The Turn Of The Night

Chapter 4

Darsh took out a dusty old diary with yellow pages which made a creaking sound when turned. The binding was torn, cover was about to fall off and some of the pages were missing and the rest were moth eaten.

'I found this in the closet in the afternoon' said Darsh. ' And what did you find in it that you came straight to my house at 8'O O'clock in the evening?' asked Aarush with raised eyebrows.

The two of them were sitting in the Aarush's room. Darsh had texted Aarush about his arrival and had come within a matter of five minutes which was very unlikely of him even though he lived only a few blocks from Aarush.

' It also made you believe in my ghost hullabaloo.' continued Darsh. Today the sky was filled with clouds covering the bright Gibbous moon with a purplish hue across the horizon.

'Yeah Aarush this is a diary of my grandfather. He has written of his younger days in here. That man never said a word about his younger days and always became grumpy whenever anyone asked about it. So when I found it today while cleaning the closet I thought that it was worth a read.' said Darsh.

'Okay this gotta be interesting then…..but how is connected to my ghost escapade huh?' replied Aarush. 'Hey A dude show some patience okay' scoffed Darsh as he set the book upon Aarush's study table and brought the study lamp closer to the pages. The light created shadowy reflections which looked like the enormous tentacles of some enormous monster. A bird sang in a high pitched voice outside the window as Darsh turned the pages.

He finally came upon a page with a large number of scribblings. 'Before you read this you must know that there haven't been any sightings of ghosts, wraiths or spirits by anyone in this place, except……' spoke Darsh. 'Except what' asked Aarush, unable to contain his excitement. ' 'Except you and visibly….my grandfather.' replied Darsh….

September 28, 1949

Dear diary,

I have generally refrained from telling anyone about my childhood days. It wasn't because it was bad ...it was very nice and cheerful and what would I not give to relive those days……..

I still remember the day very well. It was the month of February and clouds had taken over the sky spreading a chilly climate throughout. Me and my father were planting paddy in the fields near the graveyard. After working tirelessly for about two or three hours I went towards home to have my lunch. Father and three others were still in the field.

And that is when I saw it………. A glistening form of a girl. She was transparent and I could look right through it. Fear transfixed me, making me unable to move. There was a ghost…. She was standing right in front of me. Fear along with awe filled me up….. The figure straightened her hand and beckoned me to come with her. My legs worked on its own accord…. . I followed her and as soon as I entered the grave… chilled air hit me in the face. I could hardly breathe. The spirit turned towards me and her mouth started forming letters with her thin lips twitching. She said with her words hardly audible ' Dear boy, our worlds, the living and the dead are of different frequencies normally; neither spirits can enter the world of the living nor the living can go to the world of the dead. There's a thin link connecting the worlds keeping the two words apart. Day by day the link is breaking. The reason… our spirits cannot comprehend.

If it breaks spirits will enter your world. But all spirits are not gentle. There are some spirits which lingers day by day for revenge upon the mortals… ..the ones who were wronged. If spirits come into your world then havoc will be wreaked. Humans will die. Some will be turned to stone and some won't understand what they are doing while some may hurt the ones they love…. .

I am Alia, my stay in this world wasn't memorable. My heart had been torn up several times and bled countlessly. Maybe that is the reason I am one of the few souls to enter this world before everyone does… … however only the person who can see me can save us…. All. You have seen me and only you have the power to protect us. Today is the 29 th day of February and Purnima.. Take my hand ' …..

She extended her hand and my fingers locked itself upon hers. I was instantly swallowed by a terrible sense of grief and helplessness. I could feel her icy fingers and felt the world spinning around me.

The next thing I remember is opening my eyes to pitch blackness. As I adjusted my eyesight I could see no one. There were some buildings of the colonial age to my right and some small shops down a curvy road to my right. Fog combined with the darkness made it impossible to see further. '......

The next pages were torn. The diary had been incomplete. 'So you were chosen… if what my grandfather has written is true.. ' spoke Darsh. Aarush was slightly shivering with his hands still on the diary with sweats upon his forehead. 'Today is 28th February and this is a leap year. ' said Aarush with unfocused eyes 'Tomorrow is 29th…..'

'You really believe this Darsh? I mean this is… ..isn't it I mean, tooo hard to accept? ' contemplated Aarush. 'Umm yeah, at first glance everyone would believe this to be a piece of s**t written without conscious mindfulness.. But I knew my grandpa too well to know that he was a man of words. ' replied Darsh. 'Yeah but still… ' said Aarush. 'Look my grandpa went to join the army aged nineteen went to the war fronts and became the director of an institution upon leaving the army. That man always followed a strict routine.. Woke up at 5 every morning… at least I know he would never lie.' said Darsh. 'I know… 'Aarush said as Darsh cut him off 'Hey you saw that thing… and I didn't believe you when you asked me to..and now it seems my grandpa saw it too. So why the heck would you act like a douche bag when I finally accept that you saw a ghost or a spirit or whatever the heck you saw huh'.

Aarush was surprised. His friend rarely got in a serious mood and to see him in a rage at about 9 O'clock… Aarush knew he should listen to his friend. 'Okay so what are we gonna do again? ' Aarush asked Darsh. 'Only one way bud….. We're gonna go ghost hunting tomorrow….' Darsh replied as he put the diary back inside his backpack and headed home… .