I stared at the mansion.

Probably a century old house complete with a creaking wooden gate.

The drizzle just added to the effect. It was four in the afternoon and was pretty dark with low hung clouds threatening to burst anytime.

I stepped back and checked the door number again.

“Yes?” a trembling hand opened the gate slightly. A seventy year old man peered out.

“Ah my name is Vishal. Vishal Mehta. I am a grandson of…”

The old man didn’t let me complete it. “Sri Karan Mehta?”

I nodded. “I had talked to you earlier. We are planning to sell this house.”

He sighed, “Yes I remember. Come in. Come in. I am Thakur”

“I know. How are you Thakur?” I asked.

“Fine. Fine.” He said.

There was a narrow pathway from the gate to the house. Thick vegetation on either side of the pathway gave out a peculiar smell – thanks to the unnerving rains lashing the area.

The interiors of the house were well maintained. There were many rooms and many corridors. The main corridor in the first floor linking the east part of the house with the west part ran across the main hall.

“Is this the famous corridor?” I asked Thakur sipping the steaming chai.

He nodded. “The ghost walks from the east end to the west end.”

“Every night?” I asked him casually. I didn’t believe in ghosts.

“No. There is no pattern as such. But it is fairly regular.”

“What does it do? The ghost?” I was curious.

“Oh nothing. It just walks or glides. Must be a good ghost.” He laughed.

It was a week back that I received a call from Thakur about this ghost. I was supposed to go to Randheer’s house in the neighboring district this weekend to attend some function.
However this call changed my plan. I wanted to get to the bottom of this ghost business because I’d been toying with the idea of disposing of this estate as I had no use for it.

“I would like to meet it tonight.” I said.

“There is a high probability,” Thakur said, “These days it is appearing very regularly.”

That night, I took my sleeping bag and settled on the corridor near the statue of Goddess Lakshmi. I wanted to meet the ghost face to face. I also wanted divine protection just in case.

At twelve midnight, Thakur excused himself and went to sleep. At one, I was fighting to keep awake. At two I was fast asleep.

It was same old dream again; everyone was staring at me as I walked along. Some of them had a confused look; some were petrified and some expressionless. I just checked my clothing and my appearance. Everything was in order. Why were they staring then? I could see them hiding behind a row of pillars. I could see them in an open area at the far end of the hall.

I woke with sweating like a pig.

Thakur was staring at me. “Did you see it? It just went over you.”

I felt a strange chill. “No. I fell asleep.”

Next night I was determined not to sleep. I got myself a radio and tuned into Vividh Bharti. I had with me a copy of Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows. Half an hour later, I was immersed in the book completely. The ghost didn’t pay a visit till 4am. I decided to call it off and sleep.

This time I could see the pillars clearly. There weren’t many people around. Though I couldn’t recognize any of the faces, I could sense a feeling of void in their faces. It was as if they had resigned to their fate. Suddenly the pillars ended and I was walking in the open area. It was bright and I could see a tree in the middle, a big one.

I woke up.

It was eight in the morning. I ran downstairs and found Thakur smoking his pipe in the garden.

“No ghost yesterday?” I asked him.

He shook his head. “I don’t think so.”

That afternoon I got a call from Randheer. “Yaar, you should come over to my village. I am sure you’d go crazy. We have a friendly ghost roaming around. It does nothing but glide from one place to another.”

I was aghast and told him about the ghost incident in my mansion. He was taken aback. The ghost probably visited us first and then moved on to Randheer’s place.

“I still haven’t seen it.” I explained him my two failed attempts.

“Me neither.” He told me.

“Let’s try to catch it this time. I will try to talk to the ghost.” I said.

That night, I was there on the corridor with my sleeping bag – under the statue of Goddess Lakshmi.

At two in the night, there was an unnatural breeze. It became very cold on the corridor. My heart beat faster and faster. I had the camera ready.

At the East end of the corridor, the wall looked as if it was split wide open. Out stepped a wavy figure emanating a blinding white light. I could just make out the silhouette of the ghost. Facial features were not visible. It was gliding towards me. I stared the ghost. Twenty eight years of utmost devotion to science and logic refusing to believe what was happening there, I felt something was churning inside my stomach.

I collapsed.

The pillars wore a deserted look this time. I could see only one person frozen in time. I went to the open space again. The tree was big. I crossed the tree and was looking for a door to get out of the chamber.

“Chai beta?”

I opened my eyes. It was bright and sunny outside.

“I saw it… the ghost.” I said weakly.

Thakur nodded. “I saw it too.”

I told him all about my dreams and about the ghost’s visit to my friend’s house. “Is there some connection between my dreams and the ghost?”

He didn’t respond for a long time. Then he said, “Why don’t you visit your friend and see if it is the same ghost?”

 

I boarded a bus to Randheer's village early next morning.

He received me in the bus stop and led me into his village. It was a two kilometer walk. The weather was pleasant and the walk was enjoyable. I told him about the ghost. He managed to get a fleeting glimpse of the ghost the previous night. It was exactly how I had seen it. Blinding light and only the silhouette was visible.

"I have been having some strange dreams too," I said, "I believe they have something to do with the ghost."

Randheer stopped in his tracks. "Well, that's strange! I have been getting similar dreams myself."

"Not much of detail in my dream though. I just see a big hall and then an open space in my dream. What about you?" I asked Randheer.

"Same yaar. Just a big hall but no open space!"

Randheer's folks received me with great fanfare. People in this part of the world rarely visited one another. Hence my visit was a breather for them. It also gave them a chance to talk about the Friendly Neighborhood ghost with someone who believed them.

"That ghost walks from there to here without doing anything. We just hide behind these pillars and..." I didn't hear the rest. I was staring at them. The pillars formed a corridor and I could see a bright light at the end of the corridor.

"What's there?" I pointed at the end of the corridor and asked Randheer.

"Nothing... just an open space and..."

"A big tree in the middle!" I completed his sentence. He looked at me bewildered, "How do you know?"

I was sweating. I wanted to run. I wanted to scream. I wanted to get out of there.

I also wanted to know Randheer's dream in more detail. With a trembling voice, I asked him about his dream.

He was confused, "Why... Yes I dream of an old place - I walk along a corridor from one end to the other. I see a young man sleeping by the side of a statue or something in the corridor... I don't see his face clearly..."

The End.