Deceptive Reflections

Yesterday, I came to this remote town. I work as an assistant of the venue manager of movies. I came across this town while working for a latest film. What my work basically is, is to read the script of the movie, understand the point of view of the director and come up with an outdoor venue for the shoot. Most of the shoot happens within the studio but some scenes need to be shot at the appropriate places to make it look convincing.

The genre of the film I was working for was romance. And the director wanted a place which was a town, not a big one, small and remote and next to a jungle.

On my friends suggestion, I came to this place for a field visit. And the moment I stepped on its soil, I knew that this was it. This is what we need. This is exactly what the movie needs.

I booked a local guide for the day who showed me around the possible areas where we could shoot our scenes. And I was impressed, that town was breath taking!

I had to stay back there that night as it was already six in the evening and we still had to check out the main thing! The mansion where most of the scenes would be shot!

We reached the mansion, I got to say it was beautiful and very well kept, considering that nobody has stayed in it since 25 years.

It had a huge green lawn and pretty chairs and a table and a pebbled road from the gate to the stairs of the mansion, which lead to the entrance. The hills rose behind the mansion looming the mansion in its shadows as the sun was on its way to set. We went behind the mansion to get in from the back gate as the front, they rarely opened. It was as if the mansion ended and the jungle began.

It was a two storied old brick building. The guide and I checked the ground floor and now it was the time to check the top most floor. I signalled him to climb the stairs.

He straight up denied it. "No sir, you asked me to bring you here. It was my job, Ive got you here. I wont come any further especially not the top floor. Sir, no one wanders here after 4pm, and not a soul steps inside after the dark, and it is dark now. I am sorry sir. You seem like a well educated man, I thought you would scorn if I told you about this place but sir, It is haunted.  You can go if you want. Ill wait here."

I shrugged and started climibing the stairs. Men and brain. Well what could I say. I wasnt a believer in either god or evil. I believed in faith.

"Sir, there is some problem with the first floor, the lights dont work."

"Okay" I said. Great. What was the point then. What would I see in the dark. I should have gone back down, such an easy thing it was to do. Turn around and get down the stairs but no, the guide had somehow made me want to prove him wrong, that there is nothing "haunting" about this place on the contrary this mansion was peacful.

I climbed the stairs to the first floor. And entered the first room I could see. I turned my cigreatte lighter on. Wasnt much but atleast I could see some of the room. It was a study. There were loads and loads of the books on the shelves. And suprisingly there was not a hint of dust. The books were old but the place was clean. Somebody must be comming here often to clean it.

There was nothing scarly about this place. Probably rumors started so that nobody would buy this place. I snickered. Dumb people.

It was now 7:55 and the night was turning to become a chilly and a windy one. I had to cover the flame with my other hand so that it would not extinguish. This was the second room I was touring in. It was like a living room, couldnt understand its purpose but there was a sofa on a side wall and a coffee table and a few books lying around.

A chill ran down my spine. I dont know why. It felt as if a cold hand, slid down my back. I have no idea why but at that moment I though about a lifeless cold body craving  the heat of a live and warm blooded person.

Suddenly my thoughts started getting dark. I was scared, just because of a chill. I tried to rationalise with my brain. It is a cold night, cool air, I was bound to feel cold.

But when you've been warned of a certain thing, no matter how much you dont believe in it, your brain starts playing tricks on you to make you accept it. The same thing was happening with me. I would jump at a slight noise which would be the wood creaking beneath my weight or a mice.

I moved around the room,checking it out,  but suddenly I froze. I saw something glistening behind me in my peripherial vision. I saw a shadow move just as I turned towards the source of the glistening.

To my utter relief or horror, you would say, I saw my own reflextion. There was a small rectangular mirror on the wall. I could see my face, nothing else because the flame of the lighter was small and on the verge of burning out. It was dumb of me, but I moved my hands in front of the mirror to, you know, confirm that it was a mirror.I made a funny face and so did my mirror image. I lifted my left hand up and so did my mirror image.

Relieved, I thought what an idiot I was. The glistening was of the mirror as the light of my flickering flame fell on it. And the shadow was my own reflextion in the mirror.

I laughed out. Tired of roaming around in the dark without being able to see much. I left. Paid the guide his money and told him to get me here again in the morning. I went to my motel ate a bit and went to sleep.

The next morning, the guide came up with me. "Now that it was no longer dark, there would be no more ghosts." He said it, I just quote. I checked the study again, just once in the proper lighting.

It was flawless and even more beautiful in the morning.

"This place is very clean, the books, the mirror, who cleans it?" I asked him generally as we emtered the 2nd room, I had toured last night.

"There is a maid, but I think sir you are making a mistake."

"What mistake?" I asked.

"There have been no mirrors in this mansion since 25 years, sir."  He said just as I looked out through the rectangular shaped window.