The bet
(1)
The truth, in this case, is shrouded with assumptions. I cannot validate the truth of the incidents and more so, can't logically explain several of the events. It's entirely up to you to believe it or not to believe it. As for my part, I will tell you those incidents, relying on my memory and the tales which have been with years told and heard sometimes with sorrow, sometimes with interest, but always with fear.
These events took place several years ago. I was fifteen at that time. There was, and still is, a school in my village where children use to play in the evening. After I got out on a bouncer, I went to the stairs of the school where several of my seniors (Sandeep, Mukesh, Ramesh, and Ganesh) were gossiping among themselves. Today a man called Ramkishore died in the morning. They were discussing about life, death, and ghost. Sandeep was telling us a true story, "...So, the man took the bet of going to the burial ground and put a nail in the ground. At midnight, his friends left him around 200 m. away from the forest. His dhoti shining in the dark almost giving an illusion of a ghost. He entered the cemetery. The leave rustling with the slow-moving wind was giving him the impression of someone walking towards him.
Did someone say something in his ears? Someone touched his shoulder? No! Someone is looking at him? His mind could sense it. He looked to the left. Nobody was there. To the right? No?! Someone is flying over his head? But the eyes couldn't catch it. He kept looking here and there while he pulled the nail from his pocket and pinched it into the ground. Then he turned back, hurriedly trying to leave. If only he could! Someone was holding his dhoti.
The next day, the villagers found him dead. They looked at him and guessed how he might have died? In his haste, he had unknowingly pinched his own dhoti in the ground. The ghost didn't kill him, its fear did. He died of a heart attack.
What I want to say is whether the ghost exists or not?--I cannot tell you, but its fear sure does."
No sooner had Sandeep finished saying, Ganesh said, "Bullshit! You have taken our own village for the setting of your story. Cemetery in the forest... 500m before it, our village ends and fields starts... 200m from the forest is the temple, where his friends left him... come on man, even a blind man can see through your lies."
Sandeep couldn't bear this accusation, " I am not lying!"
Ganesh, with the same air of arrogance, said. " Yes, you are. And I don't believe in ghosts, and I don't have its fear."
Mukesh couldn't accept it, "I know Ganesh, you are a brave man but even the bravest fears the ghost."
Ganesh curtly said, "I don't."
At this Mukesh said, "Oh really! Then why don't you put a nail in the graveyard?"
Ganesh, "But why should I?"
Sandeep was getting angry, "Yeah! why should you? How about this, I will give you 50 rupees if you could do this, but if you fail..."
Ganesh gave a cunning smile, "So, a bet? Okay!"
Ramesh who had been till then kept mum said, "So Ganesh, will you be able to nail the bet?"
Ganesh laughed and said, "of course, I can."
Ramesh, "So, whoever wins, gets Gandhiji."
Ganesh and Sandeep sealed the deal, "Done!"
Mukesh, "But when?"
Sandeep, "Today itself."
Ramesh, "No..no..no..not today. Ramkishore uncle died today. Soul roams around the place for twelve days."
Sandeep, "He doesn't believe in ghosts."
Ramesh, "But what if it exists?"
Ganesh abruptly said finalizing everything, "It doesn't exist, and I will go today."
(2)
And came the midnight. The night wasn't very dark but the fog made it impossible to see anything two meters away. Sandeep, Mukesh, and Ramesh left Ganesh two hundred meters away from the cemetery. Ganesh confidently went ahead. They saw him slowly getting engulfed by fog. The moment Ganesh got out of the circle of sight, tension and fear got them. Perhaps it wasn't the wisest of decisions on Sandeep's part to egg him to take the bet. What if something happens? Who would be responsible for that? Train of endless thoughts was crossing their head. Not a single word came out of anybody's mouth for full ten minutes. By this time, Ganesh should have returned. But moment after moment was adding up without any sign of him. A few more minutes passed in trepidation. Still no sign of Ganesh. At last, it became necessary to break the silence. Ramesh said, "We must go and look for him."
It was winter and everybody was already on the journey called 'sleep'. What if he is in danger? They will end up waking the whole village. But that's not even the worst scenario, the worst scenario would be if they didn't wake up the villagers and, touch wood, something unfortunate happens.
Mukesh said in a decisive tone, "Yes, Let's go." Sandeep wasn't willing to comply with the request but didn't show any resistance to the idea. He switched on the torch. The intense light of the torch penetrated the fog. And then suddenly out of nowhere a figure appeared as if it took birth from the light. They couldn't see who he was? He was running at a terrific pace. And then they heard a cry filled with fear, "Run!"
They knew this voice. It's Ganesh's! He collided with Sandeep. Both fell down. Ganesh rose from the ground in a reflex and took off. Too many things happened in too little a time. None of the three could make out anything. They looked towards the graveyard and did, what they thought was the best thing to do--Run! They ran towards Ganesh's house. Terrified voices were coming from one of the rooms. "What happened, beta?" Ganesh's mother was saying. They went into the room. There were Ganesh's mother, father, and grandmother. They looked at Ganesh. If fear had a language, it was written all over his face. He was in frenzy. He was paranoid and whatever the gibberish he was saying was making no sense to anybody. But slowly, he calmed down, went for the bed, covered himself completely with the blanket, and fall asleep.
But this was not the end of the story. The next morning, he was found dead. He died of a heart attack.
Several months after this incident, some of us went to the graveyard, to do nothing specific, just to roam around. Suddenly, a cry came from one corner of the graveyard. It was Sudip. We went there, where he was standing alone. He was looking at a nail, which seemed to be half pushed into the ground. We ran back to our home as fast as we can.
pics:-Elti Meshau(pexels)
Ramdan Authentic(Unsplash)
(1)
The truth, in this case, is shrouded with assumptions. I cannot validate the truth of the incidents and more so, can't logically explain several of the events. It's entirely up to you to believe it or not to believe it. As for my part, I will tell you those incidents, relying on my memory and the tales which have been with years told and heard sometimes with sorrow, sometimes with interest, but always with fear.
