That Night

Dear Diary George,

It was 12 o'clock at midnight when I and my cousins were playing Ludo. Since the elders didn't like to be disturbed by the persistent sound we used to make,we were told to set up our beds in the study and call it our room.It was separated from the rest of the house through a corridor.We were all secretly glad to be there.It was comfortable with one door at the right leading to the corridor and the one to the left leading to the street. After finishing a game we made our beds and started gossiping. Charles,the eldest of all narrated some funny incidents of his college life.

All of sudden, Charles exhorted," Can you see what I see? Great God help!"

"No, I can't see a thing. It's pitch dark outside" said a terrified Catherine, my cousin's sister.

"I can, I ca...Oh Almighty, help!" said Honey the youngest amongst us.

With great apprehension, I walked up to the door that led to the street and drawn the curtains but never did once I dared to look out."Stop it! There is nothing."

"I'm telling you, I could see a man clad in a red dress with a small beard and a long moustache."

"Please keep quiet," said Catherine sternly.

I wanted to use the washroom so I excused myself and opened the door that led to the corridor. On the sidewall of the corridor, there was a door that led to the restroom.

As soon as I opened the door, my face turned yellow like turmeric. A shiver ran down my spine. Then,I shrieked. As I was screaming a hand touched my mouth and I stopped my vocal cords. My eyes had seen something that I wish they had at that moment. A man,clad in red stood in the washroom. He had shabby hair and a moustache. After the man had placed his hand on my mouth, I looked at him up and down. Suddenly my face glowed. I laughed and laughed. By then, Catherine and Honey had also come out of the room and in a mockingly polite voice I asked, "where is Charles?"

The man in red said, "How do you know?"

"You should have chosen a different cloth instead of using a shawl. From the design it has on its borders, I can recall it is Granny's shawl. Also, the moment you put your hand over, I could feel that it's none other than my brother. All of us clapped and said in chorus, "Happy April Fool's Day".Though, none of us knew who got fooled.