Utkalgarh always had been a nature nourished well populated city and as usual it was getting ready for the new year holidays. And the weather already had started to get much cooler as it was the end of December. The Sun almost had reached the western sky and its rays felt pleasant as the cold afternoon breeze had started blowing.

The University Lane Bus Stop was filled with Utkalgarh University's postgraduate third semester students as they were going home for the new year holidays. The students were busy talking with their friends, they were talking about their exam papers as they had their last exam today, few were planning for their next get-together, few were talking about their holiday plans and the most concerned group was talking about their career choices.

There weren't many vehicles on the road, a bus honked loudly and all of the students looked back at the road, those who had to get the bus to go to the bus depot got prepared with their luggage and the others checked their watch. A sudden murmur got their attention and they looked over. A tall and very handsome young gentleman who was in a simple white shirt and a royal blue jeans with a small tabloid bag got down from the bus while being stared at by everyone present there. However that person did not looked like he was annoyed, he was amused. The gate keeper, without any success, was trying his best to get the attention of the waiting passengers.

They did not even buzz from their places until the mysterious man's firm, gentle yet dominating voice rang through their earlobes "Don't you guys need to get the bus?"

That was enough for everyone to move from their trances and mind their own business. But those who remained at the bus stop could not stop peeking at the young man, his simple full sleeve white shirt could not hide his creamy fair complexion. Though his neatly combed ear length jet black hair had become messy because of the wind, the almond shaped golden brown eyes on his semi-square face made him look more ethereal. At that moment he was the only centre of everyone's attention yet he did not looked bothered at all; he just kept standing at a corner.

Everyone had different kind thoughts on him and their murmur was enough loud to be heard by him yet he kept maintaining his ever calm demeanor. Only when a very daring girl thought of approaching him, he brought out a vibrating tab from the bag and attached it with a pair of earphones.

The person who had called him seemed to be very friendly with him as his face was apparently glowing while talking. The girl tried to listen to their conversation but she could be only hopeless.

Suddenly his facial expressions changed into a grim one as if he could not decide whether to be happy or not.

With the same grim voice, he asked the other person "should I be happy?"

Hearing the answer, a deep frown formed on his face "why does he want to meet me?"

Giving a mocking smile, he replied "that's not the case, there must be something going on in his mind."

As he listened to the other side, disbelief spread all over his face "wait! Right now?! Amrita, you know where I am and why I came here .......NO! ABSOLUTELY NOT! I won't meet anyone here! What! He is already on the way to here! And you must be the one who told him my whereabouts."

Frustrated, with an almost cold voice he replied "fine ! I'll handle it."

Hanging up the phone, he concentrated on the road but his expression said that whoever was coming to meet him, the meeting would not go well.

Few more minutes later another bus honked, the atmosphere became the same again and this time again another unearthly handsome man stole everyone's attention.
This young gentleman who wore a simple full sleeve black shirt and a black denim also was tall, equally mesmerising with his fair pale skin, nape length coal black hair and a pair of sharp light brown eyes. Though his immense cold attitude was giving a creepy vibe, which kept the others at a distance but that could not stop the stares at him.

He did not care about the other people as his eyes kept watching the person in the corner. As he was approaching him, he realised that the person was not looking at him, his eyes were concentrated on the road. When he looked at the road, his legs stopped forwarding; a man tried to run through the road while being chased by two guys and the very moment a truck, coming out of the turning of the road hit him. When everyone was over from the sudden shock the truck was gone and the man was dead; a simple hit and run case.

Yet the man in the black shirt arched his eyebrows in suspension and looked back at the only remained person in the white shirt as the others had already gone to the accident spot. His expression said that he knew why and how that accident had to happen. However the man in the white shirt did not even blink for few minutes as if he was so much tensed that he forgot to exhale until someone kept his hand over his shoulder; it was the later arrived person.

As he looked back at his side, they came to face to face; pain and happiness were clear for an instant in his eyes but that disappeared really soon and his face became like a sculpture as if he was afraid of showing his emotions any further.

The man in the black shirt teased with an almost whispering "that was really a very lame excuse to get them together. I would've done better."

The man in the white shirt who was watching those two chaser guys all the time finally gathered his courage to face the man beside him.
Without any emotion, he retorted "yeah! You  could've murdered one of them for sure."

The man in the black shirt winked once as if those words hurt him, yet he composed himself and said with a small voice "you're still mad at me." Exhaling a long sigh, he added "Bhargav, I'm really remorseful for what I've done and I've been punished..."

Giving a mocking smile, Bhargav retorted "Shiyaan, none of those punishments will not change the fact that Darshan could've died because of your one miscalculation and we could've lost our last hope!" He was literally fuming with rage.

Shiyaan was startled by Bhargav's sudden outraged state. With a heavy voice he tried to soothe him "Bhargav, please calm down. People will think we are an arguing couple who couldn't find a place to resolute our private problem."

