An encounter with a ghost

It was evening.The three friends were sitting in a park opposite to a girls college watching the girls coming out.They had nicknames for many and each one had chosen three or four for their interest without clash with others.They teased each other as those girls came out.None of them had the guts to approach them as there wer plainclothes ploice women dressed like students on duty.But they enjoyed daily the harmless ogling and ocular enjoyment .It is doubtful whether those girls were even aware of these youngsters.
It was one such evening when instead of the girls comng out, a funeral procession oved along the road towards the burial ground.
Chellappa said” I am scared of burial grounds and will never dare to go 100 metres near them especially during nights.”
Rajesh laughed loudly and said”You spineless coward.I can stay the whole night alone in the burial ground.Want to bet?”
Chellappa kept mum.Seva threw the gauntlet and said,”Yes I will give you five hundred bucks if you were to remain alone in burial ground from 10pm to 6am.What do you say? You should carry no torch light.Do you accept the wager?”
“You have decided to lose the money.OK .I accept.It will be tonight itself” said Rajesh.
“Selva repled “Don’t think you can fool us .We will be around in the vicinty keeping a watch when you go in and when you come out and whether you are in there alone.”
It was 10pm and Rajesh was in the burial ground covered with a sweater.It was chill in the night but not cold.As a matter of preacution,he took a baton with him though he was aware that ghosts cannot be scared away with baton as we do with dogs.There was a body burning with a few people around.There were many others burning with varied degrees of dying embers. It was dark and a few dogs were running hither and thither.There was a howl of a bird from some ditance.A cow was chewing its cud a little away.Thepathways were littered with coocnut leaves and broken pots. There was an eerie smell of smoke and dead bodies adding to the spooky feeling.The few people who were there had left.He saw the time and it was past 11.30pm.Even the man in charge of the ground was not seen.He was alone there.There was a shed with benches for visitors to sit.But the shed was far interior and away from the main gate.A thought crossed his mind whether he was foolish in makng such a bet.He had neither belief in ghosts nor had he seen one so far.Still there was some uneasy feeling.He put a walkman on his ears and tried to listen to music.But he decided to be alert and removed the earplugs. He heard a distant bell marking 12 midnight.Another four hours and he would coolly pocket 500 bucks he badly needed.
His eyelids were heavy with sleep.He turned round hearing some rustle of leaves.He saw faintly a figure draped in what seemed white moving slowly towards him.He stood up and watched intently.Yes,it was certainly an apparition like figure fully covered head to foot ambling towards him. His heart began to beat faster and the pounding became unbearble.His throat went dry.He wanted to run towards the gate but his legs froze in fear.He gathered courage in a few seconds and screamed in fear as he began to run.The figure also rushed behind him.Poor Rajesh tripped and fell down and the figure soon caught up with him and fell on him.Rajesh’s heart almost stopped and was about to faint
.It was then he heard”Rajesh,don’t be afraid.I am Selva.I tried to scare you out of the 500 rupees bet.I thought you would runaway.But when you fell down,I could not keep quiet.Come on get up.We can go home.I think you are bleeding from some scratches.Sit down .I will wipe them with my kerchief.”Selva said
They sat down.Rajesh said “I don’t know whether ghosts exist or not.But I would never like to be in this place alone again in my life.”
Selva laughed and replied”Yes, its spooky.the smell, the darkness and the ambience are all forbidding”
It was then Rajesh saw at a distance a real figure approaching them in a floating like movement clad in white with two big hollows for the eyes approaching them.Both stood upparalysed in their feet.
“We cannot fight ghosts.They have no body to hit but they can kill us.It is blocking our way.Let us sit here quietly” whispered Rajesh.Both of them clasped each other and with half closed eyes were watching in trepidation the approaching apparition.It came near them and as if it did not notice them kept moving further.They were relieved but still in grip of fear.They smiled to each other at the danger that passed away.Suddenly the apparition turned and howled as it ran approaching them “Hooey, hooeye’ in a strange guttural voice. Both fainted and it was after considerable time they recovered when they felt water being sprinkled on their faces and heard their names being called out and asking them to get up.
It was the quite and docile Chellappa who was laughing hysterically at the frightened friends.“I could not resist the temptation to pull this stunt on you both.Come on.Let us get out of the place quick and fast.”