Trick or Treat

I was lying down on the bed when my cell phone started ringing. I looked at the clock. It was 11:00 pm. I wasn’t expecting any calls this late in the night. However, I managed to get out of my bed to pick up the call. It was Ronak. Ronak, Mohit and Karan had planned a long night drive. I was game for it. But when they didn’t call, I thought maybe the plan was cancelled.

“Hello”, I said in my sleepy voice.

“Hey dude! U coming?” asked Ronak in an excited voice.

“Are we going? I thought the plan was cancelled. So, I went to bed.”

“Are you crazy AJ? It’s Saturday night and you want to sleep so early? ”

It seemed as if I was committing a crime by sleeping early on Saturday night. I was not really sure about the plan, so I asked Ronak if he knew where we were going. He asked his brother, Mohit if he had anything in mind. He took over the phone from Ronak.

“Where the hell are you? And where is your car?”

“My car is at home!”

“What are you doing? Playing with it?”

“Mohit, I am sleeping. And I cannot drive while I am asleep. Get it?”

I was frustrated at the way he spoke. He usually does that when he is on time and the rest of the gang is not. This is a very unlikely situation but it sure gets on your nerves. He told me to call back on his cell phone as there was some problem with Ronak’s phone.

“Yea, tell me Mohit. What’s the plan? And who all are coming?”

“Well, we are going to the village side for a long drive. We are taking my car. If you are bringing the car, few other friends could join us too. Or else, it’s just us guys.”

“Okay, I’ll be there in the next five minutes.”

I changed into something comfortable, picked up my car keys and got out of my house. I reached Karan’s place where I was joined by the rest of the lot. I was meeting everyone after a long time. All of us got distributed in the two cars and we set out. Ronak and Karan’s brother, Anirudh were in my car.

All of us were excited to drive through the village at night. It’s a beautiful experience to see empty roads with trees all around. It’s so serene. Mohit was leading the way, and I followed just behind him.

“Let’s explore the night life of the village” said Anirudh.

“Yea, it’s going to be so much fun” added Ronak

It was a great feel. This was the first time all of us had driven at night. The best part was that we were the only wheels on the road. After a long drive, we decided to head back home as it was already past midnight. It’s not a great idea to drive when one is sleepy.

We entered a narrow lane. Only a single car could be driven through that road. There were a lot of stones on either side of the road followed by walls. If one slips off the road, one is bound to crash into the walls. The only way out of that place was to follow the lane as there were no diversions. I had put on the air conditioner, so the car’s window blinds were closed. I usually do this when I want to hear loud music in my car. What’s a car ride without music?

Half way down the lane, we saw a tall figure standing in the middle of the road. We couldn’t make out who he was, as he had his back facing us. He was dressed in a casual outfit with a handkerchief around his neck. There was barely any hair left on his head.

Mohit started honking as that man didn’t seem to make way for us to go. He tried a lot but in vain. So, Mohit decided to try and go around him, over the stones. Mohit had almost crossed him, when his car stopped running. He couldn’t get it back on. I stopped just behind them. The tall man turned around and looked at Mohit. It seemed as if Mohit was saying something to that man. We were puzzled as we didn’t know what Mohit was talking him. Anirudh opened the car door and decided to go up to the man and throw him off the road.

“Sit in the car, u idiot! That guy is drunk. Why do you want to unnecessarily create an issue?” I shouted at him.

Ronak agreed to what I said and even he asked Anirudh to take his seat. Anirudh closed the car door in disappointment. By this time, Mohit’s car was up and running. He crossed that man and went ahead. Now it was my turn to cross him. I started honking as I did not want to go over the stones. He got irritated with the amount of honking and looked at me with disgust. His eyes stuck on me. He didn’t seem to blink at all. He had a long nose and a fully grown mustache. The street lights caused his bald head to shine. He just didn’t look like a normal man.

He took of his handkerchief off his neck and threw it on the road in frustration. I felt weird and didn’t want to create a scene with the old drunkard. Ronak asked me to go around him and not waste time in expecting him to move.

“Okay, I’ll go around him” I said.

He started walking. I waited for him to reach a point where the road was a little broader so I could go around him. I looked in the mirror as I drove past him. That was one crazy man.

“I cannot see him in the mirror! I can’t see him at all!” I shouted.

Ronak and Anirudh turned back and couldn’t find him. Scientifically, it was not possible for that man to disappear within two seconds. It seemed like he just vanished in thin air. Neither he nor his handkerchief could be seen. There was a lot of light on the road due to the street lights which made it impossible to hide. Shivers ran through our body. We couldn’t see Mohit’s car too. It seemed as if we were the only people around.

“Drive AJ… Drive!” Ronak and Anirudh screamed in unison.

I drove as fast as I could. We didn’t look back again.

“I have a rosary” said Anirudh.

“Me too” added Ronak.

I was the only person who was not holy at that time. Nevertheless, my car had a Ganesh idol in it. So, it was holy enough for all of us. We drove out of the village in no time. We didn’t stop anywhere. Reached home and found out that the guys who were in Mohit’s car were shivering. Karan confirmed that even they couldn't see that man once they crossed him.

"You won't believe the facts that I want you guys to know" said Karan in an expressionless tone.

"What?" asked everyone.

"Today is a Amavasya (new moon day)!" he added.

"So what?"

No one understood what he meant by that. We guys are usually aloof from superstitions.

"Every new moon night, the spirits come out of hiding."

He sat down with his head in his hands. He found it very difficult to speak.

"Did you guys notice the time when we saw him?" he asked us.

"NO! What has the time got to do with whatever we just saw" said Anirudh.

"It has a lot to do with whatever happened today. It was midnight ! It is believed that the spirits rise at midnight on this day."

There was silence. Everyone was eager to know what followed.

"AJ, do u remember you overtook us near the junction because our car had stopped all of a sudden?" Karan turned around to look at me.

"Yea, I do. It wasn't a big deal though"

"It was. Our car suddenly stopped there for no reason whatsoever."

"So?" I didn't understand the logic behind it.

"I saw a bunch of people in white clothing gathered around in the corner. It seemed as if they were performing a ritual or something."

Everyone looked at each other. Were we actually in the middle of something. Maybe we didn't belong there. Maybe we were just lucky to have escaped something that could have been beyond something we ever knew. We couldn't believe what we had just seen. Or rather, what we just thought we saw.

“Was that real or just an illusion?”