The Appearance

Paresh was no expert in paranormal phenomena or even ghosts, but since he was employed by a popular TV channel, he was required to do a variety of jobs. In his job he had interviewed many celebrities, witnesses to some significant events and even common people. This was the first time for him to visit ghostly place. His bosses had assured him that he will have the expertise of paranormal experts to support him. His job was only to report on the events as those experts went about their job. By the end of visit he should be able to comment upon the veracity of claims that the place was inhabited by ghosts.

Paresh had no idea about ghosts, nor he had he seen any so far. He did not believe or disbelieve in their existence, rather he had not given the idea any thought. But when the assignment landed on his table, he agreed to become part of adventure. In any case he could not have refused unless he wanted to be kicked out of job.

….

The whole village was deserted. It used to be well-populated at one point of time as the ruins indicated, but now it wore a forlorn look. Perhaps there were some people still living in the village, but that needed to be verified. It was rumoured that now the village was populated by some lost souls, popularly known as ghosts.

The team visited many abandoned houses with Paresh giving running commentary as the so-called para-normal experts went about their job. It is a common belief that ghosts are active during the night. The team had gone around the village during daytime without encountering any soul, even a living person.

Soon it was dark and the time for the team to get to real work. They started with bigger houses. As the experts set their instruments, asking ghosts to indicate their presence, they did not receive any response in any of the houses. Paresh could see that they were disappointed. He believed that all the talk about ghosts and the ability of their instruments to discover them was a charade. The only thing which kept his interest alive was the idea that there should have been some reason for village to be abandoned.

After fruitless few hours of going around the village and not encountering anyone or anything, even paranormal experts started wondering if the existence of ghosts in the village was just an idle talk. There must been some other reason for desertion of village by its inhabitants.

….

It was well-past midnight, still there was no sign of any ghost. Perhaps they were not keen to indicate their presence to the team.

Just when their patience was running thin, they saw a man walking towards them. There was a sudden silence in the team. “Was it a ghost walking towards them?”

The notion was soon dispelled as the man approached and nodded to them.

“I believe you have come in search of ghosts,” he said.

Everyone in the team nodded.

The man came nearer. He spoke to Paresh, “I guess you are not the so-called paranormal expert.” It was more of a statement than a question.

Paresh nodded and pointed towards the team members. “You are right. I am not the expert, but they are.”

The man asked, “Did you find any supernormal presence in this village?”

All of them shook their head.

Paresh asked the man. “If there are no ghosts, why did the villagers abandon the village?”

The man, instead of answering, asked a question. “Do you believe in ghosts?”

Paresh shook his head, “Not really. At the same time, I am not so sure. The very fact that the village had been deserted by its inhabitants, there must be some reason.”

The man smiled. Somehow his smile appeared scary to Paresh. He looked towards the experts. They were quietly listening to their conversation.

It was a great relief to talk to a real person in this place. The experts had forgotten about their instruments. Paresh saw some movement in their instruments, but he had no idea of its significance. If none of the experts was paying any attention that must mean that it did not mean anything.

Paresh asked the man, “Where do you live? Do you live in the nearby village?”

When the man looked at him questioningly, he said, “I saw you coming from the direction on the road leading out of village.”

The man appeared to be amused. “So, you think there are no ghosts,” He said.

Nobody replied to him immediately. After a brief pause Paresh replied, “It appears so, at least not in this place.”

The man did not say anything. He simply vanished.

The paranormal experts looked at their instruments which had gone berserk, indicating strong possibility of spirits. They been busy in listening to the man, forgetting to even glance at their instruments.