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Children's Play
It was my term break. I was overjoyed. Hostel was never liked by me because I was introverted, shy and liked to keep to myself. I used to return to my granny’s house in term breaks. She was the best cook. Apple pies, turkey roasts, chicken rice and specially pickle, were the main attraction. Granny lived in Phulpahari town. It was called so because it was a hill filled with lots of flora. There were the most attracting. I took a train to go to Phulpahari. This journey was always cherished by me. There was not much passenger in the train. The train stopped in a station for five minutes, and it was called Anandpur. There were nor passengers even for the station, neither did anybody get down. The station had just one platform, a station master’s room and a small tea shop. People sometimes bought tea from here. The tea had a strong sweet taste. One gulp would give you an energy and warmth in your body. I noticed this station for years, but never got down.
Was I in a hurry to go to Phulpahari? Umhm…No. Did I have enough money? Yes I did. Therefore I did not wait long. I jumped out of the train. The station master was busy taking a nap, so there was no one to check my ticket. I kept walking. I could not spot any human, animals or vegetation. After walking almost a mile, I spotted a rickshaw. I hired and mounted it. The rickshaw driver had a cracked parchment like skin, though his smile was beautiful. He informed me that there was very thin population here and there was only one bunglow for guests. Mr Prakash was incharge of the bunglow. He took me there. It lied in the outskirts of the village. The bunglow looked deserted. I had imagined Mr Prakash as a healthy man but he turned out to be a old man who could not walk a step without his stick. Mrs Prakash was into knitting. She wore a round glass and sat in an armchair all day. The house gave a wonderful view. Stretches of maize fields and a garden inside the house had beautiful flowers. I got a room in the second floor. The room that I got was old. It had a bed, a study and a small cupboard. My room was filled with fragrance of flowers that made me feel refreshed. I had reached today evening. And now it was night time. I always take a bath at night, no matter winter or summer. I normally spend half the nights walking in my room or reading. Today I took a shower and went down for dinner. They served hot curry. The hot curry after the cold bath made me feel relaxed. I came up to my room and started reading as usual. There was wall clock too, I suppose it was a grandfather clock. I did not care for time so the clock was not important to me. I settled myself in a cozy chair and started reading. The book had absorbed me totally. I kept on with my reading. Time skipped. Just then I was taken aback by a gush of wind that made me loose my page. I looked up at the old clock. It struck three at night. I had taken up reading to avoid the chaos in the hostel. I kept my book and went up to the window. I could see Mrs Prakash’s armchair in the front balcony. By then the breeze stopped. But the armchair did not stop. It grew faster and faster. As if somebody was moving it with their full force. But was not enough strong to just move it away. As if someone played with it. But no figure was visible. I then started hearing noises of several people running on the dry leaves of the garden. The type of sound proved that it was not adults, it was children. I could hear faint voices of children laughing. I stood frozen. I had never seen such a sight. The night was spent in horror. I packed up and hurried down the next morning. Mr and Mrs Prakash had seen my anxiety and asked me the reason. I narrated them everything that I viewed last night. They smiled. Mrs Prakash’s word shocked me and left me spellbound. She said,’ They just come to play dear, they won’t harm you.’ I stood quite. I had my breakfast and bade them farewell. I took the early morning train and stepped out in Phulpahari station. I took an auto to granny’s house. She was making some food. She was furious that I broke my promise of arriving tomorrow. I calmed her down. She could not be angry for long because I came after many days. I explained her my experience at Anandpur. She laughed and exclaimed that it was a dream that, I dreamt while sleeping and I should not stay up till late night, specially up till devil hour, three pm.
-Rupsa
Hope you like it, do comment!!
© Rupsa
Was I in a hurry to go to Phulpahari? Umhm…No. Did I have enough money? Yes I did. Therefore I did not wait long. I jumped out of the train. The station master was busy taking a nap, so there was no one to check my ticket. I kept walking. I could not spot any human, animals or vegetation. After walking almost a mile, I spotted a rickshaw. I hired and mounted it. The rickshaw driver had a cracked parchment like skin, though his smile was beautiful. He informed me that there was very thin population here and there was only one bunglow for guests. Mr Prakash was incharge of the bunglow. He took me there. It lied in the outskirts of the village. The bunglow looked deserted. I had imagined Mr Prakash as a healthy man but he turned out to be a old man who could not walk a step without his stick. Mrs Prakash was into knitting. She wore a round glass and sat in an armchair all day. The house gave a wonderful view. Stretches of maize fields and a garden inside the house had beautiful flowers. I got a room in the second floor. The room that I got was old. It had a bed, a study and a small cupboard. My room was filled with fragrance of flowers that made me feel refreshed. I had reached today evening. And now it was night time. I always take a bath at night, no matter winter or summer. I normally spend half the nights walking in my room or reading. Today I took a shower and went down for dinner. They served hot curry. The hot curry after the cold bath made me feel relaxed. I came up to my room and started reading as usual. There was wall clock too, I suppose it was a grandfather clock. I did not care for time so the clock was not important to me. I settled myself in a cozy chair and started reading. The book had absorbed me totally. I kept on with my reading. Time skipped. Just then I was taken aback by a gush of wind that made me loose my page. I looked up at the old clock. It struck three at night. I had taken up reading to avoid the chaos in the hostel. I kept my book and went up to the window. I could see Mrs Prakash’s armchair in the front balcony. By then the breeze stopped. But the armchair did not stop. It grew faster and faster. As if somebody was moving it with their full force. But was not enough strong to just move it away. As if someone played with it. But no figure was visible. I then started hearing noises of several people running on the dry leaves of the garden. The type of sound proved that it was not adults, it was children. I could hear faint voices of children laughing. I stood frozen. I had never seen such a sight. The night was spent in horror. I packed up and hurried down the next morning. Mr and Mrs Prakash had seen my anxiety and asked me the reason. I narrated them everything that I viewed last night. They smiled. Mrs Prakash’s word shocked me and left me spellbound. She said,’ They just come to play dear, they won’t harm you.’ I stood quite. I had my breakfast and bade them farewell. I took the early morning train and stepped out in Phulpahari station. I took an auto to granny’s house. She was making some food. She was furious that I broke my promise of arriving tomorrow. I calmed her down. She could not be angry for long because I came after many days. I explained her my experience at Anandpur. She laughed and exclaimed that it was a dream that, I dreamt while sleeping and I should not stay up till late night, specially up till devil hour, three pm.
-Rupsa
Hope you like it, do comment!!
© Rupsa
