I was very fearful of ghosts when I was in school. Even darkness. A mere flicker of a tube light would chill my spine. Whenever I stepped inside a room, I made sure that the lights are on. Everyone in my family knew about my cowardice. My brother and sisters used to prank on me and often tease me. Being the youngest, I couldn't do anything but cry. I would be strong and naughtiest during the day, driving my siblings crazy by my mischievous acts. Hence, they would take revenge on me during the nightfall. But I must admit one thing. Those days were amazing!

Coming back to the story, sometime during the evenings, I would hear some sounds of stone-grinder from behind the wall of our house. (stone-grinders were used in the villages where there was no electricity). There was nothing behind our house. But inside the house, I could hear the voice clearly. My brother and sisters were not behind this for sure. Because I could hear the sound even in their absence. My mother would be busy in the kitchen or she'll be out speaking to my aunt in the neighbourhood. And she never used to play prank on me. I asked my mother several times about these strange noises. But she didn't seem to hear any of them and thought that I'm just getting scared and she would laugh it away.

One evening, around 8pm, my family was watching our favourite TV serial. Me, my mother, my sister and her husband. It was a comedy serial and we loved it. During a commercial ad break, my mother asked me to fetch a pillow from the nearby room. I at once went to the room which was dark. After entering the room, towards left hand side was a stack of pillows. I pulled one of them, came back to the hall and gave it to my mother. The serial was back. But I couldn't concentrate on TV anymore because my mind was still in the dark room. I sat there without any expression while my family was enjoying the TV.

I knew what it was. This was actually what happened when I went inside the room. I entered the room with the TV serial still in my mind, I pulled the pillow from the stack with some force while looking up unknowingly towards a shelf. That was when I saw, inadvertently, two red dots in the darkness atop the stone shelf.

Now, sitting here, when I remembered those red dots, I realised that those dots were actually two eyes and around those eyes I could trace a dark human resembling head and then the body too. Then, I could recall a shadowy human figure with red eyes sitting on the shelf and staring at me from the above. I shuddered now. My face turned pale.

I saw my family watching TV. I wanted to confirm before I tell anyone about this. I slowly tip-toed to the room and stood at the open door. I could perfectly see now, a shadowy figure with red eyes scratching its head this time. It seemed to sense me. I came back and sat again. My brother-in-law (sister's husband) noticed my state. I was sweating. He asked me what the matter was and I revealed my plight to him. I didn't expected him to laugh and he didn't.

With concern, he got up slowly without disturbing anyone and asked me to show it to him. We saw nothing when we got to the room. He switched the light on and told me there is nothing to worry and that sometimes our brain plays tricks with us and we hallucinate. We came back as silently as we went and sat with the family. My mother asked what had happened and my brother-in-law closed off saying it was nothing. We continued with the serial.

Deep down I knew it was something. Something which I couldn't explain. I remember the figure until today. I was angry on that stupid ghost or figure or whatever it was that it didn't appear to my brother-in-law, because of which he too might have thought of me as a coward.


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