The Shortest Night

The Shortest Night

On that day, I left my office very early around three. The clouds started to mizzle. I felt delighted as the rain tried to embrace me, after the blistering and perspiring hot day. Slowly, I walked out of the campus, boarded the bus and stepped in

I sat in the left corner seat of the bus, started to gaze at the cloud and said, “How beautiful you are today”. I said to myself as there was no one to speak nearby. Before my ruminating moments got ceased, a girl of mid twenties came and sat next to me. It was quite unexpected. She opened a book and started to read. I peeped at her to see the name of the novel, which she was reading. But I couldn’t, as she’d folded the title page of the book. She was so engulfed in the novel, that none of the distractions could possibly disturb her. Even I didn’t want to perturb her reading. So I again started to gaze at the cloud. Also, I was not able to witness her eyes for a long time.

Unbelievable scenes started to happen in the cloud. It was thirty minutes past three. The sun began to set. I was quite flummoxed to see the cloud getting darkened in the afternoon time period. Everybody in the bus began to shout. The driver stopped the bus. And all the vehicles on the Hosur Road were halted. And everybody, including me, was flabbergasted on observing the cloud. There was a huge pandemonium all over. But, a girl next to me, felt rather undisturbed even then. Concentration at its best even at the worst condition, I thought. I gently asked her,’ Do you know what is happening outside’. Infact I wanted to shout. She paused for a moment and said, ’Yes I already know it’...

And finally I was able to see the name of her novel. It spelled as “The Shortest Night”. When I was about to ask her the book, for a quick glance, I noticed that all her fingers were half-cut, with blood bleeding tardily at the fore finger. My eyes popped. I asked, ‘Who are you?’ She replied, ’you don’t need that ...But I know you...’ I was taken aback by her unexpected reply. She left the bus, as eyeing at me, leaving the book on the seat. The driver resumed and the engine propelled and all the vehicles moved. I took the book and read the title of the book again. “The Shortest Night” I muttered myself. I was not able to locate the author of the book. The book contained full of printed caricatures. I was not able to decipher what was all about. I skimmed and swiftly turned the pages of the book. A last few pictures in the book grabbed my attention. In those pictures, a guy was seen enjoying in drizzling rain; a girl of mid twenties was sitting near a guy; the guy was gazing at the cloud and the cloud getting darkened. Those few pictures portrayed the episode, which had been happening then on my day. I felt trembled, limbs quivered, heart throbbed. It was, at that time, the bus reached near silkboard, squeaking and the sounds of claps were heard all around. The Sun, which was as if shrouded itself till then, started to rise. It was fifteen minutes past four. I was able to see jubilant faces in the bus, but I remained panic.

I reached my house after the frightening ordeal. I switched on my Television. I realized that the whole world was in complete darkness for duration of forty five minutes. All the news channels, the scientists, scholars were earnestly discussing the illogical phenomenon, that had happened. Nobody had any clue. I remained restless and hurriedly switched on my laptop. I googled the word, which I had been cogitating: “The Shortest Night”. I didn’t get any satisfactory results related to the book which I’d read. I recalled the final words, which she’d uttered: ‘I know you’. I’d never seen her before. As I was remembering the final shot, she looked at me, I was petrified and transfixed.

And I don’t want to see her again...