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Chapter 4

I heated a plate of leftover biryani and served myself. After a hectic day that was full of frustrations, I was in no mood to cook for myself. I was terrified at the thought of that headless silhouette that roamed in my lane. I planned to gobble my food as fast as possible and just sleep.

After the dinner, I called upon my wife who had reached to her destination in Mumbai. She was staying at the hotel arranged by her company and I was satisfied that she was safe. After a short conversation, my wife forced me to sleep after giving a cascade of orders of not drinking alcohol and thinking about Ansh.

The disappearance of Ansh Awasthy had been destroying my mental peace since long so I myself, decided to sleep. Having slumped in my bed, I tried a lot to drift in my dreamland but my mind wandered towards the thoughts of that headless silhouette. I began to tremble in fear. To lessen my anxiety, I decided to watch a romantic comedy that was streaming on one of the TV channels.
It was around quarter to twelve at midnight, when the movie finished. No doubts, the last three hours were extremely refreshing for me. Having forgotten all my worries, I was feeling quite rejuvenated when the curiosity brought out the worst of me. I got up from my bed, only to stand at my window facing the streetlight of my lane.

I did not have the courage of standing in the balcony all alone but I was inquisitive about that terrifying silhouette of a young lad who wore a black kimono and seemed to just one like us except of the fact that it lacked a head which we all possessed. Though terrified, I was truly excited to test the fact if I was a normal person or that silhouette was one of the imaginations of my drunken self.

The faint moonlight was brightening the dim light coming from a halogen lamp on the pavement of my lane. I took a deep breath as I stared at the lonely lane illuminated with a bright yellow light. The nocturnal insects were buzzing around the hot halogen lamp.
Soon, the clock struck twelve and I continued to stare aimlessly at the lonely lane. It was then I realized perhaps, my wife was right.

I cursed myself for making a fool of myself in front of my family members, friends and colleagues. I could not help but deduce the fact that perhaps, I was hallucinating about that silhouette of a beheaded young lad when the clock struck at fifteen minutes past twelve.

Perhaps, the work pressure had increased beyond measure since a week with an affluent case in my kitty. With the pressure from police and politicians to find Ansh Awasthy, I was frustrated for being clueless. I had been drinking neat whisky every night over a week and perhaps, that was the reason for my unexplainable hallucinations, I explained myself as I waited for another fifteen minutes.

At twelve thirty, when I did not see any silhouette, I was elated. I was extremely delighted at the thought of that headless young lad being my figment of my imagination. Chuckling lightly, I felt rejuvenated as I decided to call Anvita in the morning and seek help from psychologist.

Having been into this profession over years, I had come across a variety of people with different mindsets. I had dealt with schizophrenics to psychopaths. I had developed an unexplainable empathy towards the people suffering from mental disorders and I did not want to be one of them. I decided to consult a psychiatrist to keep my hallucinations in check as I walked towards my bed.

With a satisfying smile on my lips, I closed my eyes and relaxed my body as soon as I slumped on my bed. My mind wandered at different facets of the disappearance of Ansh Awasthy. I tried to connect the dots between Priya’s phone and Ansh as sleep was no where to be found. I cringed at the lack of information as I could not figure out where this case was heading to.

I was extremely satisfied to have a peaceful night. I was relishing the calmness of a night in solitude without any ounce of fear. I opened my eyes and laid still enjoying the monotony of that witching hour when I saw something or precisely, someone crawling on my window sill.

I neglected the moment as I realized it is perhaps, some other phantasm of my twisted mind. I turned on my stomach and buried my head in the cozy pillow missing the cuddles of my wife. My heart was thumping loudly, no doubts and I would clearly deny if I say I was not terrified. I was simply horrified at my delusions but I was not in a position to do anything except shut my eyes and sleep.

My state was just like a pigeon whose story my grandmother had told me a plethora of times when I was a kid. The immortal tale explained the human nature of escaping the inevitable beautifully. I found that saga really interesting. It highlighted the folly of a cute pigeon who closed his eyes in front of a cat instead of flying in the sky with a hope that if he could not see the cat, it might not see him too. I knew pigeon was a fool trying to escape something which was inevitable but I realized I was also doing the same.

I was quivering in fear and perspiring hard when I heard someone whispering, “Ved”.

I was startled. I felt as if blood drained from my body, I froze in terror. My breath became rapid as I felt as cold as ice. I felt someone pulling up the grey comforter from my body and my head began to hammer. My throat became parched and I was in dire in need of my wife to calm myself.

I wanted to scream but I felt as if my voice was lost. I felt a cold-blooded hand patting shoulder incessantly calling me, “Mr. Ved. Please get up.”
“Listen to me”, the terrifying male voice commanded and I turned around overcoming my fears. I was praying to wake up from my nightmare but somewhere I knew, I was not dreaming at all.

As soon as I saw a sight of a young lad dressed in a black colored kimono standing before me, I froze. The young lad had broad shoulders and a height of about six feet. He had two hands and two legs just like all of us but all he lacked was a head.

I trembled in fear, as one thought crossed my mind,
“How was he able to speak?”

Though I was frightened beyond measure, I realized I needed to stay strong for myself, my family and my profession. I decided to confront the headless man standing before me.

😎😎😎

Word count : 1165

Hi everyone

This is turning scary! 😒

I am concerned of Ved.

Who this headless man is? 😐

I will be back soon, till then, VOTE, COMMENT AND SHARE

With immense love
♥️