Irritated to an extreme point, yet keeping a strong grip over his outraged mind, Bhargav managed to say "you're not here to discuss about couple goals right? Just say it already! What is it that you want this time?"

Shiyaan seemed hesitating at the moment as if he was not that sure anymore, either way he finally decided to say it.
"Can I get your permission to enter the Central Library?"

Bhargav looked like he did not hear him correctly, he looked at Shiyaan in confusion. So Shiyaan had to explain further "I need the book 'The Book of Memories and Ancient Records ' for some investigation of past."

Bhargav's face was full of disbelief, keeping his cool, he curtly answered "No. I'm not giving any permission to you to enter the office."

Shiyaan carefully looked at Bhargav for a moment then again he said "Bhargav please don't be stubborn and trust me this time there won't be any miscalculation."

Bhargav did not look at the man beside him, his eyes were fixed elsewhere, yet his answer was to the point, "I trusted you wholeheartedly untill the last time."

Shiyaan tried his best to get Bhargav on his side, "that was an accident, Bhargav. I was greedy, I didn't care about anything except for him to do the miracle and..."

"And what?! Do you know what the others think about you? Do you know what they think about me? Do you even know to what extent I had to go to cover your mess? No you don't care! So why do you care about my permission now?!"
Bhargav's breathing hitched as he said it in one go though his posture was ever calm, his eyes were reflecting pure pain and he was a master of pretence.

Shiyaan looked really worried about the other man's health, his voice came almost like a whisper "Bhargav please calm down first, you are draining yourself and it won't help with you staying outside...."

Giving a snort, with a tired voice, Bhargav said "then leave. I've already given my opinion on your request so you don't have to pester me further. Just go home."

Shiyaan's worried look immediately changed into a frustrated one, and his voice emitting an unavoidable chill "why do you have to go against me this stubbornly?"
Seeing that Bhargav was not responding, he gave a low chuckle and said with the same voice "then I'll have to seek for my own way to achieve it."

Immediately Bhargav knew that this man would never back out from whatever he had planned to do. Gritting his teeth, still looking ahead at the road, he firmly said "then you'll have to get it over my dead body ."

His face was totally void of any emotion and in the trance of anger he did not notice the slight pain flashing over the other person's face.

That pain disappeared as soon as it appeared as if it did not exist in the first place and still looking at the almost statue like person infront of him, Shiyaan said "then stay alerted for an invasion and a WAR."

Then without waiting for the other person's reaction, he turned away to leave.

It was moments later when Bhargav's book-sized tab started vibrating again and he came out of his dazed state.
Whoever the caller was, that person successfully got him standing on the edge of a cliff. His expressions kept changing drastically from confusion to dumbfounded, then realisation struck him on his face. How could he forget who the daring girl was? Out of all the passengers there, only she could find out the odds from his presence as she was Darshan's only friend, Divya.

Approximately an hour ago when finally the final bell rang through the corridors of the Utkalgarh University, the postgraduate third semester students could huff in relief as it was the bell for the new year holidays. Soon the vacant corridors were filled with celebration, gossips, farewell, and at last a lots of hugs.

A young man in his mid twenty was having great difficulty with passing through the crowded corridor. His creamy white fair complexion had been tainted with a red hue as he felt anxiety spreading all over his body, his firm jaws were clenched together as if he would throw up anytime he opened his mouth, unusual sweats dripping from his broad forehead and the sweat soaked nape length, messy jet black hair did not look helpful with his appearance; his almond shaped warm brown eyes were occasionally searching for something in the distance.

Then a feather light, warm, lively voice entered his irritably buzzing ears "Darshan! Over here. Can you hear me?"

As Darshan focused on the voice, his eyes came to meet another pair of warm brown ones and they were full of worry. A girl of over average height in a full sleeve brown top and a black plazo, was hurriedly making her way through the corridor towards him. Her waist long dark brown hair, kept in a high ponytail was swaying messily and she could only care less. As soon as she got hold of Darshan's hand, she hurled out from the exam halls and when Darshan finally came out of daze they were already on the Main gate lane of the University.

Making him sit on a bench on the sidewalk, handing over him a water bottle, that girl sat beside him and waited for him to recover from whatever he was going through.

As she saw colour returning to the other person's handsome features, she remarked "You look like a walking corpse, you know?"

Gulping down the water, Darshan replied, almost whispering "please Divya, no more corpse talk."

Divya was visibly shocked, she could not control her concern and her voice came out a bit high pitched, "Don't tell me that you've actually seen a corpse!"

As the male closed his eyes upon hearing the word again, she knew it was a fact.
She continued "where?"

"In a memory of a ghost." Darshan whispered. Exhaling a shaky breath, he continued "he was murdered! He thought he could escape death so he ran away from the murderer and hid inside the male washroom. It was a good while after he realised that he was a wandering ghost whom no living eyes could see. Only I...."

