EERIE ENCOUNTERS

“It’ll rain any moment….”I pointed out. Balu ignored me, as he usually does when stumped for an answer. Nagging is wasted on him. The more I nag, the deafer he gets. So, I sat down on my suitcase on the platform and looked at him expectantly.
“What are you gaping at me for?” Balu growled at me, “its not my fault that the dratted train was three hours late!!!”
My stomach told me it was well past dinnertime and I raised the issue feebly, “I am hungry…what can we get here?”
“Would vegetable pulao and Gobi Manchurian be sufficient?” Balu asked sarcastically, added a brusque “ Wait here”, and stalked off down the platform. He found a rickshaw driver who demanded a hundred rupees to take us to our destination. So, Balu haggled with him. Obviously, the man was a better haggler, because we ended up giving him a hundred and fifty rupees. At the end of a rather jolty ride, he dropped us in front of Uncle Param’s estate bungalow.
“Come on, Uncle will be expecting us…” Balu said gleefully and strutted up the path airily, leaving me to heave up both the suitcases. He bore down upon the doorbell for a full minute, as if it had done him some great personal harm, but there was no answering call.
“ Uncle must have gone to pick us up from the station…I told you so. ” Balu told me accusingly.
I wanted to ask, “When?” but thought the better of it. Silently, I resumed my position atop the suitcase, watching Balu mutter under his breath.
Suddenly, the door opened and a young lady appeared, smiling. “I’m so sorry…I was having a bath…Do come in. Doctor Parameswar is out on a call…he told me you were coming.”
We followed her inside wonderingly, and Balu asked, “ Er…I hope I’m not being rude…but who the devil are you, and what on earth are you doing here?” So much for the apology, I thought wryly. But the girl seemed unperturbed and said, “ Oh, sorry…I’m Sushma. My father is the doctor’s driver. I keep house for him…” She ushered us to the bedroom, and left.
“ Pretty girl, isn’t she?” Balu winked at me. “ Very.” I said coldly. Humming something that sounded horribly like, “ O, ek ladki ko dekha tho…” he strolled into the bathroom. I began to unpack the suitcases stoically. Suddenly, the rocking chair in the corner of the room began to rock back and forth…faster and faster, heaving under the weight of an invisible rider!!! I watched it shakily, and backed away rapidly…bumping into a disgruntled looking Balu who had emerged from the bath.
“ B-Balu…” I croaked, unsure as to what to say. He avoided my gaze, and muttered something about the pipes needing repair. Careful questioning revealed that the taps in the bathroom had opened, poured and closed on their own!!! Too petrified for words, I stared at Balu. He pulled the rags of courage about him and said bravely, “ Don’t be silly…the house is a bit old. The water supply system needs repair.” With that, he steered me out of the room firmly, and down to the dining table.
Sushma had laid out a sumptuous meal, but somehow, my hunger had been replaced by butterflies in my stomach. For all his bravado, Balu seemed to have difficulty eating. Twice, he poured sambar into his glass and tried to drink it, and I stopped him just in time. Was it my imagination, or was Sushma disturbed too? She seemed a little jerky, unlike her earlier cool self. Finally, when the strain got unbearable, I burst out, “ Is this place haunted?”
Balu spat out a mouthful of water, and Sushma looked uneasy. As we continued to look at her expectantly, she admitted, “ Well…people say so.” I thumped Balu on the back, as he spat out another mouthful, and tactfully took the glass away from him. The table was already drenched. Sushma related the chilling tale of how this bungalow had been the guesthouse to British officials in the 1900s. In the early 1920s, a nobleman called Sir Jefferson, who had been passionate about hunting, had occupied this place. One dark evening, during a hunt, he had shot at a deer amidst the grass. But it was not a deer…it was a girl!!! The daughter of the village priest. Sir Jefferson had realized that he would be in deep trouble. So he carried her body away.
“Some people say that he treated her and made her well and took her away to England with him…” Sushma said. Balu snorted, making it clear that he doubted it very much. Sushma continued, “ And others say…” “ What?” I asked hoarsely. “ Others say that she died and he buried her body in this very house…and her ghost has haunted this place ever since.” Sushma finished. Inadvertently, I trembled. Balu looked at me and said heartily, “ Shanti!!! It’s all nonsense…honestly! A ghost indeed…” It would have been reassuring, if I hadn’t felt his knees shaking beneath the table.
“ How can Uncle live in this wretched place?” I asked shakily. “ The doctor doesn’t spend much time here…he leaves before dawn and returns mostly after midnight. And he’s frequently away on tours…” Sushma assured us. “ And you?” Balu asked her. “How can you stay here alone?” She smiled sadly, “ The poor have no choice…my father and I¾”.
Suddenly, a car rumbled into the porch. “ Uncle Param!!!” I exclaimed and we rushed to open the door for him. And there he stood; his bald head shining in the moonlight, and an astonished look on his face. “ How the devil did you get in?” he asked. “ Sushma let us in…the train was late.” Balu said brightly. “ Which Sushma?” he asked, wearing a look of absolute idiocy. Impatiently, Balu gestured at Sushma who was standing behind us. As Uncle continued to look baffled, we turned around…only to face an empty hall!!! The dining table was bare of the dishes it had carried. No smiling young girl appeared. The house seemed awfully quiet.
“ Well, let me in…” Uncle said, pushing in past us. “ I waited at the station for you…but then of course, the train was late. So I headed off to Srinivasan’s house…it’s quite near the station. You know Srinivasan of course…he was sweet on your mother for ages…but she turned him down. Anyway, I was there and…”
As Uncle Param chattered away cheerily, Balu and I stared at each other, too stricken to speak.