The video showed moving ahead in a long passage of an abandoned factory. The person who carried the camera ran through the empty passageway. The passageway was dimly lit with the help of the light from the streetlights which managed to come in through the old and broken glasses of the windows on the right. The sound of breathing was that of a girl, the camera turned behind several times but nothing in particular could be seen in the shaky video.
The girl turned left and a door could be seen straight ahead. The girl rushed in and closed the door behind. The flashlight of the phone shone on the closed door; the heavy breathing were forcibly calmed to make the least amount of noise. Nothing happened for a while and then a shadow of two feet could be seen from the gap at the end of the door. The shadow remained still and suddenly the door was flung open, and a scream followed, the phone fell down and nothing but the ceiling could be seen till the end.
The video ended and Chirag looked at Junaid who was still shaken by the ending. Both of them were friends and were in 11th standard of the same school. They also lived in the same village which had blossomed and sustained well alongside a major river.
“Look at the number of people who have seen the video,” said Chirag
“What happened to the girl? Who found the phone?” asked Junaid who was still thinking about it
“The girl herself posted the video, maybe the ghost did not get her. Ghosts are mostly harmless. But that is not why I showed it to you. My elder cousin Purab who lives in the city told me that people earn money from making these videos and these types of scary ghost videos are watched by many,” said Chirag trying to see signs of understanding on Junaid’s face
Junaid thought and then spoke, “All right, so we will make scary ghost videos. But who will play the part of the ghost.”
“No one will play the part. Everything will be real. We will find a real ghost,” explained Chirag
Junaid again thought for a while and said, “Then tell me Chirag, when was the last time you saw a ghost outside the screen of a smartphone or television?”
This time Chirag was the one to think and said, “One day grandma saw someone standing on the terrace of our house and my father rushed to catch whoever it was but there was no one. So, it had to be a ghost.”
“Your grandma must be mistaken, it happens to old people. I have seen my grandfather saying similar things as well,” said Junaid
“Ghosts are real and there are people who have seen them. We are going to find them and make many videos and earn money. Are you with me or not?” Chirag said like a person ready to go on a mission.
Junaid thought about the ongoing summer vacations and how much his school projects that he had to submit had progressed, He would have to take out time for regular studies though to convince his parents to allow him to go ahead with this venture of making videos, then again if they start earning nobody would mind.
“Fine let’s go, I know a person who might be able to help,” said Junaid
The boys made their way to the outer side of the village where an old man lived. Chirag stood and observed the house which looked like it could collapse at any moment.
“Are you sure it is the right place?” asked Chirag
“Yes, this man has actually been attacked by a ghost or that is what people say. If there is a ghost then he might be able to tell where,” said Junaid
The boys knocked on the door, and the door suddenly opened and out ran a man almost falling on his way out, on his face and body language, fear was clearly visible.
“What was that? Maybe this isn’t a good idea,” said Chirag
“You are scared of a person and you want to go out and find ghosts? Trust me he is harmless, I have passed him by several times. My father said he used to be a good man before the ghost incident happened,” said Junaid
Chirag and Junaid entered the house. The house was in a mess with almost nothing properly kept and there was a bad smell, probably from the kitchen. Something caught the boys’ attention and it was the painting of a lake and over the lake reached the branches of a tree and on one of the branches sat an entity completely covered in darkness except for a hand reaching out.
“This… Could this be the ghost he saw?” asked Chirag
“Maybe” said Junaid and all of a sudden, the boys jumped ahead startled, as two hands rested on their shoulders from behind.
They turned to see an old man with unkempt white hair, the body a little bent but he was walking without a stick. He had himself covered with a gray shawl despite the hot weather outside.
The boys expected the old man to be angry but he looked at them and said, “sit”
They saw a dining table to their left and quietly sat on two chairs. The old man walked slowly to an unoccupied chair and made himself comfortable on it.
“So, you two also want to hear the story of the ghost attack?” asked the old man
“….no.. actually we know the story, we want you to tell us where we can find the ghost,” said Junaid
“Find the ghost? Oh, don’t tell me you are here to make a video, but then again, I don’t see a camera,” said the old man scratching his head
“We are just starting, we will use our phones as cameras,” spoke Chirag
“Why did that man run away from here?” interrupted Junaid not being able to stop himself from asking
“Which man? Oh that one, he couldn’t handle the story,” said the old man then he focused upon the two boys, “You know what the problem is? You people think ghosts are some form of entertainment, they are thrilling, giving you that dose of scared enough to enjoy.”
Junaid felt the old man might have been offended by the idea of making videos and said, “Look we mean no offense, I.. I mean we understand you had a very horrifying experience.”
The old man got up, “If you understand, then go home and stop searching for ghosts.”
Chirag felt a good chance of finding a ghost was getting out of hand and thus he spoke sternly, “We want to make a career out of this, so let us know where we can find this ghost. If you want, we will pay you when we earn.”
“So you will not listen,” said the old man in a low tone, then he raised his head with an angry expression and looked towards Chirag, then he started speaking in a loud tone, “Youu.. want to know where the ghost is? You think you will be able to handle its presence?” and the old man began screaming, “I will show you your ghost, try and make a video!!”
Everything fell silent, and for a while there was no sound except the sound of the door at the entrance which was moving due to the wind. Chirag and Junaid sat stunned looking into the empty air where the old man was standing just a few seconds ago before vanishing into thin air.
Written by Anuran Chatterji
Early Morning Memories 
2 responses to “Through the veil”
My entire family was able to contact with the world beyond in one way or another, My first experience came when my dad passed when I was ten, Then in the apartment of a lady who had me call her grandma I was sitting in her lap and my dad appeared in the kitchen doorway, He was dressed in his outer coat and hat so we would recognize him and he smiled and nodded before he disappeared again to let us know he was glad to see his daughter was all right. When my husband passed 7 years ago the first Christmas without him I was not sure how it would go, Then as I sat and drank some wine and watched Christmas movies I felt a hand squeeze my right kneww. It was such a comfort to know he was there so I spoke to him while I felt the pressure and was sad when he went away but we have had many good contacts.
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really good one!!!👍🏼
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