Night crawler

Night crawler

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He got up from the bed it was about 11 o clock in the night in his village. He took the 5 cell torch opened the door and went out. It was dark outside; he lighted the torch and started walking through the kacha pakka road. The ruins of the old jamidar house was by the side of a pond. The light from the torch was tearing through the sheet of darkness of the village road; with his walk light was swinging to and fro. He had heard there was treasure buried in the ruins so stealthily he was going to explore. After reaching the old dilapidated mansion he started his search for the treasure. He climbed the broken staircase, went through the abandoned rooms with hanging ceilings, the light from the torch was snaking around impatiently. He abandoned the search and went back home.

Whenever Rajat went to his village he had this recurring dream of that Ruin and his searching for treasure. He thought probably he had heard so much about that haunted house with buried treasure that his subconscious mind always thought of looking for the treasure.The villagers were scared of that haunted ruin.

He had heard people discussing about mysterious movement in the night around that ruin.

Now of course after retirement Rajat has come to the village to visit his uncle.In place of the ruin a club has come up. He visited the library of the club. He enquired about the old ruin. He was informed that the panchayat took a decision to demolish that ruin and start the club. After performing puja the club was started and no more ghost story. They of course remember to have seen movement of some shadowy figure during those old days in the ruin. But dead in the night no one dares to come to the club, that lingering fear of haunted house was still there.

“What about the treasure?” Rajat enquired.

“Oh that! While digging for foundation we did go down to a few meters but nothing was noticed.”

Rajat went out and took a round of the club. A small ruin was still there by the side of pond.

The demography of the village has changed after the new road came up. Now many young men go to their work place from the village. So no longer it is village where working members would stay in some bachelor mess in town and come to village for weekends.New colleges have come, the undergrads can attend college by staying in the village otherwise they were compelled to stay in towns to attend college.

After visiting the club that dream of Rajat again came. This dream was about his going near the pond instead of the ruin with his torch and hunting the treasure.

He was discussing with his friend Parimal about his dream.

Parimal said,” I am scared to go near that club in the night because I grew up seeing that ruin.”

“I am subconsciously hooked to the treasure story so I get that dream repeatedly whenever I am here.” Rajat absentmindedly said.

But the younger generation was not buying the ghost story; incidentally the club was often used for boozing by those youngsters which was fawned upon by elders. It was late on that Thursday night. The club members left one by one  after watching the match in club TV, India lost to West Indies in World Cup T 20 semifinal. But a few of them had other plan. They stayed back for boozing. Their boozing session was warming up when one of them said, “ Looks like someone is coming.”

They were worried that the village elders would catch them boozing. They switched off the light and went out after locking the club door. They noticed a dancing ray of light from a powerful torch going towards the pond. They got curious and followed the light. They waited at a distance and watched the curious activity. The man with the light hardly spent a few minute by the side of pond and then started walking back the way he had come. They followed him and found him to enter Mukherjee house, heard the sound of the bolt drawn on the outer door.

Rajat was restless with his recurring dream.

That night it happened again, after a peg of whiskey he went to sleep. He dreamt that he got up, took the torch opened the door and started walking towards the club but then he was woken up by his uncle. He was standing outside in the dead of night with torch in hand and surrounded by young men of the village and his uncle.He was like in a trance with glassy eyes. He did not remember when he had sleep walked out. He was embarrassed by that situation in the night.

He knew that he was a somnambulist but that was during his childhood days. As per scientists up to 17 years of age due to delayed maturity some people get it . During his childhood he had got up from his bed and sleep walked to the neighbor’s house. There are reports of people doing cooking or cleaning the house or even driving in that somnambulist state. As such there is no particular cure; it is more due to sleep disorder. Navigational brain cells that help sense direction are as electrically active during deep sleep or sleepwalking as they are during wake time, scientists have discovered and that is why he always thought it was a dream when he was actually performing a task.

Rajat next day went back to his Calcutta flat as he knew that haunted ruin would pull him in the night and he would sleep walk again.

The news about Rajat's sleep walking spread in the village, Parimal was asked by all about Rajat's strange behavior . Parimal was not happy that the wayward youngsters were using the club for boozing and which might lead to other nefarious activities in the village.

He said seriously to the villagers, " Rajat used to get Nishi Dak ( in Bengali, it means call from ghost) every night. So he would get up in his sleep and walk towards the pond where we all know the ruin was there. Though we have built the club but the ghosts of the haunted house have not left that place. Ram Ram from today after finishing my card game in the evening i will leave the club as early as possible, i don't want to be lured by that ghost."

His concocted ghost story was bought hook and sinker by the village folks including those youngsters, after all who does not believe in ghosts. So the boozing in the club during night stopped.