“Make sure
you finish your dinner on time. Be a good girl, okay?” said mom.
Granny was seriously ill and mom was supposed
to visit her, meanwhile dad was out of town. It’s not that I did not care for
my grandma, but I rather preferred staying at home. Mom left soon.
It was
midnight and I was all alone at home. Moreover, the lights went off. I slowly
stepped towards the inverter in order to switch it on. Suddenly, I felt
someone’s presence just behind me. I turned back, but no one was there. I knew,
it was just all in my mind and nothing else. I quickly switched the inverter on
and ran to my room.
The room was so silent that every tick of the clock felt
like a drum beat. I switched on the television to divert my mind.
Astonishingly, no channel was available.
"Maybe its some signal problem", I consoled myself. Just then the clock stopped ticking and the lights went off once again.
A chill
went down my spine. I felt cold and afraid.
“The rusty inverter is busted or
what!”, I moaned.
I thought sleeping was the best thing one could do in that
particular situation. So I grabbed a blanket and covered myself from head to toe and tried so hard to fall asleep. But all efforts were in vain. I ended up staring
at the blanket in the darkness and feeling suffocated.
After some
time, a peculiar sound became audible…as if someone was scratching a surface. I
got bitterly scared. I unwrapped myself from the bedroll and followed the
sound, with the belief that I wasn’t hallucinating.
The sound came from our storeroom. I struck a matches and lit up a candle. The sound was coming from beneath a broken sofa.
I slowly marched towards it. Each step brought with it a terrible vague feeling
and a faster heart beat. I took a glance. The actual sight was not anticipated
at all.
It was
none other than my pet dog Luca who was trying to catch a mouse. I have always had a special bond with Luca. And of course it was my best birthday present
from granny till date. I sighed with relief. At last I got a companion. I washed its paws and took it to my bed. I
slept hugging it like a side pillow and the scene seemed more like a ‘happily
ever after’.
The next
morning, mom returned with a pale face. I assumed, it was a bad news. Granny has
suffered a lot, and finally she made a way out of this selfish world. I wisher her soul may rest in peace in heaven forever.
“But both dying at the same time
cannot be a coincidence. It will be hard to overcome the grief of both of their
deaths.” , said mom.
I was confused and asked for clarification as to what she meant by ‘both’.
The
previous night, mom informed that she did not go alone. She took Luca with her, as granny had been wanting to see her since long.
At the time of
granny’s death, it rested its head on granny’s chest, leaving its last breath, it died eventually.
I was spellbound. I did not know whether mom had any
misconception.
But as I never saw Luca ever again, it is still an unsolved mystery. If Luca and granny
died at the same time, then…
Who was
that?
