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In a Village After Dark

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In a Village After Dark 

It was mid-July. The monsoon had set in and the whole of Kolkata was rain-washed. I was sent on an official tour to the remote provincial town of Raipur. I was particularly excited about visiting the local forest that offered ample scope for wildlife photography. 

The monsoon sky was laden with granite clouds when I arrived in this land of hills and forests. The station was so quaint that I took a photograph or two. It was then that my eyes fell onthe sign bearing the name of the station and I saw to my dismay, that what I had assumed to be Raipur was actually Ranipur. I seemed to have arrived at a ghost town. 

 The entire station was empty. There was not. soul in sight. My actual destination was close to 13 miles away from the station where I was present. As I sat on the bench waiting for the next train to arrive I could sense a pair of eyes trailing me. I turned around to see the green eyes of a beast shining in the darkness of the opposite end of the staion. The animal began moving towards me with steadfast and confident steps. I started running with all my might towards the village. After about half an hour of pursuit, the beast was nowhere to be seen. 

 On one side of where I stood were picturesque fields stretching to the horizon and on the other, rows of houses, rather thatched huts. I decided on going towards the huts to seek refuge for the night.I walked up to the threshold of the first hut and knocked at the door. There was no reply. I waited next hut. I received similar hospitality there as well. And then another, and another. Nobody seemed to be in their houses. After about a dozen huts as I walked up to the thirteenth, I was not expecting anything different. But to my pleasant surprise there was a rustle of sheets and I could hear footsteps approaching the door.The door swung open,but to my utter surprise there was on one on the other side of the door. I mustered up my courage and walked through the door. I had only walked a few paces when someone swung what seemed like a baseball hat and hit me square on the back of my head. I was sent sprawling onto the ground and I fainted before I realized that my head had swollen terribly because of the blow. 

Next morning I was woken up by a young boy. He told me that there was no one in the village last night as everyone had gone to the village dance in the middle of the forest. The boy was sure that everyone of the village was at the dance. The boy told me that there were only 9 houses in the village and there was no such beast as I had described except in the forests but none of the animals had ever approached the station. I felt my head for the place where I had been hit but I could not find any Swelling. I looked at my watch to see the time but what I saw terrified me even further. Today was Saturday and the date was 14th. Yesterday had been Friday, the Thirteenth.
In a Village After Dark
In a Village After Dark 

In a Village After Dark
In a Village After Dark 
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