Desi Horror Stories

The Husband

Vaidehi had all of it in the right measure—she was intelligent, young, pretty, and filled with a measure of compassion and kindness that few people possess. Perhaps, it is the way of nature then to balance out such lofty virtues with certain sorrows. Vaidehi had a sorrow too, and hers was colossal—she lost her husband Aman only two years into their marriage. And there seemed to be no way for her to come out of the loss.

This was experienced, quite literally, by her friend Sheela and her husband Chaitanya when they came to visit her in the middle of the summer. Sheela was her closest buddy from school times, but this was a visit in ages since they lived in different cities now. Sheela had wanted for long to visit her dear pal and give her the consolation she needed, but she had gotten the opportunity to do so only six months after the tragedy.

Vaidehi received them with a smile. She looked as pretty as ever. In a strange way, Sheela felt that sadness suited her appearance, but she soon banished that terrible thought. Vaidehi showed them her house. She lived alone in the house they had brought after their marriage, which made Sheela feel sadder for her, for the one thing that grieving people should be kept away from is loneliness.

It was at tea that Sheela finally asked her friend, "So, how are things, Vaidu?"

"Everything is just rosy!" she said with a smile.

"You can talk to me," Sheela urged. "How are you dealing with it? The loneliness and all?"

Vaidehi immediately looked up. "Loneliness? Why should I feel lonely?"

Sheela's eyes narrowed. "I mean, about Aman..."

"Yeah, yeah. About Aman," Vaidehi said. "He told me to apologize on his behalf for not being home in the morning. He had to go to work, you see? But he'll be here for dinner."

About that same time, a gust of cool evening breeze brushed against Sheela's cheek. She did not know what to say! Vaidehi gave her no opportunity either, for she immediately left for the kitchen and started with the dinner preparations.

Not knowing what to do, Sheela cautioned her husband about what had just transpired. "She thinks Aman is still alive," she told him. "I don't know what's going on. Either she's pranking me or there's some deep-seated mental issue here. Anyway, let's not bring him up, okay?" Chaitanya nodded.

At dinner, Vaidehi laid out four plates. She brought out the food and waited. She smiled and constantly looked at the clock. "Just a few minutes, okay?" she told the couple. "He's always home at sharp 7:30 without fail."

The three of them waited in near silence as the minutes ticked by. The cloud of apprehension in the room turned heavier and heavier. Sheela and Chaitanya looked at each other in fear, not knowing what was going on. As the time neared, they felt their hearts thumping out of their chests.

They jumped out of their chairs when the clock struck half past seven, for, in conjunction with that, the doorbell rang sharply.

Vaidehi went up to open the door with a smile on her face. "As I told you, he's as punctual as the evening moth." As Sheela and Chaitanya practically squeezed each other's hands nervously, Vaidehi opened the door to an empty corridor. She bowed at no one and told him, "Aman, our friends are here. Come right away to dinner; we are waiting." And then she came and settled in her chair and said, "We can start now."

Sheela gulped when she heard the creak. It was like someone had actually settled down in the empty chair with them at the table.

The dinner that followed was the most terrifying experience of Sheela's and Chaitanya's lives. As they merely nibbled on the food (for their appetites had completely died), Vaidehi involved her husband into the conversation. She brought up topics like the movies and shopping and holiday destinations, and expected Sheela or Chaitanya to give their inputs on what Aman had just said. At one point, she asked Chaitanya to pass the dish of eggplants to Aman and Chaitanya did it with trembling hands. He was the one sitting next to the chair where Aman was supposed to be, and when he leaned over to pass the eggplant, he would swear later, he felt a cold spot on that chair.

Sheela and Chaitanya wanted to leave the house immediately after dinner, but Vaidehi looked so crestfallen at the suggestion that they did not have the heart to leave. Vaidehi made a face and said, "Won't you at least play a game of poker with Aman? Come on, we are four of us. It will be fun."

And thus, began another hair-raising experience. They sat in her bedroom on the bed and attempted to play cards. There was no laughter, no joy, just a lot of fear. Needless to say, Sheela and Chaitanya lost terribly, for they could not concentrate on the game at all. Vaidehi taunted them all along for being such poor players.

They were near thankful when Vaidehi said that she had had enough of the game and it was time to go to bed. Sheela and Chaitanya went to the guest bedroom, locked the door, and looked at each other for several minutes, not knowing what to say to each other. Then Chaitanya said, "I don't know what to think. But as I was leaving the room, I saw the reflection of a man sitting cross-legged on the bed with a deck of cards in his hand. It looked very much like Aman from the picture."

"Oh my God! I felt him too," Sheela said, "at the dinner table. I saw the spoon in his plate move, just a bit."

"What are we doing here, Sheelu?"

"It was a mistake," Sheela admitted. "But I didn't know this was... anyway, let's get out first thing in the morning. It's already 3 a.m."

They kept the lights on and tried to get some sleep. But they couldn't sleep a wink. Ten minutes later, they heard sounds of laughing and giggling from the adjoining bedroom, which was Vaidehi's and Aman's, and it was followed by a furtive rocking of the bed—as if they were making love!

Sheela and Chaitanya heaved a sigh of relief when they stepped out of the compound of the house and sat in their car. Chaitanya did not lose a moment in starting his car for the homeward journey. They did not talk about the bizarre incident throughout the journey, and even for days afterward. It was like an unspoken pact that they would put this experience behind them.

It was about a month later, in the afternoon, that Sheela received a call from Vaidehi. Sheela was alone in the house and the hair on the back of her neck stood on end when she saw Vaidehi's name. She picked up the call, however, and waited for Vaidehi to speak.

"Thanks, Sheelu, for coming over with your husband," Vaidehi said. "Cannot thank you enough. You are a true friend."

"H-how is Aman?" Sheela asked, the first thought popping up in her mind.

"Oh, come on," Vaidehi said apologetically. "I cannot thank you enough for indulging me that day. We all know Aman is gone. But I thank you for playing along with me. That little charade helped me get him out of my system."

"That was what it was?"

"Yes. I was in a very different mental state then. I knew I was mucking around, but... anyway, thanks for playing along. That's all I can say."

Sheela disconnected the call and immediately called Chaitanya. After she spoke, Chaitanya said, "But what about that cold gust of wind? The spoon moving? The creaks and whispers? Oh, shucks! Sheelu, I think there really is his ghost in that house and she does not know about it."

"What can we do?" Sheela said. "Must we say something?"

"Nah, forget it. Such things are better left unknown. As they say, ignorance is bliss."

Sheela kept the phone down slowly. She saw that her arm had broken out in goosebumps and even the sultry afternoon breeze had suddenly turned unbearably cold.

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