The Shadow On The Stairs

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Many years back, we had a courtyard in our house, and our bathroom was situated in the far corner of the courtyard (Some people in India still prefer to keep bathrooms away for hygiene purpose or whatever). We needed to come out of our rooms and walk through the courtyard to reach the bathroom.  

I was in school. While studying until wee hours at night, whenever I came out of my room and walked toward the bathroom, my grandmother, sleeping in the room next to mine, would call me asking questions like “Where are you going?” or “You are still awake?”.

 One day I asked her “Why do you ask me questions every single time I am out?”

 She said, “So that you don’t feel scared.”

I didn't feel scared , but it made me thinking. True that! Darkness, silence and solitude enhance the impact of fear. Why is it so? I wonder. When you hear someone's voice (er..human voice), you don't feel scared even in the complete darkness or solitude.

 It was 3:30 am. I woke up before the alarm. I had to take an important test, so I wanted to freshen up. I opened the door of my flat and came out in the open courtyard. There were four more flats that shared the same courtyard. It was moonlit night. No one was awake. Crickets were chirping, breaking the stunned silence of the night.

I approached the tap and started brushing. Suddenly, my eyes landed on the stairs of another flat nearby. A woman, wearing white, flowing dress, sat on the stair. My heart skipped a beat. 

This fear is a monster, always ready to overpower you. We need to handle it bravely. 

In this condition there could have been two options.

One: I would have panicked out of fear and raced towards my room, closing the door with a bang.

Two: I could have given my conscience some time to think and analyze.

I chose the second option. With throbbing heart I had an intent look at the woman. Who could that be at this hour? After a few seconds of analysis, I realized that the woman was actually my illusion. Moonlight, filtering through the pillars, landed on the stairs in a peculiar way that it created an impression of a sitting woman.

Had I chosen the first option, I would have believed for the rest of my life that I had actually seen a ghost!

In maximum cases, ghosts are illusion. It’s just a state of mind, sudden fear and panic that tend to overpower our conscience and we fail to comprehend things logically. 

What do you think? Share your moments of illusions. Or have you actually seen a ghost?

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