A Night in the Middle Of Nowhere

Freezing cold night. Snow had been falling since evening and visibility was literally reduced to zero. The radio transmission had stopped working as my car was stuck in the snow. Looked around, I was somewhere in a remote deserted area. Strange that in my ten years of living in the city, I had never been to that place before. Even my phone battery was dead without giving a single warning. Damn, was feeling sorry for the moment I had said yes to my friends to attend a concert in the town. Couldn’t think of more reasons as the chill was seeping into my bones.
I looked around casually. There were a couple of houses. Bright yellow light was making one of them prominent and inviting. I took sufficient time thinking whether I should go and ask to make a call or wait in the car until dawn. 

I preferred to wait in my car. It was only 2 am, pretty early to disturb the unknown people. Could easily spend a night in the car and the place was considered to be safe as far as I knew. I locked the doors of the car and closed my eyes to relax. My family would be worried about my whereabouts. I promised myself that I would not repeat such a silly mistake again.

“life doesn’t always go as we think. sometimes surprise element surpasses our expectations.”

Screeeeeeeechhhhhh……

The horrible voice startled the trying-to-be-calm me. Who was making those horrible noises? Probably an animal, I assured myself. Midnight hour, darkness and unknown places; my mind couldn’t be blamed for anticipating the worst.

Wheeeeeesshhhhhh……..  

Another chilling scream!
My eyes were wide open now. Couldn’t stay in the open, my heartbeat was going out of control. I came out of my car and rushed to the house with inviting yellow light.
Knock! Knock!! Knock!!!
I was desperate to enter the house. To my surprise, a little boy of about eight opened the door.

I Entered the Home with Yellow Light

“How may I help you, ma’am?”

“This boy is awake at weird hours. Crazy!”, I whispered, “ Little boys of his age usually go to bed early.”

“Where are your parents dear?” I asked softly. It was the convenient way to soothe myself.  The wild screams were chasing me in the background and I wanted a safe hiding to secure my own self.

“Mom is cooking and Dad is not at home.” He was ready with the reply,” You want something?”

“My car is stuck in the snow and I need help. May I make a call from your phone?”
I hurriedly asked to hasten the process.

“Sure, please come in.” He guided me to his home lit with the yellow light. 

Lost in the House

The boy took me to the living room where a telephone had been placed. The phone seemed to be an antique piece….but it was going to serve my purpose. I rushed towards my only saviour, the telephone.

Picked up the receiver to dial the number but the phone was not in working order. What the sh*t. I turned around to complain but the boy was not there.

“Hello! This phone is not working!!”  My speech was getting louder. “Are you listening?”
No response from anyone…..from anywhere!
“Hello! Anybody there?” I was getting impatient. There was no response at all.

Frustrated, I dropped the idea of making a call. “I’m going!” Made an announced as if someone was listening to what I said.
I began to look for the door from where I had entered the house. No, it wasn’t there! Was I lost in the mysterious house?

Woman in the Mirror

As the night deepened, darkness controlled all the substance. My fear was about to take another turn with the worst possibilities.

“Son, you were right. We will have a hearty dinner tonight!” A woman’s voice broke the silence.
The voice sent shivers down my spine.

“Who’s there?” I startled.


“Son, you were right. We will have a hearty dinner tonight!” She repeated again but where was the ‘son’??

And where was the woman?

My search for the exit door continued as I was looking for the woman and her child. One moment I would hit the wall, another moment the curtain would be wrapped around me. Killer silence, mysterious ambience and suspicious characters, the house was a trap for my poor self:/

The mirror on the wall

While trying to untangle myself from the curtain, I awkwardly stopped in front of a mirror that was artistically put on one of the countless walls of the creepy house. There she was!

“Son, you were right. We will have a hearty dinner tonight!”

The woman.

Though in the mirror, she was facing me and repeating the same question. I looked back to see her in the flesh. No, she was not behind me. Nor anywhere else in the room. But, very much in the mirror repeating the same thing. Frightened, all I wanted was to run away from the mysterious house.

My throat was getting dry. My hands were shaking. I couldn’t find a single door to escape the mystic realm. Window! Ah…saw a window that could be my escape route. I rushed, tried to open the window with my bare hands. It wouldn’t budge. Suddenly, my eyes stopped on the boy playing outside in the snow. The little boy of about eight who had brought me inside the house. He was enjoying freshly fallen snow without feeling cold. All that on a bone-chilling night.

Was it a dream?

I widened my eyes and then narrowed them to focus on what was visible to me.
I pinched myself. It did hurt.
No, it was not a dream, I was living a harsh reality.  I was confined in the strange place that was not my usual area. The scary thought shook me from inside.
By that time, I was sure that they had trapped me in the house lit with the bright yellow light, the woman in the mirror repeating the same thing, the boy in the snow playing unaware.

My blood was taking the shape and characteristics of snowflakes yet my forehead was covered with sweat. Stories of horror heard at midnights seemed to be coming true.

“I should not be here!” I mumbled.

Where is the Exit Door?

With all my might I kept pushing the window. It could be the only way to get out of the house. A metal vase was lying near the window. I picked up and began to hit the window repeatedly.
The woman in the mirror screamed, “Don’t do this! You will have to pay.”

I heard devilish laughter. Yes, the woman in the mirror was laughing incessantly- the laugh of a devil.

Another strike on the window glass and it broke into pieces.
Crash!!!
I could hear the screams of the woman in the mirror.

The bright yellow light of the house was gone. There was darkness all around me. I felt the broken window pane with my hands and came out of the haunted house. Strangely the boy who welcomed me to the house was nowhere to be seen. I rushed towards my car. It was very much there where I had left it.

I’m Back in the Car

With a temporary sigh of relief, I locked myself inside the car. Not wanting to think about the incident, I tried again to start the vehicle. I had an intense urge to get away from that place.

After some tantrums, the car started. I wiped droplets of sweat from my forehead, drank water and put my foot on the accelerator. It was kinda freaky.

“Hehehe…..We will have a hearty dinner tonight!”

Not again..

What? What was I hearing? Were my ears ringing?

“Hehehe…..”

“Who is there?”

“Is it the same woman?” My words were audible to me only.
.
“No, No, … everything is finished. She’s gone!” Consoling myself, I looked into the rear-view mirror. The same woman had entered in the rear-view mirror of my car. She was so near to me that I could make eye-to-eye contact with her. Suddenly she started crying. Her face turned blue and she begged like a really needy person.
“We have not eaten anything for days. My son and me. They trapped both of us in this lonely house. Our only mistake?  That I stole a loaf of bread to feed my starving son. What was the need to set our home on fire? Deep yellow flames engulfed my son and I.”

A sad story quite appropriate to make a soft-hearted person like me to think again about my previous actions. I was relaxed, all my fear disappeared. I was patiently listening to the cries of the mysterious woman.  

Cries. Cries melted me. Cries do melt me.

I got out of my car and started moving towards the lonely home, again lit with the bright yellow light. Everything seemed to be in place. A crying mother, a hungry child and a distracted person unwilling to escape.