balancing 2-3 plates at once. The aunties would never let us leave without finishing the meal, so we had to carry it home. 

But, it used to be fun. We used to get gifts and money from each house and we liked that special treatment.

After all, we were just 8 years old kids back then. 

CHAPTER-4

As I was walking around Rankhira, I came across a house. I stopped. This house was still under construction when I lived here. The workers used to come in the morning and leave at sunset. It was our favourite hiding spot. Garima and I were the first to discover the place. It was a perfect spot. We would roam around the house, while keeping watch outside through the doors and windows. 

I checked the front door- it was open. I went inside. It was the first time I went in through the front door. We would always go through the back door during the game. 

The walls of the living room were painted beige. On the right side stood a sofa with a small rectangular Mahogany table in front of it. Behind the sofa, on the wall,hung a huge picture of wild horses running across a field.On the opposite wall, hung a television.

The wall in front of me was filled with shelves and glass cases, holding stuffed toys ,trophies and photographs. It would have been beautiful if everything was not covered in a thick layer of dust. I walked further into the house. I saw the kitchen was covered with colourful tiles displaying all sorts of delicacies. The shelves were filled with all sorts of spices and snacks. Even the bathroom had tiles with dolphins painted on it. Just outside the kitchen stood a fridge in the verandah. I opened it to find it filled with fruits, vegetables and dairy products. The only drawback was that they were all spoiled and expired.

I discovered that all the walls of the house were painted beige. Gingerbread brown curtains hung at the doorways and windows. 

I exited the house. I came across a number of hopscotchs drawn on the road as I walked. I jumped through all of them. It was fun. It used to be fun with all of my friends around. I couldn’t help but feel a bit lonely, roaming around this empty town. But this place held memories and a walk down this memory lane filled me with nostalgic happiness. I was glad that I came here, even if it was empty. 

My thoughts were cut off by the sound of my stomach growling. I checked the time- 12 am. It has been two hours since I came here. The last thing I ate was a sandwich at seven in the morning. 

I was hungry. 

CHAPTER-5

The next destination was my house. My stomach has been growling for the last ten minutes, so I thought it would be nice to eat at home. I was glad that I packed some food for the trip. 

When I reached home, the alley between Vanhi didi’s and my house grabbed my attention. Vanhi didi and Akhil used to park their bicycles here, but now, it was empty. This suggested that they must have also moved out before the vanishing incident. 

The doorbell rang. I opened the door to see two older boys standing there. 

“Yes?” I asked.

“We are collecting money for the preparation of a Jhanki for Janamashtmi. If you could contribute some.” One of them replied.

I told them to wait and called for my mother. She gave them 50 rupees as a contribution.

_____

“Hey! I was thinking of doing something on Janmashtami.” I started. 

“Like what?” Shravya asked.

“ How about we make a Jhanki?” Apeksha suggested. 

“What about the money? The sand and bricks? Where will we get them from?” 

“Oh! I saw some sand and bricks while going to the temple. We can get it from there.” Reva joined the conversation.

“ And we can collect money. You know, like those bhaiyas do for Dussehra.” Garima added.

“Yeah! I have also seen them make Janmashtami Jhanki. We can also try. “ I said.

“Sounds fun, So, Everyone in?” Reva asked, looking at all of us.

“Yes!” We all shouted in unison.

_____

“Ok, so Garima and Shravya can collect from that side of the town and Apeksha, Omanshi and I can collect from here.” Reva explained, pointing out the buildings for better understanding.

“ Also avoid asking from Navya didi’s house and the neighbourhood if possible. Navya didi was upset when she heard about it.” Apeksha added.

“ When did she hear about it ?”

“ She is my neighbour. She heard me discussing it with my brother.” She clarified.

“ Ok then. Let’s meet up here after we’re done.” Shravya said, then she turned to me, “ By the way, did you get approval for the spot?” 

“ Yup! Vanhi didi and Akhil will remove their bicycles for the time being. They even offered to help.” I answered.

“That’s cool. Then let’s go.”

With that, we concluded our little meeting and split up.

Both groups had a few sheets to make a list of who contributed how much and the signatures, a sling bag for notes and a box for coins. 

_____

The collection was going great. People happily contributed for the festival. We invited them to come and join us for the festival. We would also cross paths while collecting from our assigned area. Whenever that would happen, we would stop for a while to discuss the progress. 

