It was already late at night, and I felt a little weird driving my car back home. Reluctantly, my hand plunged into the purse. When I reached the office gate, suddenly a soft voice broke the silence- ‘Ma’am! Can you hear the thunder sound? How would you drive? Should I call the driver?’
With that sudden noise, I was shocked! Then I said, 'Oh Kaka ..you? Um- no, no thanks Kaka! I would be fine! It is already so late, don't disturb him anymore.’
He came forward to cover me under his umbrella and led me to my car parked outside the gate.
‘Thanks, Kaka!’ I appreciated his courtesy.
I didn't know why my nerves were alight, goosebumps rising along my arm with each vicious crack of lightning followed by thunderous booming. Shivering from the cold, I wrapped my jacket tighter around myself as I drove at a snail's pace. Ten minutes later, the heavy downpour smacked the front glass and windows so badly that I could see nothing! The visibility intensity was blurred with the spray of millions of tiny water droplets. Water was continuously streaming down from the car's rooftop like a spring. When the headlight was switched on, I felt as if a ghostly appearance of mist painted in the air!
The terrible thunder sound and monotonous rain shook my whole body. I was unaware of the distance I had covered and how much was left for my home! Not a single vehicle was moving around. That road was my regular way, though! For a second, my blood ran cold! The familiar trees on the roadside appeared anew—as if I had been swayed to a ghost land!
Suddenly the continuous blow of a horn behind my car slapped me of my sense. The reflected headlight made me blind. Giving free space to that car, I moved aside.
‘What nonsense?! Can't he lowered down his headlight, yet?!’ I yelled loudly. But I shivered with my yelling!
Minutes later, I saw the same car stopped on my right side. Sliding down the window glass, the man asked, ‘Hey there!’ Perhaps he was not sure who was inside the car!
I hunched slightly to the right side of the steering, lowering the glass. He said in a high pitch, ‘Hello! Hey, Ma’am! Don't go ahead. It’s a dead end.’
‘Wha- what?! Dead end? Are you crazy? It's my regular road. Who told you dead end?!’ I retorted instantly.
Without waiting further, he drove the car and disappeared from my eyesight.
‘Who the hell he was?!’ What a crap? He didn't wait even for a second! Well, maybe a stranger!’ I whispered. But, after his warning, I felt a little nervous. Leaning on the seat, I took a deep sigh! For a second my body shivered with an unknown fear! After a short while, I started again. The wipers still gave a rhythmical sound on the front glass, but no clarity of the vision. Rain was interminable!
What a horrible night! I was cursing myself for being late. Suddenly the siren sound whirled in the air raising my pulse rate!
‘What's wrong? Why the police van? Ambulance?!’ They overtook me so quickly! A little farther, a few police vans were parked on the roadside. They were dressed up with raincoats and umbrellas on their overheads. They hunched over something. I was too curious to know what exactly had happened! Parking the car on a side, I moved towards the spot. I was about to bend forward when somebody tapped my shoulder behind me. I turned but then- ‘Nah- no…….’ screamed at the top of my voice and everything was blank...
The same man who crossed me on the road!
*************
When I opened my eyes, the fan, the ceiling, and the walls were virtually reeling like a disturbed reflection on water. An unknown person was sitting on a tool a few yards from me. I couldn't figure out who he was! I squeezed my eyes to get a clear picture. When I fixed my eyes on that person, screamed again, ‘No- no, don't come to me, please! Somebody help…’ My eyes widened, my eyebrows raised, and my nostrils flared. I felt so helpless!
‘Ma’a- ma’am- relax! I am not a ghost, please. Listen to me..’ he tried to clarify.
The nurse rushed to my cabin, and asked- ‘What’s wrong? Why are you shaking, miss?!
The stranger felt awkward and left the room immediately.
‘Who is he?!’ I stuttered.
‘Who is who?’
‘That man in my cabin!’
‘Oh! He- he is the person who admitted you- - in this hospital,’ the nurse convinced me.
I grabbed the nurse's hand tightly and repeated the same word, ‘No- no, it can't be. Don't leave me alone!’
‘Ok- ok, relax miss! I’ll find out. Easy- easy, miss, please.’ The nurse softly patted my back and gave me a glass of water. ‘If you still feel exhausted, I’ll give you an injection, ok!’ She attended to me for a few minutes more, then went away.
