The return of the ghost

Jyotsna was shaken awake by her mother early the next morning. “Wake up”, she said, “school starts in twenty minutes”. Jyotsna sat up and stretched her arms, yawning loudly. A dull ache throbbed her head as she slipped down the bed and looked around, struggling not to jump down the soft mattress and snore away in peace. Her brown school tunic and white shirt was neatly laid over a chair and a lunch box wrapped in newspaper was on her study table, courtesy of her mother. She peered out the window. An already bright sun was shining over the lawn, reflecting on the pearl shaped morning dew. She squinted towards the forest he and Anwar had traversed last night and a strange chill engulfed her. Her head throbbed mightily and for an instant, she felt like going back to sleep.  But then the faint aroma of incense sticks and the sound of prayer bell filled her with hope. She clenched her fist and got dressed for school.

She met Anwar inside the class, neatly dressed, hairs sticking to the head with tons of coconut oil, shirt tucked in and arms folded over the desk, sitting stiffly on the first bench.

“Anwar? What happened to you?”

“Nothing!” he said with a raised eyebrow, “Can’t I be early to school?” He moved side to side adjusting his seat. A soft moan escaped him.

“Got a stick, did we?” Jyotsna asked with a sneer.

“Yes” Anwar admitted and sunk his head low.

It was seven in the morning. Other students arrived steadily before the start of the lessons. In ten minutes the class was full and the bell rang.

Master ji entered and the kids stood up to wish him good morning in unison.

 “GOOD MORNING MASTER JI” Master ji was an epithet reserved for Narendra babu. He was considered the most talented in the staff. The son of a zamindar, Narendra babu had quit his job in Calcutta and returned to his ancestral home in Kaligram. He was a friend and close aid of Ravi babu, son of His Highness Raja Somnath Roy of the Cossimbazaar royal family. Naturally, he had a lot of influence over the school and its functions.

“GOOD MORNING” he said and immediately plunged into algebra.

“Why didn’t you tell anyone about Nelson?” Jyotsna whispered.

Anwar gave her a drawn-out look and sighed. “I did, but nobody believed me. I was admonished by Abba for speaking out of turn to the police inspector who came inquiring about him. So, I kept quiet.”

“How many apples are with Raju?” Master ji asked in a booming voice, his eyes on Anwar.

Jyotsna nudged him and he stood up. He looked around in hopes of someone showing him the answer but when none did he said, “twenty?” or rather asked timidly.

Master Ji’s lips curled into an unpleasant scorn.

“You will solve this problem twenty times in your notebook and present tomorrow and if you fail, I’ll personally make sure your father knows about this”

Anwar and Jyotsna spent the rest of the day studying. They were extra careful not to let any teacher a chance to chastise them. Jyotsna kept helping Anwar copy notes and constantly shoved solutions on his desk in case someone picked on him. At recess, Anwar became a bit of his usual self and boasted to his group his encounter and near escape from the monster of the jungle. After the fifth retelling, he was enacting the whole scene with him barely escaping the jaws of the creature by hurling a large boulder on the monster and running away as fast as he could. She saw Mahadev scowl and throw a dirty look towards the two of them.

Somehow, Anwar had managed to keep Jyotsna out of this adventure, but Mahadev knew they both were together. The day ended with the usual school bell ringing melodiously.

Evening, they stayed indoors and Jyotsna thought it best to help her mother in kitchen.

After eight, as was usual with the two, they met on the roof of the three floor apartment. Jyotsna asked Anwar quietly, “Do you believe in ghost?”

“Abba says there is nothing like a ghost. It’s all hogwash”

“Baba also says so” she said in a matter of fact tone, as if this settled the matter.

“What happened with Nelson?” she asked.

Anwar opened his mouth to answer but then a sudden scream from below caught their attention. It was a high pitched scream, a terrible sound that boded ill. They rushed down the stairs and saw a village beggar screaming on the streets, tears streaming down her front, sitting cross legged, furiously holding on to one of the leg of Mr. Gupta, the police inspector who lived on the ground floor.

The woman was sobbing, “My boy. My little boy. Find him sahib. I’ll do anything you want, just find my boy”

Jyotsna and Anwar’s father also arrived and in seconds a crowd gathered around the policeman and the woman.  A minute later, their mothers shepherded them away and let the men do their work for the society.

When Mr. Sharma returned home an hour later, Jyotsna heard him say to her mother, “Another child is missing. This is the sixth in less than twenty days.”

“What’s going on? What is the meaning of this?”

“It can only mean one thing Malti, Raja Krisnachandra’s ghost has returned.”