Reva, who was with us, offered to show us the spot where she found the bricks and sand. It was more than enough for us. We also figured that we were not the only ones doing this. There were other children also who were preparing for Janmashtami Jhanki. We didn’t think much about it since this happened every year. 

We used to visit the Jhankis every year. We were inspired to make our own from them. 

_____

We were just returning from Vanhi didi’s and my house, when we heard a commotion near Garima’s house. We went to take a look.

Garima’s parents were there. In front of them stood Garima and Shravya. They were getting scolded by Garima’s mother. As we watched the scene unfold before us, Navya didi spotted us in the crowd and called us. We came forward and Navya didi’s mother also joined in the scolding.

“ What are you guys doing, collecting money like beggars?” Her mother started, “ When Navya told me, I thought you were just dreaming and would forget about it the next day. You actually went around asking for money!”

Garima’s mother joined in, “ I am disappointed in you all. Who told you this was a good idea?” 

“ But auntie, we asked our parents. We are doing this with their permission.” I said.

Reva joined me, “ It’s not like we are taking it for ourselves. We are preparing it for everyone to see.”

“We will even do Aarti and distribute Prasad.” Apeksha added.

“Yes maa, we saw others doing it last year and thought of giving it a try. Everyone does it, they even collect to make Raavan for- '' Her sentence was cut off by the sound of a slap. Everyone went quiet. Her father slapped her, in front of everyone.

“I don’t care about others” He started, “ But you are not doing this. Go inside, right now.” 

Garima ran inside, crying. The crowd slowly started to melt away. Shravya and I tried convincing Garima’s mother till the end, but we got told off. Navya didi’s mother ordered us to stop it and return all the money we had collected till now.

_____

Shravya and I were now in front of my house, trying to hold back our tears. This was the place we came to before all that happened. Apeksha and Reva were also called home by their parents to discuss this and here we were, standing in front of the door to return the money.

After gathering our courage, I rang the bell. 

I knocked on Vanhi didi’s house also. 

Mumma opened the door first to find us standing there, eyes downcast and a sullen look on our faces.

“ What happened?” She inquired. 

Shravya handed her the money, “ We are returning all the money.” She said.

“ Why? What happened?” Mumma asked again, a concerned look on her face.

By then, Vanhi didi had also opened the door and she stood there with her mother, a concerned look on their faces as well.

We recounted the event, our voices shaking as we spoke. Finally, the dam broke and we started crying. 

_____

CHAPTER-6

“ A little to the left! ” I shouted to Reva, who was standing on the balcony of my house, adjusting the curtain. On Vanhi didi’s balcony stood Apeksha, holding the other end of the curtain.

“It is too low. It might catch fire from the diyas. Pull it a little higher.” Shravya suggested from behind me. She was busy arranging the diyas and pictures with Vanhi didi . 

As for me, I was putting up the fairy lights with my father’s help.

You might be wondering what happened on that day after we told our parents? They told us to go ahead with our plans. Apeksha and Reva were also able to convince their parents. As for Garima, she was not allowed to help but she came from time to time to see us.

_____

 Many people came to attend the Aarti. We also distributed Prasad to all of them. Our Jhanki turned out beautiful and we received many compliments for it. We roamed around the town and visited other Jhankis that were set up. We were so happy that we were already making plans for the next Janmashtmi. 

“Haathi Ghoda Paal ki, Jai Kanhaiya laal ki!”

_____

I smiled at the memory. Another growl from my stomach reminded me of my hunger and my initial purpose of coming here. I went up to my house. It was locked since we moved out. The stairs were dusty so I spread my jacket over them. I enjoyed my meal while my brain was filled with the memories of the time I had spent here. 

Auntie and mumma used to talk while sitting on these stairs. Sometimes, Vanhi didi and I would also listen in on their conversations or have our own conversations while sitting here. I remember those times when we would spread our toys all over here, playing home, pretend teacher and whatnot. Since Vanhi didi was the oldest, she would always be the teacher and teach me and Akhil, writing on the wooden door with a chalk.

After finishing my lunch, I packed up and made my way to the fields. 

CHAPTER-7

“Swings!”I shouted as I dashed towards the swings and claimed one for myself. Others raced behind me for the second one. 

“Hey! Not fair! I was not ready.” Garima said, out of breath from having to run across the whole field. 

