The Elder Brother - 1

Daniel heard a faint sound in the corner. What was it? Perceiving the same sound, he realised who it was. As he sat up on his bed looking at the window, he heard the Chinese chime bell ring. Glancing at it, he again looked at the window.

The Ghost in the Black Robe was standing there, his face covered in hood and darkness.

Daniel froze. The ghost slowly came towards him, but Daniel couldn’t see his face, as it was hooded in darkness. Before Daniel could say anything, the Ghost raised its right hand, pointing its index finger and thumb towards ceiling.

Daniel woke up, sweating badly and shivering. He glanced around .His room was empty, with no sign of anyone. Again the same dream, he thought. Who’s this Phantom? Why is he coming in my dreams? he thought.

He was appointed as a cobbler in this castle in Old England, to mend & polish the Monarch’s shoes. He had unwillingly accepted this job. Alone he stayed in the small room in the Lower levels of the castle. His elder brother was also working here, but his job was to take care of the horses & he slept in the stables. The ghost was coming in his dreams since past few nights.

“Oh c’mon, Mom, Dad & me, we all knew you never wanted to come here & work.” Shane, Daniel’s Elder brother was telling him the next morning. “I’ve been working here since the past 3 years, I never saw anything .Don’t tell me these things again. We all know you want to run away from here, so stop giving us these excuses.” Shane scowled at him.

“You will come in the morning, polish my shoes, fix them nicely & place them at their places. You can go when the sun sets.” The King had told him rudely the day he had joined. Today, he again finished his job & by sunset, he was back in his quarters. Exhausted by the day’s work, he laid down & fell asleep.

Daniel heard a faint sound in the corner. What was it? Perceiving the same humming sound, he realised who it was. As he sat up on his bed looking at the window, he heard the Chinese chime bell ring. Glancing at it, he again looked at the window.

The Ghost in the Black Robe was standing there, his face covered in hood and darkness.

Before Daniel could say anything, the hooded Ghost came towards him & raised its right hand, pointing its index finger and thumb towards ceiling.

Daniel woke up, sweating badly and shivering. Again the same dream. He still had no clue why was he getting this nightmare everytime since the day he joined. Who could that Ghost be? Why am I seeing him every night? As he slept, he kept thinking about the ghost.

“You are called by the King in his Chamber..!” The guards came in his room early next morning. Daniel hurriedly took all of his tools & rushed in the King’s Chamber. The king was inside, writing in a book with a quill pen. The guard ordered him to mend all the king’s shoes, more than 50 of them. Quietly, without disturbing the king, he started his work. The guard stood next to him as he did his job. After some time, he came across a different set of shoes. The shoe design was quite unique, more of medieval style with intricate designs and a strong sole made of hard wood. He tapped the sole on the floor. It made a dull sound on the stone floor. He liked those set of shoes. He finished his work by twilight & had dinner with other co-workers.

“Could I sleep with you in the stable?” Daniel asked Shane, fearing about the hooded Ghost in his dreams. Shane agreed, but suggested him to keep away his fears. Shane also told him that Daniel would need to sleep alone, as he had some work in the castle.

He laid down on wooden bed covered with dry hay. A small light was burning in the distance, illuminating the area around it. Thinking about his family, he dozed off.

Daniel heard a faint sound. Perceiving it, he realised who it was. As he sat up on his bed, he heard the Chinese chime bell ring. Glancing at it, he again looked at the window.

The Ghost in the Black Robe was standing there, his face covered in hood and darkness.

Before Daniel could say anything, the hooded Ghost starting walking towards him. Daniel heard its footsteps, a dull sound on the stone floor. It came near him & raised its right hand, pointing its index finger and thumb towards ceiling.

Again the same dream, Daniel thought as he woke up from the nightmare. Why is this happening? Why am I getting this dream every night? But today, he kept thinking of the dream. Have I heard those footsteps somewhere?, he couldn’t remember. As he drifted back to sleep, he knew one thing. The Ghost was telling him something, or maybe warning him of something. But what was it? What does it want me to know? Daniel thought as he slept.

