Wanting to go ahead and experience travelling on his own, Darsh decided to head for the hills in his car. His grandparents owned a property there, right where the climb began.
The house had two floors and a garden which clearly needed a gardener to trim through the overgrowth. A caretaker, a local in the area, came by occasionally to tidy up the house.
The house used to be frequently visited before, when it was possible then with Darsh’s generation the time shortened with everyone putting the largest chunk of what they mostly claimed as their work. But, Darsh was not one of them and tired of all the excuses made for not being able to find time and the assurances given for time to be found next time it was planned, Darsh decided to go for it himself.
“But, what about the ghost?” asked Lalit sitting next to Darsh while Darsh drove
Yes, while the rest of the family knew that Darsh was travelling on his own, dissatisfied by others busy schedules while Darsh had actually asked his childhood friend Lalit to tag along. Afterall, what would he do there alone.
“It’s a made-up story by my cousin. If there was ghost, I am sure I would have seen something,” replied Darsh
“But you all go there together as a family, the ghost might not be comfortable to come out,” said Lalit
Darsh looked at Lalit and said, “So ghosts now have standards of comfort? Well, let’s find out.”
Darsh smiled but Lalit did not. When they reached there the caretaker stood outside. Old and clearly underweight, the big eyes stared at the two young men with the mouth being partially hidden by the white moustache.
“Is this house haunted?” asked Lalit before Darsh had the chance to say anything
The caretaker narrowed his eyes on Lalit and then he moved them towards Darsh and then back to Lalit and the spoke, “Of course it is”
“No, it is not,” said Darsh
“Yes, it is. Everyone in the town knows this, sometimes tourists come by and I show them the house, for a small fee of course,” said the caretaker
“What? You are letting strangers in the house and taking money? Does grandpa know about this?” asked Darsh
“Yes, he does. That was the plan,” replied the caretaker
“Plan to spread the rumour that the house was haunted?”
“No, plan to make it a guest house once the house become popular enough for being haunted”
“So, the house really is haunted?” asked Lalit and just then the clock within the house sounded the alarm for 9 pm
Without saying anything further the caretaker handed the keys to Darsh and went away riding his squeaking old bicycle as both the friends observed the behaviour from where they had been standing.
The first night passed and there was no ghost, Darsh slept well while Lalit woke up at the faintest noise.
The next day, the friends went out to see the nearby river with the caretaker and spent a comfortable day there camping and they returned as the night fell and the caretaker once again cycled away squeakily.
“What is he so afraid of?” asked Lalit
“Exposing that the house is not haunted,” laughed Darsh
That night there was a distinct sound of something falling, and Lalit woke up and he also woke up Darsh. Nothing in particular was found fallen at that time. Next day it was found that a small wooden box had fallen off the table. Lalit insisted this was proof.
“The wind could have done it,” said Darsh as he went away to pack things for the trek in the forest and the caretaker went along with them that day as well.
That night upon returning, the caretaker once again went away silently.
“He is the ghost,” said Lalit
“What made you think that?” asked Darh as he almost laughed
“Every night we find it odd that he goes away like this yet we somehow forget to ask him about it the next day. Don’t you think it is something?” said Lalit
“I did not think too much about it. But if it makes you feel better, I will ask him tomorrow,” said Darsh
“Me, the ghost?” said the caretaker, “No, the ghost is why I go away quickly as the night falls”
“So have you actually seen this ghost?” asked Lalit
“Many times, I am quite surprised you both haven’t,” said the caretaker
“You are staying here tonight. I’ll pay you extra, show us this ghost. It will be a fun experience at least,” said Darsh
That night the three men sat in the drawing room of the house with lights off and in complete silence.
They waited as the clock dug deeper into the night and hours went by and at 3:40 am the caretaker spoke, “did you hear that?”
“What? Where?” asked Lalit awakening from the sleep that had begun to take over him while Darsh stayed silent, trying to hear what the caretaker was talking about
The caretaker stood up and said “I will check it” and he quickly disappeared into the darkness in the direction he claimed to hear the sound from. Then he came back just as quickly and without saying anything went out the front door and the squeaky sound of the bicycle was heard once more.
“Did he run away?” asked Lalit, his voice shaking a little
“Yes, he did,” said Darsh, “But not because he saw a ghost, but because there wasn’t any ghost and the morning light would have been visible soon. It was a last desperate attempt at making us think that there is one.”
Written by Anuran Chatterji
The Old house
Early Morning Memories 