“Give me a heads up next time!” Reva said as she laid down on the grass near the swing.

Apeksha came to a stop next to the second swing, which was claimed by Shravya. 

“ So, that’s why you were walking ahead of us.”

I grinned at her statement, “Yup.” 

_____

“ So, what should we play?” Reva asked. Today, she was the lucky one to get the swing. 

“How about confusion?” Shravya suggested.

“Too confusing. Let’s just play badminton.” Garima started, “ I don’t want to run.” 

“ We’re here to play and you don’t want to run? Almost all outdoor games include running.” I said,

“ And, we’ll have to go all the way back to get badminton.” 

“I am okay with that.” Garima answered, completely fine with that idea.

“ You are weird.” was my reply.

“ Let’s play ice-water. I can be it.” Apeksha suggested. 

“No, I am not playing if you are it. You always chase me first.” Reva whined.

“ Guys come on, decide something. We’re wasting our time.” Shravya insisted. 

“ Let’s just enjoy the swings if we have nothing to play. “ Garima said, bored with the conversation. She turned to me, “ Merry-go-round?” 

I shrugged, “ Better than being bored. Tell me when you have decided on something.” I told the other as I and Garima ran towards the merry-go-round.

_____

“Who put up this net here?” Apeksha asked. 

There was a volleyball net put up in the field, where we played badminton. 

“Akhil and his friends did. They play volleyball in the morning since the vacations have started.” I replied. 

“ Doesn’t matter. They are not here. We can play across the net.” Garima suggested as she took a racket and went to the opposite side of the net.

“ But it is too high for a badminton net.” Shravya said.

“It doesn’t matter. It is not like we’re having an official match. Let’s just enjoy the game.” Reva took the other racket and stood opposite to Garima. 

“5 miss and you’re out.” I told them as I tossed the shuttle towards Reva. 

We stood on the sides and watched the game.

“Start.”

_____

“They are here again.” Apeksha said.

Akhil and his friends have started coming in the evening also. They occupy the whole field, which leaves nothing but the swings for us. 

“ They play in the morning also. Do they have to occupy the whole field in the evening too? Even the swings are not safe. I almost got hit while hanging on the monkey bars.” Reva grumbled. 

“ I know Ankit. I’ll talk to him about it.” Garima declared as she headed towards the boys.

_____

CHAPTER-8

“You play here in the morning also! Can’t you let us play in the evening?” Garima shouted.

“We can play whenever we want! We are the ones who planted the net after all!” Ankit shouted back.

“Let us play for at least one hour! You don’t own this field.” 

“But we own this net and it stands here!”

“Then take it somewhere else!” 

“ Why should we?”

“It has been 15 minutes since they started ‘talking’ “ Shravya whispered to us, making finger quotes at the word talk. 

“This is going nowhere.” Reva whispered back.

“Agreed.”

I got bored of their argument and turned to Akhil.

 “Hey Akhil!” I started. 

“What?”

“You guys play till 8 in the evening. We are not allowed to play that late. So, just let us play till 7. You guys can continue your game after that.” I tried to reason.

“ Not all of us stay till 8. Most of us have to go back till 7. Also, the guys you see in the morning are not us. They are a completely different group.” Akhil explained. 

“ So how about this? We play from 5 to 6 and you from 6 to 7, deal?” 

“ Okay.” 

“Garima! Stop it! Let’s go!” I pulled Garima back while Akhil did the same to Ankit.

“ So, we get the field from 5 to 6 and they get it from 6 to 7.” 

Everyone agreed to it.

_____

The deal was too good to be true. 

The schedule was followed for the first few days, but they started claiming the field again and we had to roam around the town to pass our evenings. We couldn’t even use the swings in fear of getting hit by the volleyball.

Currently Shravya, Garima and I are roaming around the town. Apeksha and Reva already went back home. We came across the field while roaming around. It was dark and the boys had already gone back home. The volleyball net stood alone in the field.

“ I just got an idea.” Garima said, her eyes gleaming with mischief.

“What?” Shravya and I spoke in unison.

Garima ran towards one of the poles that held the net up. We followed. 

“ Let’s take it out.” 

“That’s crazy.” Shravya said, surprised at the sudden suggestion.

I was also surprised but agreed with her.

“We can loosen it at least. So that it falls off as soon as the ball hits the net.” I suggested. This would make us less suspicious. 