The next day, as he went in the King’s Chamber, he kept thinking of the dream. What possibly could the Ghost tell him? He thought as he was polishing the King’s shoes. Again he saw those different shoes. He had never seen the king wear them.Then to whom those belonged? There was no other member in the entire castle who could possibly wear those kinds. They definitely belonged to another royal person. He wanted to know that. Today the king was not in his chamber. So he decided to have a look around.

“Do Your work….else return to your chambers…!” as soon as he got up, one of the English royal guards exploded back at him. Panicked, Daniel hurriedly returned back to his place & continued his work.

“What do you mean by the Ghost wanting to tell you something..?” Shane again scolded back at him, “I don’t believe what you are saying…!” Shane was not ready to hear anything about the ghost from Daniel.

Today Daniel went in his quarters. Since the ghost came in his dreams, he couldn’t speak to it, but he invoked that today may the Ghost send him some message. Still in his thoughts, he slept on his bed.

Daniel heard a faint sound. Perceiving it, he realised who it was. As he sat up on his bed, he heard the Chinese chime bell ring. Glancing at it, he again looked at the window.

The Ghost in the Black Robe was standing there, his face covered in hood and darkness.

“Who are you?” Daniel spoke to him, “What do you want to tell me….” The Ghost simply stared back in darkness .Without moving, it raised its right hand with its index finger& thumb pointed towards the ceiling. This time, however, Daniel saw a design pattern on the Ghost’s black robe in the moonlight coming from the window.

Daniel woke up panicked. Again the same dream, but this time, he saw a clue. A design pattern. What was it? Where have I seen it? He couldn’t remember.

The next day, Daniel went to King’s Chamber. As he polished the King’s shoes in the presence of the Royal Guard, he saw those different design shoes. He picked them up & as he studied them, he froze.

The Design Pattern on the shoes was the same one that the Ghost had on his robe.

He couldn’t believe what he was seeing. How come both the designs match? Was it an illusion? Was it something else? He couldn’t interpret anything.

“To whom do these shoes belong?” summoning courage, Daniel asked the Royal Guard about those unique shoes.

“Why you need to know? Keep the shoes in the corner…& go back to your quarters! It’s almost evening time…!” The Royal Guard frowned & growled back.

Daniel swallowed a lump, gathered all the shoes, placed them in the box and kept the box in one corner. As he rose, his eyes caught a painting hung on the wall. It was a huge chamber & this painting was a small one hung on the wall. It was a family portrait of the king. The Emperor & Empress seated in between on the Gothic chair & the family behind. What caught his attention was the person on the extreme left.

The person was wearing the same Black Robe that the Ghost wore in the dreams and the same medieval shoes that he used to polish every day.

This was a total surprise to him. Who was this person? Probably a family member since he was in the Royal Family portrait, but where is he?

“He’s the King’s elder brother.” Shane told him when Daniel enquired about the Family Portrait. “He had only ruled for some time. He died an accidental death; fell off the horse while he went hunting. But why are you asking? Please don’t discuss this. If the Royal Guards hear us, we’ll be imprisoned..!”

That night, as Daniel lay down, he was thinking about the events that happened today. Who could have killed the Elder brother? The King? The Royal Guards? Most importantly, why is he coming in my dreams? What could be the possibility of him coming to meet me? He had no answers to all these questions. Thinking about all these, he fell asleep.

Daniel heard a faint sound. Perceiving it, he realised who it was. As he sat up on his bed, he heard the Chinese chime bell ring. Glancing at it, he again looked at the window.

The Ghost in the Black Robe was standing there, his face covered in hood and darkness.

Daniel just kept staring at him. The Ghost, its face hidden, his rest fingers half closed, pointed its index finger & thumb towards the ceiling. This time, the Ghost raised his both hands.

Daniel woke up from the dream. What does that mean? What message was that? What was the Ghost trying to tell me? I’ll surely try to find out. Maybe it’s giving me some clue about someone or something.

TO BE CONTINUED……..