Winter Fables

The grass dominated the field as it should be. The sky was clear as it should be. To a layman, everything was as it should be. Heck, there was a man too, who was standing and mourning as it should be. But to be mourned were missing. He cannot comprehend what has happened. There was a graveyard the day before. He was sure of it. He knew that as he himself buried his beloved here. But today there was nothing. The grass was there but no sign that it was even dug up once. There were numerous headstones the day before but now there was the sign of none. The man, looked around to find a soul so that he can ask what has happened but he could find any. The place was deserted and there was not a single soul in sight. Stupifying was the situation and so the man was feeling stupid. “Did I took the wrong turn somewhere?” He questioned his navigation skill. He took out his phone and checked on the map. The map was showing that he was standing at the correct location. He kept his phone in the pocket again and started moving deeper in the field. But the result was the same. There was no headstone and not even a sign of a single grave. The man looked back, he can clearly see his car parked. Beyond the parking, he could see the road very clearly. So, with a quick pace, he started moving towards the road. He signed with his hands for cars to stop. But no one heeded to this demand of his. In frustration, he stood in the middle of the road. This time a car stopped. Behind the car, many cars stopped. He became a reason for traffic jam. “Do you want to die?” The car owner shouted while sitting in his car. The man hurriedly went to the car. “ I need your help, I cannot locate a certain place on the map. I think I am lost.” The man pleaded to the car owner. “So is this a way to ask for help?” The car owner was still angry. “Where do you want to go?” “I want to visit the graveyard. I was pretty sure it was there but now it is not there.” The man said. “Yeah, What you did just now is a sure-shot way of getting to the graveyard.” The car owner replied. “Look I don’t know where the graveyard is, but if it’s not there, then it’s not there. Go ask someone else and stay away from the road.” The car owner had exhausted his patience and with this, he drove away. The remaining cars too followed the same pattern. The man now didn’t know what to do next. It was not that going to this graveyard was urgent. But how can a full graveyard get vanished? The mystery was perplexing to him and he wanted to solve it. The man went to his car and came back to his home. “Did you visit the graveyard?,” His mother asked. He looked at his mother, waited for few seconds and replied, “ Yes I have,” This brought a smile to his mother’s face. At night he again checked the map on his phone and again the location was the same as it was before. “I will check again tomorrow.” He thought and then he slept. The next morning, he again followed the same path and reached the same destination. In front was a field filled with sprawling grass. He didn’t even bother to put his foot outside his car. He knew that he would find the same thing. He contemplated on his various options. He could go to the police station or he could go to the nearest hospital. But in every case what will he say. “A graveyard has vanished overnight?” He knew he will be declared insane. He took out his phone and called a friend. “ Do you know that there was a graveyard near crossing street?” He asked. “What do you mean was? There is a big graveyard there.” “Yes, I meant the same.” “Are you all right?” “Yes, I am all right, It’s that I think I lost my way.” “How can you? It is quite easy to reach. Would you want me to drop you there?” “No, I think I can manage,” The man said. The man started his car and went to a church nearby. He entered the church and very soon found the man he was looking for. The chief priest was busy in his prayer. So the man waited. “How are you coping up with your loss,” The priest asked. “I am fine, but I have something to ask you. And I believe it is somewhat very peculiar in nature.” “Yes, go on.” “ Do you know anything about the graveyard at the crossing street. I mean, I went there yesterday and today too but it seems that…” The man paused, he didn’t know how to put it into words. But still, he continued, “ I think it has vanished completely.” “What!!” The priest was shocked, “ How can this be? How can the whole graveyard vanish.” “That surprised me too.” The man exclaimed. “I think we should check it out.” The priest and the man reached the crossing road. “So, what you said was true,” The priest said, “ There is no graveyard here.” The priest entered the premises of the field, but it was as new as an uncultivated land.” “What do we do now?” asked the man. “I dont know,” the priest wondered, “ I