The black ball under my bed

I was feeling ill at ease at the thought of this unwelcome guest who was due to arrive at my door at any minute. Pacing up and down my rented one room kitchen, I had an intuition that something terrible was going to come my way. I never really did get a positive vibe from Aditya in the two months that I knew him. We were in the same course at Dublin University. While all the Indian students stuck together, especially us boys, Aditya remained aloof from all. Now that we were paired as study partners for a project, I had no option but to spend time with him. My gut feeling screamed out loud that I should have set up this rendezvous at the University library. But since I had the bad habit of over thinking things, I tried my best to force my conscious mind to relax and take a step back.

Aditya was a sharp, lean, tall, bony-limbed boy in his mid-20s, just like me. But our similarities ended right here. If one would look closer they could see that his smoldering eyes held secrets and he was as frail as a butterfly’s wings, though he showed otherwise. A know-it-all that he was, during lectures, he would chuckle derisively at anyone who would blurt out the incorrect answers. Needless to say, no one really liked him.

That day, we burned the midnight oil and got cracking on the assignment. I had no intention of letting Aditya stay the night. But I wasn’t going to be that heartless either. So when he asked me if he could sleep at my place, I found myself on a sticky wicket. After giving it some thought, I gave in, playing the role of a polite host.

The shafts of sunlight breaking through the window and the shrill call of my phone alarm woke me up from my deep slumber, the next day. Still sleepy-eyed, I fumbled for my spectacles and took one quick glance around the studio apartment, realising that Aditya was nowhere to be found. I didn’t give it much thought knowing I would see him again in about two hours in class.

I remember my parents would brag and tell everyone who would listen that I never had any problems sleeping anywhere and that I always slept like a baby. As I grew up, I had come to pride myself on that. Sadly this was longer the truth.

From the day Aditya stopped by, my life took a 360-degree turn. Although I worked at a burger joint nearby after 8 hours of college, tiring me to my very core, sleep was elusive. Every time I merely attempted to shut my eyes, flashes of a little girl screaming for help and a man’s ghoulish chuckling kept me tossing and turning through the night. This routine was followed by the sound of water droplets trickling down the tap, precisely daily at 3 am. When I rushed into the bathroom to close the faucet, I would see a stream of blood making its way to the drain, leaving me stunned and immensely frightened.

My nightmare of a life continued for the next several weeks and I started spending most of the nights sitting awake besides the security guard’s cabin, downstairs. I tried narrating these bizarre events to my friends who laughed the matter off, saying I was hallucinating and just needed some rest. The University counsellor too was of little help as she refused to believe me. I felt completely alone for the first time in this foreign country.

One day, over the weekend as I was cleaning my apartment, I came cross a small black ball hidden under my bed. I couldn’t recollect having ever bought this ball so I decided to get rid of it. For a split second I thought it belonged to Aditya who had placed it here on purpose. I wasn’t one to believe in black magic but nevertheless thought it best to dispose the item off.

‘Neeraj, if this ball has brought about evil spirits, then all will be back to normal once I throw it out.’ Because I don’t even know how I am going to confront Aditya,’ I said, consoling myself.

But as fate would have it, nothing changed. In fact things took a turn for the worse. That night as I was sitting besides the security guard- my only companion, I fell asleep for a few minutes, only to have been awakened by the images of many little girls begging me to save them, followed by that same evil laughter. In the morning when I headed to my room upstairs, I found the same black ball mocking me, sitting on the black granite of the sink in the bathroom.

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In all this time Aditya barely spoke to me. Shockingly he didn’t even ask about the progress of our project which was due next week. I found this strange as I was certain Aditya cared a lot about his grades. But whenever I attempted to reach out to him for study purposes, I thought he went out of his way to avoid me. By now I had reached the boiling point of my anger. I desperately wanted to know more about this mysterious guy. I needed to pay him a visit.

I knew he stayed with my classmate Rahul only a couple of blocks away from the University. So, one Friday evening after we were done for the day, I suggested that the three of us could hang out at home and grab some drinks. Once the words were out of my mouth, I regretted them instantly, since I realised that we were not the best of friends so why would they invite me to socialise. I also thought, what if they choose my apartment for the party. I was about to open my mouth when the duo concurred, much to my surprise to meet at their place.

I went over the plan in my head repeatedly before heading the way to Aditya and Rahul’s house. I decided to use Rahul as a pawn because he would be the perfect source of distraction while I would sneak into Aditya’s room for clues.

The evening started off with the three of us getting along fine, each talking about their families settled a thousand miles away. My eyes kept wandering over to the room besides the bathroom which I knew was Aditya’s. Excusing myself to the call of nature, I shuffled out of their sight and tiptoed towards the chamber. The room’s décor halted my tracks, at the entrance itself. A part of the wall was painted completely black, accentuated with random figures in dark red. I knew I had little time at hand to reveal the skeletons in his closet, so I peeled my eyes away from the disturbing sight. Unfortunately, my plan had failed as his cupboards and the drawers too were locked. There was absolutely nothing even lying around. It was as though Aditya had planned well in advance and kept his secrets deeply buried.

……………………………………………

I desperately wished our little party would get over soon as I now was eager to rush home. Suddenly, I was not feeling comfortable. But by then my classmates were tipsy and refused to let me go, insisting that I stay the night. Reluctantly, I agreed.

As I lay wide awake on the sofa, staring at the clock, the moon after having played its long game of hide and seek with the clouds, finally had broken into a drizzle. Amidst the droplets of the rain, I thought I heard the sound of someone weeping, but I wasn’t sure. I saw the light on in Rahul’s bedroom and decided to follow the cry. I noticed him quivering under the blanket and thought he was sick. I was completely unprepared for what happened next.

‘This is going to sound weird. But I swear I am telling you the truth. I never told this story to anyone because I am afraid people would call me crazy,’ began Rahul in hushed tones.

I had to inch closer to him to decipher his speech. His voice was so low it was almost as though he were scared that the walls could hear him. His every word struck a chord with me and I felt that I was looking into a mirror, listening to my very story getting repeated from another person’s mouth- the sleepless nights, the same calls of little girls, with only minute details changed.

I hurriedly stood up, unable to grasp the similarities of this unusual situation. While doing so, my handkerchief fell off from the pocket of my track pants that I borrowed from Rahul. I bent down to retrieve it and just then my eyes caught the sight of the same black ball, lying under his bed. I was about to fetch it and narrate my ordeal to my newly found confidant when we both saw Aditya standing in the doorway with a huge steak knife clutched tightly in his fist.

Instantly, my vision became a blur with a splash of red and my feet became soaked in a pool of Rahul’s blood. And this was the last thing I remembered from that unfortunate night.