The Mysterious Holiday

Chapter 4

Yeah, I could not handle the shock he gave me! After a few moments of staring at the screen he gave his verdict, 'I can't see anyone in this picture except you!'

I grabbed the phone from the cafe uncle to verify what he was saying. To my surprise, I could see both of us, I mean Alex and I in the same frame.

I extended the phone again asking him to check it properly but he gave the same reply again. I just couldn't fathom what was going on! 'What nonsense is this?' I hit the table angrily.

Taking in my angry state before him, the cafe uncle approached a group of boys seated on the table in front of us so that they could have a look at the picture and tell him how many people they saw. They all bent in their chairs to get a proper view of the picture and to my utter shock they all exclaimed in unison, 'Only one!'

'Look, nobody can see your friend. I think you're still not over it...I mean the exhaustion you've had after your long journey back home. Your eyes look too tired, and your face is pale. You gotta take enough rest before you go out now,' with that he sent me off. I could see the boys laughing loud, probably to make fun of me. With a baffled, irked, and angry look I stepped out of the cafe.

I started my bike unsure what to do. My mind was clogged with innumerable thoughts. Within a few minutes I found myself passing by the gates of our photography institute. I didn't even think of stopping by and enquiring about Alex there, for many reasons. First of all, we passed out six months ago so there were no chances of finding anyone from our batch there. Secondly, Alex was a too reserved guy; anyone except me hardly spoke to him. Thirdly, even if I had made any attempt to trace him by contacting our campus' administrative staff or connecting with my other batchmates(who I was not very friendly with) on call, I would have ended up being called mad or crazy, I feared. And I didn't want to get insulted again!

All I wanted was to get back home and share everything with my mother. On my way back home, my mind was swirling in the pool of thoughts. I was stunned how Alex was completely wiped out of everyone's minds. And what left me numb was he had lost his presence even in the pictures that I had taken with him! How come only I could see him in the pictures, while he remained invisible to others? Now that was really getting very very serious! At that point I began to doubt myself. I began wondering if Alex existed for real or I was simply hallucinating.

Drowned in an ocean of thoughts, I lost control over my bike and within no time I found myself lying in one place and my bike in the other. Soon after that I fell unconscious, and when I opened my eyes, I found myself lying on the hospital bed. I couldn't believe I met with an accident! I could only recall that I hit a large tree upon taking a turn to the road that led to my house. Luckily, that road was not so busy and I could survive the mishap. I heaved a sigh of relief.

Sensing my movements, my mum quickly came to me from where she was seated. I could see grief in her eyes. Although I had sustained injuries on most parts of my body, I assured her that I was still doing good. She didn't say anything to me except wishing me a speedy recovery. But I was inquisitive; I wanted to know the details. I asked her what happened after the accident. She briefly told me that Sahil and his friend saw me lying on the road and immediately informed her about the accident and they all rushed me to the hospital. Before I could react or explain myself, the doctor arrived to check my progress. He was happy to see me conscious. When I complained to him of severe pain in my left leg, he ordered the nurse for an X-ray report of mine. Soon after that my leg was X-rayed and I was put under various medical tests. I caught some sleep while waiting for the reports of my medical examination. When I woke up, I learnt that my lower left leg had sustained a hairline fracture! I was still thankful to the Almighty because except this fracture thing, I had no other serious problem. All thanks to the helmet that was on my head when I fell down.