Arvind Sharma

Horror

4.0  

Arvind Sharma

Horror

The Fourth Friend

The Fourth Friend

6 mins
261


They were sitting in the lounge-cum-dining room of the resort. Aryan was sitting on a two-seater sofa facing TV, the other two viz. Jaideep and Manan were sitting on single seater sofas on his right and left side. However, TV was not on. They were meeting after a long time, almost twenty years and had a lot to discuss.


It was only recently that they had come across one-another. They were all living in different cities. It was decided that they would meet in a place far-off from any town they lived in. it was Aryan who had done all the legwork and booked a cottage in a resort, which was situated in the middle of the forest. They planned to stay here for two days.


The cottage had a lounge-cum-dining room (LDR) along-with four bedrooms, all built around the LDR in a circular form. They had booked all the four rooms of the cottage to avoid being saddled with some stranger.


Theirs was a group of four friends in the college. They were missing their fourth friend, Nitin, whom they had not able to locate. They had kept the fourth room vacant in the name of their absent friend.


They were finished with dinner and post-dinner coffee was also over a long time back. They had so much to talk about the twenty years they had not met one-another.


It was very quiet outside, with occasional sounds of wild animals. None of them was scared as they were well-protected inside.


Suddenly Manan suggested, “We have discussed many happy events of our lives, but happiness is not complete without talking about some really sad events of our lives.”


Everyone agreed. They asked Manan to start first.

Before Manan could even start his narration, they were pleasantly surprised to see Nitin walking through the door. Perhaps they had forgotten to bolt the door from inside.


But all this was forgotten with the happy coincidence of quartet being completed.


After the usual greetings, they told Nitin about the availability of vacant room in the cottage and asked him to put his belongings there and settle down. They expected him to join them after fifteen minutes or so.


But Nitin replied, “I can do that later. Let me enjoy your company before that. Manan, please continue with your story.”


Manan started his narration. “The forest has brought back sad memories for me. It was the saddest day of my life. I was working at that time but was on leave, hence home, during that period. I had a younger brother. One day he did not come back till very late night. All of us were worried. We went to search in the nearby forest area, but could not find anything in the darkness. Hoping that he might have come back home, we came back. But he was not there. We continued our search the next day at the daybreak. I was the one who found him in the bushes. His body was badly damaged. Till this date we believe he was killed by someone. But police could never solve the case. So all our family members still live with the grief.”


Manan had become sad. He looked towards Jaideep as if asking him to take over.


Jaideep had also become sombre. “I had a younger sister, who was in school when I was in college. She was in the final year of school while I was working in a remote place. There were no mobile towers there and you had to travel about three miles to access phone.

I came to know two days after the incident. She had gone on a trek with the school trip. They were walking through the narrow path with mountains on one side and sheer fall on the other side. It seems that she lost her footing and fell in the gorge below. A lot of effort was made but even her body could not be located in the ravine. I still miss her and feel guilty. If I were there I could have stopped her from going on the trek.”


Aryan said, “My story is not very complicated but grief is equally deep. I had just started liking a girl, when she met with an accident. Although we were together only for a brief period, but I am still not able to forget it.”


Everyone was lost in his grief. After sometime Manan collected himself and asked Nitin if he had any story to tell.


Nitin said, “Yes, I have a story to tell. But before that I want some favour from you people.”

Since I am going to a far-off place, I may not be able to communicate with my family. Somehow my wife’s number got deleted from the phone.”


They all looked at him, there was no mobile in his hand. Perhaps he kept his mobile in his shirt pocket.


Nitin had seen them looked towards him, but he did not say anything.


“Ok, whatever you want us to do, we shall do,” Aryan said.


He said, “I have some papers, please hand them over to my family. Please note down the place and ask my wife to look there. She will find some important information there.” He gave the name of the bank and the locker details where they were kept.”


Manan asked, “Are these papers so important that they cannot wait for your return.”


“Unfortunately, yes. I know the town is on your way back and involves a detour of only 35 miles from your return path. I hope you will do this for an old friend.


All of them agreed to this.


Manan asked him, “Ok, let us hear your story. It is getting very late. We shall retire for the day after this.”


Nitin looked at his three friends and uttered a few words, “I had to go to another town, fortunately the route to that town is via this town. I started yesterday late night. I don’t know exactly what happened, but around 3.00 in the morning, I met with an accident. Perhaps I had dozed off. My car banged into a stationary truck parked on the roadside. Then I came to know that you people are here, so I came here straight from the accident site.”


They were relieved to see him sitting there unhurt.

They all spoke together, “It is good that you escaped unhurt.”

Nitin was sombre, “That is not true. I did escape, but not unhurt.”


They looked at him uncomprehendingly to understand the meaning of his statement. As they looked towards the chair on which Nitin was sitting, his whole body had become transparent and soon the chair was empty. Nitin seemed to have vanished into thin air. Although not sure, they felt that they saw some mist enveloping the chair on which Nitin had been sitting.



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