Mr Aithal sat in a small cafe taking another bite of his sandwich and occasionally having a sip of the coffee. He loved the coffee here; it reminded him of the one he had when had gone on a tour abroad. He drank the coffee with care, ensuring that it lasted more than the sandwich did.
Mr Aithal particularly enjoyed this view outside the storefront glass wall. In front was the entrance of an apartment complex. The apartments were just so similar to the place Mr Aithal imagined living in. White coloured with golden borders, they were a perfect blend of modern architecture and classical architecture.
“Saving up money for the apartment?” asked the cafe owner who had become friendly with Mr Aithal over the time and had on various occasions noticed him looking at the apartments.
“You wouldn’t happen to know anyone who would be interested in buying a two-story house?” asked Mr Aithal
“No, I don’t. But I can ask around,” said the cafe owner
“Don’t bother, because no one will buy that house,” said Mr Aithal, looking at the cup of coffee in his hand.
“Is the property disputed? I might know someone who might be able to help you out of it,” offered the owner
“Yes, there is an apparent dispute, but this person you know will not be able to help with it. The dispute is not among two people but people and the apparent supernatural”
“So, it’s a ghost problem,” said the owner, “well, there are ways to deal with that as well”
“The problem is I have not experienced anything supernatural myself,” said Mr Aithal
The café owner looked confused and was about to ask something, when a customer stepped in and he became busy attending to him, while Mr Aithal finished his coffee and then he walked out of the cafe. He mostly came to the café on his way back from the office.
Mr Aithal sat on his scooter and was on his way towards his home, it was a fourty minutes ride. If he lived in the apartments though, his travelling time would have halved or become even lesser that that. But Mr Aithal was unable to sell his house in order to get his hand on the amount required to buy the apartment and he didn’t want to disturb his solid savings.
Mr Aithal entered his lane and was met with a few uncomfortable gazes. The area had become quieter over the time. He still remembered running around with his friends during his childhood, with smiling neighbours all around, all the festivals being celebrated, even birthdays and anniversaries were joyous occasions. The memory of that time is something Mr Aithal refers to as a glimpse at the best life possible.
Slowly children of the people grew up moved to other places seeking better working opportunities and they took their families with them. Some people passed away, people shifting to this area became rare, most people who came lived on rent for a temporary time. It had become completely opposite in contrast to what it was.
Although Mr Aithal was very much attached to his parent’s house, but he felt he was being unfair to his children, depriving them of a childhood like the one he himself enjoyed, hence the plan to sell the house came up, and then something completely unnecessary happened.
Mrs Jha, who lived in the house on the right with her family, was a 77 years old woman. She had been a vigil person almost her whole life. Her room was on the first floor of the house and the balcony was her favourite place. When her son got married and daughter in law took up the majority of Mrs Jha’s responsibilities, Mrs Jha began to spend more time on the balcony. She knew who was passing and if within sight then where he/she was going.
One evening when Mr Aithal returned from office, he found Mrs Aithal in worry.
“Is everything all right?” asked Mr Aithal
“Did you go to the terrace at 2 in night?” asked Mrs Aithal
“No, I don’t even remember if I was ever awake at that time except when mother and father had passed away,” said Mr Aithal, “what’s the matter?”
“Mrs Jha says she saw a ghost of a man sitting on our terrace”
“On our terrace?” said Mr Aithal and he rushed to the terrace to see if he could find signs of anyone being there, however it was not an easy task to reach here without going through the stairs of the house.
“I don’t think there is any sign of anyone being there, no shoe or hand marks anywhere,” said Mr Aithal as he came back down, “how did she know it was a ghost?”
“She said the man disappeared into air,” said Mrs Aithal
“Mrs Jha is getting old now, her senses are playing tricks on her,” said Mr Aithal
“But, there are people who believe anything she says,” said Mrs Aithal
They did not talk about it further, but the next day things got worse. Mrs Jha had passed away. Her lifeless body was found on the balcony chair and she was for some reason sitting facing Mr Aithal’s house.
“This is just a big coincidence and nothing else. She was an old woman,” said Mr Aithal
“Even if you are right, it’s no use, everyone thinks the ghost did it, Mrs Jha never gave any clarification,” said Mrs Aithal
Someone uploaded the whole ordeal on social media along with the picture of the claimed ‘haunted house’. Even some newspapers were attracted to it.
“Its not true. It’s just something an aged woman said she saw and coincidently passed away the next day. I was born in that house; I have lived there all my life. There is no such thing there,” explained Mr Aithal to the property dealer
“I understand completely and believe me, I don’t think there are any such things. But what we believe does not matter, the buyers have to believe that there is no ghost there,” said the property dealer and then he added in a pressed voice, “You have no idea the number of people who believe in all forms of weird things.”
Mr Aithal decided to consult another property dealer but things were not very different there as well. Some interested buyers demanded heavy discounts which were not possible.
“It’s alright. It’s not like we are selling the house for an emergency. We still have a beautiful house and now it has this story to it,” said Mrs Aithal one morning
“How are the kids reacting to it?” asked Mr Aithal
“Oh, they are very excited. They are telling everyone about the ghost, I think at least one of them should become a writer. You have to hear the stories they have made up”
It might not have been what Mr Aithal wanted, but it was fine as long as everyone in the house was fine with it.
Written by Anuran Chatterji
Early Morning Memories 