mean I haven’t encountered such situation before.” The man and the priest stood there in silence. “ I think we need to report it to the police,” the priest said. “I think we should search the town,” The man said, “Maybe we are missing something,” “What can we miss? A lane? Direction? No, I am a frequent visitor here. The graveyard was here till yesterday. And how on earth can a piece of land vanish?” The priest replied. “It is not vanished,” The man murmured. “What?” The priest asked. “Its not vanished, “ The man repeated, “Its just lets say replaced. Also, I dont think the police can help. I doubt anyone could help in this case.” “ I will try to talk to some officials in city council. Maybe they are can shed a light on this.” The priest said. The man was lost in his thoughts,so he didnt say a word just nodded in acknowledgement. The man came home. He was silent in enroute. He observed the cars passing by in the traffic. “ These machines do not even care. They are just stuck in their own rhythm. They are unaware of the happenings in this world. A graveyard has just vanished into thin air and no one is concerned. “ He thought. “But then world hardly cares about living, why will it care for the dead.” He came home. His house was silent. His mother was sitting on the dining table. As soon as he saw the man she said, “ Did you visit the graveyard?” He nodded in affirmation. His mother smiled. Soon the moon was visible in sky and sun was in its slumber. But sleep was miles away from the man’s eyes. He was stuck on the single line. “ The graveyard was replaced.” Various questions arose from this single statement. How can it be replaced? Who can replace it? If its replaced where could it go? “Wait a minute, I have been a fool, “ The man thought “The answer is simple, its been replaced.” He stood up and went for the keys for his car. He took out the car and went to the church. The man and the priest were standing once again on the grounds of erst-while graveyard. “So what’s the mystery?” The priest asked. “The answer is simple, if it has been replaced means that graveyard would have gone to the place where this land used to exist. So if we somehow find from where this land is we can find our graveyard.” “Yes it makes sense,” The priest said, “ But how are you going to do that?” “Let’s us look at the grass and the soil. From it we could identify from where it is.” The man said gleefully. “Go on you can try. But it would only work if its from nearby. What if its from some other part of world. Then?” “Yes, it can be. I didnt think it through.” “Precisely. However you thought has given me an idea. If somehow we can ascertain the mechanism behind this vanishing..” The priest paused and looked at the man, “or replacement, we can solve this mystery.” “But how can we do it?” “I donot have the faintest idea. But as no other place seems to observe such phenomenon it means that it is something which is unique to graveyard,” The priest said with some thought. He continued, “I think we should go, seems this mystery is beyond human intelligence.” The priest walked out but the man was still struck on the mystery. He put his hand in his pocked and brought out a small coin. He dug up a small hole and put the coin inside the hole. He waited for few minutes. Then he again dug a hole in the same spot. The man sighed in anguish, the coin was still there. “Then what can it be? Maybe..” He had another idea. He went to his car and drove away. Next night he was again standing at the same spot. But this time instead of a coin he had a dead bird in his hand. He repeated the procedure.This time was same as the last time. The dead bird stayed where it was placed. “No there is something wrong. It should have been worked.” He thought. His hypothesis were failing one after another but he was determined to know the secret. He went to his car and came back. This time he had a shovel in his hand. He spent the next few hours in digging a hole six feet wide in length and two feet in depth. Then he buried his lower hald into that shallow grave. Then he lowered upper half of his body and using his hand covered his upper body. At last he buried his head, but his hand were struck outside. “Soon I will be transported” He thought. “Did he die?” “No but let us put more soil above him.” Soon, the erst-while graveyard became erts-while field. There was a huge mound of soil inside the field. “Is he dead now?” Asked the friend. “I think he should be,” said the priest. “We tried to kill him many times but he resusticated every time.” The grandmother said. “Dont worry this time he has killed himself, so it would repeat” The priest consoled her. Behind them was standing the whole city watching in amazement and finally relieved. The shadow of misfortune and evil casted on them has been finally uplifted.