The Stranger Whom I Never Met

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I had come home during my holidays. After joining a Pharma company in Bangalore few years back, it was difficult for me to visit my hometown often but I always made it a point to at least come here once a year and sometimes depending on situations and the opportunities, it would be twice too. I loved coming back here to meet my families, friends and feel the sense of belongingness. Now, this year it was the only holiday I could manage and so I had the privilege to stretch it to some extent. I was happy.

I have a few dear school friends too. We would meet often late in the evening for the get togethers. I was sharing them my experiences of the Bangalore over few drinks. Alcohol would not make me tipsy even after many drinks, so I had the adequacy to take quite a plenty of this disallowed and palliative liquid.

But this evening was a little different; today after the intake of many drinks, I was feeling slightly tipsy but was able to drive my car and was in my senses. I thought of taking a cab back home as unlike other days, I had felt the little dizziness today, but after walking for a few minutes, my confidence was back and I was again the normal Ravi. I sat on the driving seat and was ready to drive back home. I looked at my watch; 12.45 A.M. I calculated the time to reach my home. As there would not be traffic on the road, so I would reach by 1A.M. I was driving as I listened to some wonderful music while enjoying this peaceful 15 minutes trip back home. 

As I was about to take the U-Turn to enter the lane leading to my home, I realized I saw a girl standing on the road. Firstly, I ignored her accepting it to be my wild imagination, but to reconfirm, I again stared at the rear-view mirror of my car with wide eyes and I was not hallucinating. My car screeched as it stopped due to my sudden pressure on the brake. The girl was waving at me. She was short and fair, seemed to have arrived from some party as she wore those short glittery party dresses with very high heals; may be to camouflage her deficient height.

I waved back by throwing my hand, out of the car window with all excitements, indicating a signal, to ask her to wait as I had already covered quite a distance from her and would be back after taking the U-turns. She nodded. For few minutes, I found myself in some wonderland; a smart girl was asking for a favor from me as I had hardly any romantic relations due to my self-reluctance or some sort of ambivalence. And to find a proper life partner for me, my mother had already taken the charge on herself.

I took the U-turn to again take another U-turn to reach her on the other side of the street. I could still see her waiting for me from here as I speeded my car to reach her instantly. We waved each other. I checked and had not found any other vehicle on either side. We were alone on the road. I took the other U-turn; she was still there checking her phone. Out of excitement, I had miscalculated the angles of my car while turning it and so had to readjust it properly to turn it using my rear gear and it was done very smoothly due to the absence of vehicles on the road. Suddenly, a car had crossed me quickly, without halting anywhere on the road, at a very high speed.

I very excitedly, reached the point where she had been waiting. She was not there. I moved ahead, still could not see her. I got down from my car. But there was nobody. Where did she go? The speedy car, that had crossed me a minute ago had not stopped for once. I saw her till the point I was turning my car which was only 2 minutes ago. There was no other vehicle on the road, neither any bifurcated lanes where she could enter and vanish. It was an open road. Where was she?

I narrated my part of the story to my friends. Of course, nobody believed and some considered it as my delusion and few named her a ghost. I did not believe any of them as I saw her with my wide eyes; the short and the fair girl wearing the glittery dress with high heels. She was on my mind. I had recreated my visits to the same route at the same time for the next few days.

But she was not there.

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