Seeing him trailing off, Divya tried to connect the dots "you were the one who saw him and you got caught staring at him. Darshan! How many times I have to tell you that don't get carried away by the memories of them! Look what you've got yourself into !"

Divya knew that Darshan was not a normal human neither a supernatural being, he was some kind of an inbetween as he could see and hear ghosts since his birth. It did not stop at that, as for last six months he was seeing their memories too and Darshan did not even know what was the cause of that sudden supernatural upgrade, he was struggling really hard to avoid any kind encounter with them and hopelessly he was failing. It was Divya who was encouraging him to stay strong and keep focus but being a best friend of the weirdest weirdo is not an easy thing unless you are one.

Divya was really worried, she had a funeral to attend with her family at home so she had to leave yet she could not leave Darshan alone in this state and he as assuring as always told her to go.

After pondering for a while she proposed "why don't you come with me to the Home?"

Giving a low chuckle, Darshan replied "you know that I'll be more uncomfortable there. You don't have to worry about me. I'll just go to my room and take a nap. I badly need one." He gave a long yawn.

Immediately Divya suggested "then let me escort you to your dormitory."

An almost impatient Darshan replied "no Divya. I'm really okay right now. You just go or you'll be missing the bus and then miss the whole ritual if you don't reach on-time."

Giving a defeated huff, Divya ordered in a stern voice "fine! Call me immediately if something happens."

As Darshan nodded his head as an answer, Divya turned to leave and she knew she would have to wait a while to get another bus.

Darshan's mind was still in a disarray, and it was throbbing painfully; for last few weeks he could not even sleep in peace. His life was already toppled down when he came to Utkalgarh for studying his leftover postgraduate course. His ability to see and hear ghosts turned into seeing their memory and dreaming about most unnatural things whenever he closed his eyes to sleep. He could not able to focus on his study thoroughly, as a result he ended up with a lots of dues in his syllabus and automatically he could not able to do his daily chores, including getting a haircut. He was too tired to think about those things allover again, and his drooping eyes did not bother to keep themselves open so that he could at least reach his hostel room, naturally he dozed off.

Around 3 o'clock in the afternoon, a gentle breeze shuffled his hair while he was in a deep slumber. Just in blink of eyes, a shadow passed his view line and he opened his eyes immediately. His warm brown eyes were snapped out of drowsiness and instantly filled with concentration. He was surprised to see an ordinary person just walk away in front of him and he only could see the back. A frown rose between his thick eyebrows; he was in a deep slumber, not dreaming, yet he saw the man's shadow with closed eyes. confusion spreading all over his features, and curiosity getting his best, he started following the man from a safe distance to figure out the cause of such a sudden vision.

He clearly remembered the shadow was grey with increasing black, but he could not see anything with opened eyes. It was even more strange when he tried to see with closed eyes  he could clearly see the same blackish grey shadow. A few students, returning from their outings, passed by the man, but their reaction clarified they also
could see him and they were keeping distance. Darshan's strides became swift and, just as he was about a ten feet away, the person looked behind. Darshan was petrified for a moment as he realised that this was the murderer from the memory of the wandering ghost at the male washroom.

The man was all over bloodstained, drenched with sweat, bloodshot eyed, heavily breathing. Darshan could not explain the exact reason or how his mind suddenly started working in such insane way that he started approaching the man.

However that man's expression turned into a horrified one as if he had seen his death, he turned and started running and a more out of his mind Darshan chased him.

A few moments later they were out of the campus, on the road to the highway. As they reached the junction of the University Lane, a truck suddenly appeared from the turn of the road and the man got hit, and in seconds was dead at the spot.

Darshan stopped abruptly, soaked with sweat, he should have breathed heavily, but he dared not to; his cream white face became pale, as if blood stopped flowing in his body. He clearly knew the consequences and as for that he had to run from there but guilt was overweighing him.  Eyes, never leaving the body infront of him, he saw a black shadow leapt from the dead body. Darshan could clearly make out it was the shadow from his earlier vision, it's just that the shadow became more darker.

The spirit was little confused to realize that he was already dead. Looking in front he saw Darshan standing there and glared at him viciously. Someone nudged him
from his side, Darshan didn't see who it was or hear what the person was saying, but thanks to that person, he came to consciousness only to find that the spirit was about to grab him. And then Darshan started running for his dear life, without looking around for once.

***********
*Hey, readers, it's my first try to write something. So I beg mercy if there're any mistakes, and I know there are.
You all are welcome to comment and correct my mistakes.
*Hope you liked the first chapter, it's short.
*I'll try updating as soon as possible.
*Till then stay home, stay safe and enjoy reading
😊😊😊😊😊😊😊

F I N A L L Y ! Had the courage to edit the whole thing and see this came out! Please read it and let me know how much do you like this new version.

......Anasuya Raj

24th April, 2020

Republished: 15th Sept. , 2023

Word count: 3213