The Halloween Day
The Halloween Day
Satish looked at the watch. It was 5:30 in the evening. The soft sound of raindrops on the roof had got milder. He adjusted the blinds on the window glass. Now he could see out onto the road.
The road glittered as it was wet and reflected the vehicles moving with the headlights. Little wind was making the trees sway. The twilight made the atmosphere adorable. It occurred to Satish that he was in Toronto for more than a week then. He had come to Toronto to meet his school friend Ramesh, who had migrated to Canada some ten years ago, soon after completing his Engineering.
After communication over the phone and the emails with Ramesh, Satish got into the Air India plane to Toronto. Ramesh and his wife Natasha received him at the airport. In Ramesh’s house, Satish was pleased to get a nice cozy room with a garden view.
Ramesh had met Natasha in his office in Toronto, and after a prolonged courtship, they got married five years ago. The happily married couple took care of Satish and made him comfortable. Both used to leave to work early in the morning, separately in individual cars, leaving Satish alone at home. In the evenings after their return, they used to drive Satish out to see Toronto. On weekends, they spent the whole day together, visiting Lake Ontario, C N Tower, and other places. Soon, Satish too became familiar with the neighbourhood.
When the drizzle stopped, Satish stepped out of the house to take a stroll in the nearby area. The roads were wet. The temperature was around 6 degrees centigrade. The breeze blowing at 40 km per hour added an extra chill to the atmosphere. Wearing all the woollens provided by Ramesh, Satish went on his evening walk.
The speedily rushing vehicles made Satish a little uncomfortable. He used the sidewalk. He watched every house as he was passed by, and was astounded by the amazing architecture of the small houses. Suddenly Satish noticed that every house had some weird thing kept in the window or at the door of the house. He realised that Halloween day was just a few days away, on the coming weekend.
Some houses had kept some balloons with ghastly mouths and eyes painted on them. Some houses had put cobwebs on the walls or windows to give creepy looks. In front of some houses, the cemetery was displayed with few tombs. A full-size skeleton was made to sit on a chair in some houses. Small dolls dressed as ghosts were hung upside down in some houses spooking the surrounding. The entire atmosphere was eerie.
Satish got a little upset and had a terrifying feeling watching all these horrifying articles. He decided to take some rest in the nearby garden where he had visited multiple times for his evening walks.
The garden had stretches of lawns and big maple trees. Some benches were kept for resting for the visitors to the garden. Satish chose one bench under a tree and made himself comfortable. But the ghostly skeleton in the chair was not going out of his mind.
The light was fading fast. So Satish decided to go back home. Meanwhile, he saw a young lady approaching him. She was tired and also looked scared. She came close to Satish and said “It is very cold, isn’t it? I am so tired. I wanted to take some rest before moving further. Is it okay if I sit on this bench please?”
“Yes. Yes. Please. By all means”. Saying, Satish moved on one side of the bench. The lady made herself comfortable next to Satish.
He felt a little awkward but before he could get up, the lady said “During the fall the trees change colours. It looks so beautiful. Yellow, red, orange leaves beside the green leaves.Very nice. But this festival of Halloween makes me very nervous. Every house keeps some ghastly-looking things at the entrance. It is so horrifying.”
“Yes. It is spooky. Some houses have even kept a full-size skeleton near their door.”
“Oh, God! I am horrified!” the lady said.
“I saw a small baby size doll hung upside down with her hair flowing down.” Satish added.
“My God. So horrible! Did it look like this?” saying, the lady got up and rapidly moved closer to the nearby tree and hung herself upside down on the branch of the tree which was almost 8-10 feet above the ground.
Seeing this Satish’s throat turned dry. He could not utter a word. He got up and ran out of the garden. Soon he reached the road and rushed towards his house without looking behind. He could still hear the lady’s shout.
Vijay Likhite
