Ghost
It was two o'clock in the night. Jalpu was coming back to his home from Delhi. Jalpu gets down at Cholthara by a bus from Delhi-Sarkaghat route. Jalpu's house is in Thadu village. The Son river flows between Cholthara and Thadu. There is a very dense forest in this area. This forest is known as 'Baga Ra Naal'. Leopards are seen roaming in the forest by the villagers even during the day. Jalpu starts walking from Cholthara towards Thadu. A little further ahead he sees Bhalku standing on the way. Jalpu calls out to Bhalku. Bhalku ignores Jalpu. Both start walking together. Jalpu lights a beedi. Jalpu starts offering a beedi to Bhalku too, but Bhalku moves away. Both reach near the village. Bhalku stops behind. Jalpu asks him to walk with him. But Bhalku keeps standing behind. After waiting for a while, Jalpu goes to his house. He hears a loud sound behind him. As if Lhasa(landslide) has fallen.
Jalpu reaches his house. Jalpu tells his mother that Bhalku was also with them but he was left behind. Jalpu's mother tells Jalpu that Bhalku has been dead for ten days. It was not Bhalku, but Bhalku's ghost. On hearing this, Jalpu faints out of fear. Raghu's grandmother had told him this story of Raghu's grandfather Jalpu many times. Raghu is sitting in the rain shelter on the roadside. It is eight o'clock in the night. Raghu is waiting for his friends. Just then a hunchbacked old man comes out of the rain shelter. He asks Raghu in a trembling voice who is sitting there. Raghu remains sitting quietly. He again asks Raghu who is sitting there. Raghu again remains sitting quietly. Old man - "You both are not talking to me." Raghu gets shocked because he is sitting alone in the rain shelter. He remembers the story of his grandfather. Raghu starts trembling with fear. Raghu thinks that maybe someone is also sitting in the rain shelter. Trembling with fear, Raghu starts looking around carefully. Just then a car passes by. The light of the car casts Raghu's shadow on the nearby bench. The old man says that this other man is your shadow. Raghu gets some courage. Just then Raghu's friend comes there on a motorcycle. Raghu feels relieved. Raghu goes with his friend on the bike and thinks that all the things like ghost etc. are just superstitions.
- Vinay Kumar
Hamirpur, Himachal Pradesh