These events took place several years ago. I was fifteen at that time. There was, and still is, a school in my village where children use to play in the evening. After I got out on a bouncer, I went to the stairs of the school where several of my seniors (Sandeep, Mukesh, Ramesh, and Ganesh) were gossiping among themselves. Today a man called Ramkishore died in the morning. They were discussing about life, death, and ghost. Sandeep was telling us a true story, "...So, the man took the bet of going to the burial ground and put a nail in the ground. At midnight, his friends left him around 200 m. away from the forest. His dhoti shining in the dark almost giving an illusion of a ghost. He entered the cemetery. The leave rustling with the slow-moving wind was giving him the impression of someone walking towards him.
Did someone say something in his ears? Someone touched his shoulder? No! Someone is looking at him? His mind could sense it. He looked to the left. Nobody was there. To the right? No?! Someone is flying over his head? But the eyes couldn't catch it. He kept looking here and there while he pulled the nail from his pocket and pinched it into the ground. Then he turned back, hurriedly trying to leave. If only he could! Someone was holding his dhoti.
The next day, the villagers found him dead. They looked at him and guessed how he might have died? In his haste, he had unknowingly pinched his own dhoti in the ground. The ghost didn't kill him, its fear did. He died of a heart attack.
What I want to say is whether the ghost exists or not?--I cannot tell you, but its fear sure does."
No sooner had Sandeep finished saying, Ganesh said, "Bullshit! You have taken our own village for the setting of your story. Cemetery in the forest... 500m before it, our village ends and fields starts... 200m from the forest is the temple, where his friends left him... come on man, even a blind man can see through your lies."
Sandeep couldn't bear this accusation, " I am not lying!"
Ganesh, with the same air of arrogance, said. " Yes, you are. And I don't believe in ghosts, and I don't have its fear."
Mukesh couldn't accept it, "I know Ganesh, you are a brave man but even the bravest fears the ghost."
Ganesh curtly said, "I don't."
At this Mukesh said, "Oh really! Then why don't you put a nail in the graveyard?"
Ganesh, "But why should I?"
Sandeep was getting angry, "Yeah! why should you? How about this, I will give you 50 rupees if you could do this, but if you fail..."
Ganesh gave a cunning smile, "So, a bet? Okay!"
Ramesh who had been till then kept mum said, "So Ganesh, will you be able to nail the bet?"
Ganesh laughed and said, "of course, I can."
Ramesh, "So, whoever wins, gets Gandhiji."
Ganesh and Sandeep sealed the deal, "Done!"
Mukesh, "But when?"
Sandeep, "Today itself."
Ramesh, "No..no..no..not today. Ramkishore uncle died today. Soul roams around the place for twelve days."
Sandeep, "He doesn't believe in ghosts."
Ramesh, "But what if it exists?"
Ganesh abruptly said finalizing everything, "It doesn't exist, and I will go today."
(2)
And came the midnight. The night wasn't very dark but the fog made it impossible to see anything two meters away. Sandeep, Mukesh, and Ramesh left Ganesh two hundred meters away from the cemetery. Ganesh confidently went ahead. They saw him slowly getting engulfed by fog. The moment Ganesh got out of the circle of sight, tension and fear got them. Perhaps it wasn't the wisest of decisions on Sandeep's part to egg him to take the bet. What if something happens? Who would be responsible for that? Train of endless thoughts was crossing their head. Not a single word came out of anybody's mouth for full ten minutes. By this time, Ganesh should have returned. But moment after moment was adding up without any sign of him. A few more minutes passed in trepidation. Still no sign of Ganesh. At last, it became necessary to break the silence. Ramesh said, "We must go and look for him."
It was winter and everybody was already on the journey called 'sleep'. What if he is in danger? They will end up waking the whole village. But that's not even the worst scenario, the worst scenario would be if they didn't wake up the villagers and, touch wood, something unfortunate happens.
Mukesh said in a decisive tone, "Yes, Let's go." Sandeep wasn't willing to comply with the request but didn't show any resistance to the idea. He switched on the torch. The intense light of the torch penetrated the fog. And then suddenly out of nowhere a figure appeared as if it took birth from the light. They couldn't see who he was? He was running at a terrific pace. And then they heard a cry filled with fear, "Run!"
They knew this voice. It's Ganesh's! He collided with Sandeep. Both fell down. Ganesh rose from the ground in a reflex and took off. Too many things happened in too little a time. None of the three could make out anything. They looked towards the graveyard and did, what they thought was the best thing to do--Run! They ran towards Ganesh's house. Terrified voices were coming from one of the rooms. "What happened, beta?" Ganesh's mother was saying. They went into the room. There were Ganesh's mother, father, and grandmother. They looked at Ganesh. If fear had a language, it was written all over his face. He was in frenzy. He was paranoid and whatever the gibberish he was saying was making no sense to anybody. But slowly, he calmed down, went for the bed, covered himself completely with the blanket, and fall asleep.
But this was not the end of the story. The next morning, he was found dead. He died of a heart attack.
Several months after this incident, some of us went to the graveyard, to do nothing specific, just to roam around. Suddenly, a cry came from one corner of the graveyard. It was Sudip. We went there, where he was standing alone. He was looking at a nail, which seemed to be half pushed into the ground. We ran back to our home as fast as we can.
pics:-Elti Meshau(pexels)
Ramdan Authentic(Unsplash)
No comments:
Post a Comment