I had no major problem. I was released from the hospital after three hours. The next day, at the usual time I went to my office. My desk was neatly cleaned. Coffee and water were arranged properly as usual. I pulled the chair and sat comfortably opening my laptop to check the regular emails. Somehow, my mind was distorted by the incidents from last night. Still confused!
The other staff members were busy in their work. I could keep a vigilant eye on the staff sitting in the office. The first two to three hours in the morning were always too hectic in the office. Sometimes my coffee turns ice cold and I forget to sip it. That day I was engrossed in my work but couldn't focus. My mind was filled with absurd thoughts, I looked at my staff from my cabin. Suddenly, I saw a person moving from one staff to another, hunching a few seconds on each table. I couldn't identify him from his back. I called my attendant.
‘Who is it?!’ I asked my attendant.
‘No idea, ma’am.'
‘That’s ok, but how come he directly contacting my staff without my permission?’ Hurriedly, I left my desk to check the stranger. I was about to cross my cabinet door when the stranger turned his side while going to another table. But a glimpse of his face knocked me down with a feather! I became dumbstruck at once! ‘What the hell!’ ‘Who- who is he? How come on the earth is he here again?!!’
Instead of chasing, I came back to my seat and thrust myself. I lost my speech and my body started shivering. The next moment when I gazed, he had gone!
Later, I asked the staff, they said they didn't know him. I was stunned!
********************
The night was damn hell for me to cross over. ‘Am I going to be a psychopath or he is a psycho?? What's wrong?’ I was so worried, didn't like to cook anything for dinner. Swallowing a little food from the fridge, I retired early to bed. I was so tired that day but I called my friend Lina and told her everything. Even I mentioned that stranger as a typical joker! She giggled loudly. I felt relaxed by her support.
With a strong determination, I went to the office the next day.
‘Ma’am, your phone was ringing,’ the attendant informed me immediately.
‘When?’
‘Ten minutes ago, ma’am.’
‘Ok, thanks! I’ll check the voicemail. No worry.’
I got the message- ‘Tomorrow meet the boss at 11 a:m in his office.’ I never got the chance to meet my newly appointed boss. But I heard a lot about him- A serious man, a very time-bound, strict, a new style of judging and so many others. Anyway, I had to finish my work before coming home.
The next day, I drove the car to my boss’s office. The ground floor of a multi-story building was the Head- Office. The interior arrangement was beautiful. I appreciated the interior decoration.
‘Which one is Mr. Khare’s office?’ I asked politely to the watchman. He pointed his finger and said, ‘Ma’am, go left. The first one is his office room.’
‘Ok, thanks!’
He smiled nodding his head.
A huge mirror was attached to the round pillar of the central hall. I could see my reflection. An attendant was standing in front of the door.
‘Please inform the boss, Ipsita, here.’
The attendant went inside, then a second later came back. ‘You can go inside, ma’am.’
I entered the room with a bated breath! Within a second my eyes captured a lot more things in the boss’s cabin. A huge semicircular table was placed near the window, totally glass-framed. The outside view was clear. A rocking chair near the desk but faced towards the window. ‘Perhaps the boss was watching the view,’ I assumed.
I was nervous, and addressed him in a low voice, ‘Sir!’.
‘Please, be seated.'
'How is your work going?'
'Um..it's good, sir.'
'Well! Someone told me that you were too busy yesterday! Was there any major problem?
'Um...no, sir. Just an odd situation! Nothing special.'
'Hm..well, tell me- do you have a friend ?’ he asked me, still facing the window.
‘Yes sir.’
‘Is she married?’
‘Yes, sir.’
‘Ok. You know whom she married?'
'Yes, sir'
'She is my sister-in-law,’ he spoke chuckling.
‘Wh- what?! Lina- sis- sister in law?! When- how?! I mean- she—
‘Yep, got married to my elder brother.’
Slowly he turned the chair towards me with a broad smile.
With a heavy jerk, I pushed the chair violently, and screamed aloud, ‘You……my…boss! I felt the sky was falling upon me! I became a living dead! No word in my mouth to express my feelings! My eyelids stopped blinking.
‘Hey, miss! Are you ok? Cool! Nothing wrong, but that was my style of watching my juniors. Got it?’ He continued giggling aloud.
I stood there speechless!
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