When I Dated A Human

What is a Ghost?

"In folklore, a ghost is the soul or spirit of a dead person or animal that can appear to the living."

The Beginning

I could see. I could touch. I could move but nothing feels real. My days were dull and nights were faded. I was bored to the extent that I started scarring rats in their bill. Yeah! It might sound funny to you but I was bored. I wanted to experience something different. But what? 

In the last ten years, I have done everything. I have scared humans till they peed in their pants. I explored every corner of the world. So I was quite a traveler. I have watched the first cut of all your favorite shows. I saw friends before it was available for the world. I have seen all the horror movies and I could say all were bullshit. Why do humans have such wrong interpretations about ghosts? I had all the gossips about your college, office. I know what happened in the toilet room on the 13th floor in one of the leading companies in Gurgaon. I also know about treasure. 

I can consider myself lucky? No. 

Because I am not happy. Nothing feels real. Nothing is worthy in the end. Especially if you are a ghost. I like dark music. I nurtured a fascination with music when I was lonely. In fact, every ghost in the world is fond of Music.

“Have you ever encountered a ghost who cracks jokes? Yes! I am one of them. Also! I am the ghostwriter of this story. You will know about it later in the story. I do a lot of pranks on humans, especially with those who are afraid of me. I don’t need to pull my shocks for them.”

I was thinking all this just like I did every day when I was distracted by her voice. She was talking to someone. Her voice was sweet but her words were full of pain. She was vowing to be loyal forever to someone. She even offered to marry him but all her vain efforts ended as the person on the other side disconnected the call. Now she left with just one choice and her balcony was right there to fulfill her choice. 

I don’t understand why humans are so fragile. Why is it hard for them to comprehend that nothing is permanent, not even life? So why do they get impacted by things so easily? You know what everything starts with human frailty. 

Anyway, she tried so hard but failed. Now if she jumped from there, it would become a headline for a day or two and later everyone would move on in their life. She would turn into a ghost. 

We can be friends then? No. 

As soon as she turns into a ghost, she will forget everything about her journey on earth and become as dull as I am and hopeless just like other ghosts. I have to save her. Just that moment, I felt like a hero. A dead hero. How could I save her? Should I just appear in front of her? No. This would only scare her and she could die of a heart attack. Should I play with lights? No! This is not a horror movie. This is the reality. We can’t play with lights. How come did I have this thought? Why do humans have wrong interpretations about ghosts? 

Wait! Let’s scare her friend. Let’s show her a bad dream about her friend committing suicide. This might work.

It actually worked. Her friend called her as soon as her sleep got interrupted because of a bad dream. After a long conversation, knowing that she just broke up, her friend consoled her and told the cliche lines I have ever heard, “You deserve better”. Her friend also ordered an Ice Cream for her. I don’t understand this weird obsession with Ice Cream especially if you (Girls) are sad. 

Just after the call, when she was registering her current situation, I entered her room. She might feel my presence but cannot see me until I wanted. I voluntarily stared at her body. I sniffed. She felt it. She turned her eyes round in the room. I noticed the odor that comes from her body. I got obsessed with her room. It was a well-decorated room. It was the only well-organized room in the whole building or maybe I am exaggerating it as I got obsessed. I wanted to be around her every second from now onwards. She was still lonely, sad, and alone. And that is the perfect void for a ghost-like me to fill. 

Anyway, fast forward to Tuesday, the germination of this notion was paying off, the girl was quite relaxed and I found it the right time to approach. But how do I do that? I am a ghost. In today’s world, everything is linked with your Aadhar. Everything is online. I can’t steal an identity. She will easily catch me. I need to be smart.

Let’s suggest a solo trip to her. And I will enter her life during the journey. A stranger. Sounds like a good plan? Yeah! Good and cliche but not perfect. 

Let me tell you a secret about myself. I am a ghost. I became a ghost… Ummm I don’t actually remember when. Honestly. I swear to ghosts. I don’t remember that. 

Apparently, the moment I turned into a ghost, I lost my memory. All the things washed away from my mind but sometimes when I see frames at human’s places, I feel like I remember it. I feel some connection there. 

So where I was… I am a lonely, funny ghost and I deserve a date. Wait! That is not the secret. The fact is I can be visible at night. I can touch myself. I can deceive anyone with my look in the night. I can be human again but that doesn’t mean that I can’t come out during the daytime. I can. Kudos to movies where they show ghosts can’t be visible in the daytime. We can. It just we can’t be as powerful and deceptive as we can at night. On top of it, humans have developed this tendency to not get frightened during day time. Again, kudos to horror movies. 

The Trip

It was 7 PM. The travel groups always leave at night. The journey from Delhi to Kasol via bus is not more than 14 hours. She was sitting somewhere in the middle of the bus, facing the window. Just then I walked in. 

Hey? Excuse me. Is it taken or…

She pulled her bag before I even completed my sentence. I just sat next to her. The bus started running on the road. The driver put the remix cassette on the play. 

“You can drive all night looking for the answer in the pouring rain.”

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The song was interesting. Though she was not interested in anything. She was just looking outside but I knew how to catch her attention. I just took out a book from my bag. 

