About a Winter Night's Mirage

The whole tapestry made him feel like he had just woken up from a nightmare. His raging instincts came to his rescue involuntarily and clenching his fists Abhigyan ran as fast as he could. He was shocked by the sheer amount of strength that his bony limbs contained. The feeling of being lured and invited by non-human forms was an experience that could not be described

It was a chilly winter evening of 2010 when Abhigyan and his friends decided to jog the entire neighborhood as part of their morning workout routine. The charts of all the new army recruits of their town that year had translated to veritable inspiration and the four teenagers were very eager to make it to the coveted list someday. It was decided that they would all assemble at Abhigyan's place the next morning sharp at five. With a clear agenda in their mind, the boys wound up their chatter and dispersed before sunset.

The sky was dark although it was only 5 pm. The entire locality was submerged in an eerie silence; only the clanging sound from the prison at the far-end of the city was audible- an almost ominous Tang! Tang! Tang! Tang! Tang! The sonority of the bell was a twenty-four hour alert system. Not only did it enliven the habitual silence of the place but also updated the townsfolk with the correct time.

Owing to a renovation that had been undertaken that year, Abhigyan's room was left adjoined to the entrance making it the first spot for incoming visitors (the front porch had been vandalized). After completing his school homework, Abhigyan got ready for bed. Mobile phones were not so handy those days so he completely relied on his friends for waking up early the next morning.

The night rolled by. There was a sudden knock on the door that startled him and interrupted his shallow sleep. "Who is it?" Abhigyan inquired in a lethargic voice. "Wake up! It's us" a familiar voice replied. After another resounding thud at the door he gathered his senses. The suddenness of the moment had triggered a quick response. Rubbing his eyes, Abhigyan asked them to wait and said that he would join them shortly. Picking up his warm clothes, he locked his door behind and noticed that none of his family members had woken up, which was a little unnatural because his mother had a habit of waking up before five am. Nevertheless, he considered it impolite to bother them at such an ungodly hour and sprinted out.

Abhigyan scrutinized the vicinity but to his surprise, the boys were nowhere in sight. The fog was dense and only the lights of some distant houses shone like a forest beacon, scattering timid rays. Apart from that everything was caved in kohl black darkness. Staggered, Abhigyan called out his friends. A voice came from across the corner saying – "We're here, come forward." He started moving blindly towards the direction of the voice. "Where are you? It's freaking me out," Abhigyan blurted in an irritated voice and took a few more hesitant steps. By this time he had already reached the point where a narrow aisle joined the main road. However the darkness was too stubborn to relent. He started panicking. "Where the hell are you all? I'm leaving"- he cried out one last time only to be greeted by another repetitive response – "We're here. Come."

There were no figures, no silhouettes and no traces of any human as far as his eyes could see. The voices, however, were consistently calling out for him at intervals. The plurality of the voices had begun to scare him too for it started sounding like more than four people. There was giggling and hooting amidst the darkness too and he was naturally scared and tongue-tied.

In his mind he was cursing his friends and resolved that if he caught sight of even one of them he would have a brawl. His mind was in trepidation. 'What if it's actually not them pulling a prank?', he kept thinking. Abhigyan had heard many such paranormal stories from his grandmother but for the first time in his life he was living one.

Impatient, agitated and skeptical, he finally decided to return home and the moment he turned back, the clanging of the prison bell was heard. Tang! Tang! Tang! It was 3 am! A shiver ran down his spine. He could feel his head pounding as a rail of sweat sluiced down his shirt. The whole tapestry made him feel like he had just woken up from a nightmare. His raging instincts came to his rescue involuntarily and clenching his fists Abhigyan ran as fast as he could. He was shocked by the sheer amount of strength that his bony limbs contained. The feeling of being lured and invited by non-human forms was an experience that could not be described. He kept on running until the voices behind him faded and finally died out.

His friends later confirmed that none of them woke up early that day. To this day, Abhigyan recalls this incident and fails to fathom what would have happened if he had followed the voices till the end. According to folklore, such supernatural forces are known for their deceitful traits. They tempt vulnerable humans to a clearing and bury them in the ground alive- Abhigyan shudders and reminds himself.

By: Nirmali Medhi

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