We successfully loosened one of them and moved to the other one. Shravya joined us at the start but soon backed off and decided to watch instead.

As we were shaking the second one, We heard a shout.

“Hey! What are you doing?”

Startled by the voice, we looked around. There was no one in the field. Few of the houses faced the field. Those houses were the next possible option. 

We ignored it and continued. 

“Stop it! Get away from the pole!”

Till then, we had loosened the second pole also and decided to leave. 

_____

“Bhaiya! They are the ones. They were messing with the net.” We heard a voice as we walked back home. Shravya’s house was in another direction, so we had already parted ways with her. It was just Garima and I. 

We saw Akhil along with a boy,around 13 years old. He was pointing at us.

“So, he was the one we heard at the field.” Garima whispered to me.

Akhil turned to us, “ You were trying to take out the net?” He asked.

“What?” We both asked in unison, trying to act clueless.

“Don’t deny it! I saw you two, along with another didi. You were shaking the poles.” The boy beside him shouted at us.

“ So what if we did? No one else is able to play in the field while you are there. There are chances of others getting hit. And you are occupying the field for almost the whole day! Morning and evening both!” Garima shouted back. 

“ Not all of us come in the morning! Most of them are from outside our circle.” Akhil retorted.

“ That doesn’t matter. You promised us. We made the deal and scheduled our playtime. But you broke it. So, we took out the net. Take it somewhere else. You do not own the field.” I jumped into the argument. 

We argued back and forth for about 10 minutes, our volume increasing at each word. 

What we didn’t notice is that we were near my house and our shouts reached the ears of our mothers.

“ Omanshi! What happened? Were you arguing with Akhil?” his mother asked while knocking at my door. My mother opened the door and walked outside to talk. I followed behind.

I told them what happened and what we did. 

Surprisingly, They did not scold me. Though what we did was not the best thing, they understood my side. Vanhi didi even told about the previous incidents regarding the game,

“ What you did was nothing. People have even burned their nets before because of similar reasons- they are too loud, they occupy the whole field and what not. They all just pitch in some money and buy a new one.” 

Her words eased the little guilt I had.

_____

It was 4 pm. The sun was setting soon. I booked a taxi as I made my way to the last destination.

CHAPTER-9

The taxi would be arriving in an hour. I made my way to the last destination of Rankhira- the temple.

I took off my shoes at the entrance and entered the temple. It was still the same. It had a platform attached beside the temple where kids would play while adults talked. It was the same platform where the flower-sellers would set up their stalls during Shivratri and Navratri, where the hawans would take place and where the women would gather and sing prayer songs. 

Beside the platform, I found some periwinkles. I collected them and went back inside.

Inside the temple, at the centre, was a Shivling. Above the shivling hung a big bell. On the right and left walls of the temple, enclosed in glass cases, were the idols of God Shiv and Goddess Parvati . The wall in front of me also had glass cases with the idols of various gods and goddesses inside. 

I sat in front of the shivling, cross-legged. I offered the periwinkles and recited my prayers. Then,getting on my knees, I touched my forehead to the ground and stood up. I exited the temple after ringing the bell. 

I still had time before the taxi arrived. I decided to spend that time near the temple. So, I spread my jacket and laid down on it. 

Before I knew it, I had fallen asleep.

CHAPTER-10

I was woken up by a phone call. The taxi had arrived. I checked the time- 5pm. The sun was setting and it was time to go back home. 

I put on the jacket and started heading back towards the front gates. 

“Ow!” As I was walking, I felt something hit my head. I looked at the ground to find it was a blackberry. Ipicked it and looked up. A blackberry tree stood there with many blackberries hanging above me. 

I remember we used to collect the berries from here. Akhil and his friends would climb the tree while we stood below it to catch the berries. 

I started walking again. I came across the hopscotch we had drawn on the roads in the past and just like before, I jumped through all of them. 

Soon, I reached the front gates. I turned around to take one last look at the town I grew up in. 

“Goodbye Rankhira.” I said as I climbed into the taxi.

During the ride, the stories about the disappearance of the people of the town came to my mind. Different people had different views and ideas towards it. Some were simple like a sudden migration due to some threat or something, while some were really wild like paranormal activities and even aliens. I scoffed at the latter. I decided not to think too much about it. 

_____

That night, it rained heavily in Rankhira. 

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