“Stephan King… Wow! It’s going to be an amazing ride”, I spoke out loud to myself. 

She couldn’t resist and took a glance at my side. She, then, scanned me properly. I caught the look so she started talking to avoid embarrassment. 

Nice book. 

Have you read that?

Yeah! Stephan King is my favorite author. I like horror. 

Well. Have you ever encountered a ghost?

Yups! 

When?

Right now. We all are ghosts to each other. 

So you heard about it from the book. 

No! I just thought that in my mind. 

I sighed. 

The conversation carried forward. For a while, we just lost. We forgot to pay attention to the songs playing on the bus speaker. She was having an interesting conversation about ghosts with a ghost. 

She was so right about ghosts although she only thought about those things. It was kinda interesting and horrifying. Though I was the actual ghost. After a while, she fell asleep on my shoulder. But when she would wake up, I would be gone. She would not even remember when she fell asleep last night. 

The bus came to a halt at 9 in the morning. The wind was breezy and fresh. The sky was crystal clear. In sun rays, the land looks like heaven. Even nature has the potential to deceive anyone. She came outside the bus. Looking for something. Might be looking for me but I remain invisible in the daytime. People with fierce views can see my deceptive identity. It might lead me to trouble. They can even capture me. Specially Sadus in hills has the potential to do so. 

So I decided to keep my eyes on her from a little far. 

Kasol

You might be thinking about what kind of Ghost I am. Well! There are different species of ghosts.

Some like dilapidated places. Some scare people for fun. Some are funny and romantic just like me. Maybe I would have been a romantic and funny writer when I was alive. 

Well, I stared at her that day very closely. She did trekking, eating, and clicking photos. And She clicked one with me. Of course, she can’t see me with naked eyes but I got captured in one of the photos. 

Jumpcut to the night: She got a separate tent as she didn’t want to share it with anyone. It was dark and eerie. Anyone there can clearly hear the music produced by the mixed sound of crickets, air, and silence. She was lost in herself. I appeared outside her tent. 

Song: When the full moon turns white that's when I'll come home

I am going out to see what I can sow

And I don't know where I'll go

And I don't know what I'll see

But I'll try not to bring it back...

Roy! Is that you? What are you doing outside my tent? You scared me. 

Ohh! I am sorry. 

Come in! Come in, You will catch a cold and Where were you the whole day?

I was lost. (Fun Fact: Ghosts aren't good at lying, they suck) No... I mean I was looking for something that was lost. Convinced na?

She laughed. 

You are funny and strange. 

This is the first time I saw her laughing since that night. I am not a bad ghost. I can make people laugh. 

Hahaha! I never heard those words about me. 

So where did you stay? 

Nearby. 

You know what I was looking for you all over the place. Even on Instagram. 

I don’t use Instagram. 

You are the first one in the last 3 years who said this. Even my grandmother uses Instagram. She doesn’t post anything but she likes scrolling. 

I will make one. 

Ok. I will help you.

You are sweet. 

And you are sweet, kind, and handsome. Don't get me wrong. I am not flirting. 

Hahahaha!I know. I know but if you like me, you can admit it. 

No! There is nothing to admit. I don’t like relationships. 

Ohk…, and why so?....

We continued talking… till midnight. She told me her story. She told me about her feelings. She told me that she was an avid reader. In short, she told me everything. Soon she fell asleep just like the other night. I keep staring at her. I also started feeling for her. 

Fun fact, she can actually feel me while she is asleep and unconscious. Her soul came out from her body. I also changed myself in my real form. We held each other hands and started flying in the dark of the valley. It felt so real and breathtaking. We explored every nook and cranny of the valley. For her, it is just a dream. For me, it is all real. The time runs really slow here. We didn’t talk but we made a connection. Soul to soul. I thought of being like this for the rest of my ghost days but just then I felt something. It was the alert. It was my time to go.

I know I revealed a lot of secrets about ghosts and busted a few myths as well but this is not the end. You know we also get older and we also have to leave the world one day. When? Even we don’t know. What happened next? Even that I don’t know but WE can sense OUR end. I CAN SENSE MY END. 

The next morning when she woke up, she found herself all alone. She checked her phone. She came out of her tent. She had a little headache. She searched for me everywhere but I was gone. We never met again after that day. 

The end.

You might be surprised that how come did I end the story so abruptly. Well, this is the end of our tiny love story but the main story still needs to unravel. Let me take you there quickly. 

Last night, I felt my end but I was obsessed with her and she was possessed by me. I just can’t leave her like that. She would be trashed and broken. I thought to tell her my truth but it will break her heart just like the other guy did to her. 

I need to tell my story before my end. I need to do it in a way so that she believes it. I need to do it perfectly. I need a better human being who can write my story and share it with her. 

I know how I can do this. Even you guys know it now. I can inject this thought into someone’s mind. Someone who is capable of writing, even unusual things. Someone who can adapt this idea, develop it, and share it with her. She might be thinking that I ghosted her but I didn’t. That is a human thing, not a ghost act. I know she will find it someday and read it. I know she will because she is an avid reader. But by the time, she would get it, I would be gone forever. Well, this is the story of when I dated a human. 

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