30 Reasons To Read

Episode 19: Gracy

My family had moved to a new house in a town I had never seen before. While they were busy settling in, I had stayed back at the hostel, unaware of what the new place was like. As the vacation finally arrived, I boarded a train to join them. I was very excited to see the new house.

When the train pulled into the station, I spotted my big brother, Vicky, waiting for me on the platform. I waved excitedly, practically jumping out of the train. But to my surprise, he didn’t wave back. Instead, he just gave me a curt nod and he didn't look as excited as he always used to get when I went home for vacations. I hurried over to him, slung my bag over his shoulder and handed him my luggage. He took it without a word and immediately turned on his heels, walking briskly toward the exit. I stunned. This wasn’t like him. He always greeted me with a bear hug and a playful punch to the shoulder. Something was off about him.

As we strolled out of the station, I noticed how strangely deserted it was. Only a handful of passengers had disembarked, and within minutes, they all disappeared into cabs and autorickshaws, leaving the place eerily empty. It felt like a ghost town, the kind you only see in horror movies where you know something terrible is about to happen.

"Remember Chennai?" I said, trying to fill the silence as we approached the car. "Every time I came home, we’d have to squeeze through the crowd, getting pushed left and right. But this place... it’s like no one even lives here."

Vicky still didn’t respond. He popped open the trunk and threw my bags in with a haste that made me uneasy. Before I could ask anything else, he hurried into the car. I followed suit, slipping into the passenger seat.

"Is something wrong, Vicky?" I asked cautiously, watching him as he fidgeted with the keys. He didn’t meet my gaze. His face was unusually pale, his jaw tight with tension.

"Just get inside!" he snapped, his tone sharp. He slammed his door shut and after a quick glance at the rearview mirror, revved the engine. As we pulled out of the parking lot, I caught a glimpse of the station master standing in the distance. He was the last soul at the station, dressed in a tattered, old uniform, staring after us with a blank expression that sent a chill down my spine.

The ride was uncomfortably quiet. I decided to stay quiet until he spoke because no matter how much I spoke, he had no intention of responding. Usually, these trips home were never calm. I’d tell Vicky about my college adventures and he’d fill me in on all the news from home. We would giggle, thrashing around. But now, the air between us felt suffocatingly heavy. I kept sneaking glances at him but his eyes were weirdly glued to the road ahead. There were only dense stretches of trees on either side of the road. No vehicles. No buildings. No signs of life.

"It’s not a good idea." His voice suddenly cut into the heavy silence.

I slowly turned to look at him. He was driving with a straight face, his jaw clenched so tightly that it looked painful, and his knuckles white on the steering wheel.

"What?"

"Moving to this place." His words were cold, distant.

"Why would you say that?" I asked, feeling a strange knot form in my stomach.

He let out a bitter laugh, but there was no humor in it. "Everything's gone wrong since we moved here. You wouldn’t believe the things that have happened."

My skin prickled. "What do you mean?"

"Mom... she’s not herself anymore." His voice wavered slightly, a crack in the strong facade he always put on. "She’s been acting... weird."

"Weird how?" I asked, feeling the tension in the car deepen.

Vicky took a deep breath, his eyes never leaving the empty road. "She started talking to someone named Gracy. At first, Dad and I thought she was just stressed from the move. She’d walk around the house, having full conversations with this 'Gracy,' even though no one else was there."