The Ghost Chronicles

By Trisha Kapoor

 CHAPTER 1

I can talk to ghosts. They come to me and refuse to leave my side. But I don't mind it. In fact I enjoy their company. I feel at peace around them . Sometimes I feel like I am one of them. We are both a part of each other. Though I am aware that they only wish to be around me because they want something from me. As soon as their wishes are fulfilled, they leave. I waved goodbye but they were too soon to turn their backs on me to notice. But it's okay, I am not hurt. It's not very different from humans anyways. The only difference is that ghosts have the guts to show their true feelings from the very beginning.

I didn't always have this strange power. It came to me not so suddenly. There would be many nights where I would see them in my dreams. They would stare at me and follow me around. I would see them on my desk and my living room. They would rarely speak. Then on other nights I would hear their whispers in my ear. “Wake up…” they say softly, “Wake up and see me…” in a very low and distorted voice. I would try my best to open my eyes but it would feel like someone had tied my arms and legs and I couldn't move. Every time I failed to awaken, the whispers would get louder and louder until they no longer felt like whispers. “Wake up…” they would shout in a loud and screeching voice. I wasn't scared of them. I longed to see their faces every time. Until I finally could...

13 October 2021, Wednesday 

I slept at 3am because I had to pull an all-nighter for my exam tomorrow. As soon as I started to fall asleep, I heard them again. But this time I could open my eyes wide and see them. They weren't one or two but a group of them hovering on top of me staring deep into my eyes.

“We will not hurt you, don't worry” said one of them. 

“I am not worried” I said,

They looked at each other in surprise and later nodded in agreement.

“So, we are at the right place then” said Kaas, the leader of their group.

I sat up and folded my arms, “ What do you want from me?”

“We have been sent here by God on a secret mission”

“Who are you fooling, get to the point.”

“You don't believe in god?”

“I don't believe in ghosts either and yet you stand in front of me.”

Kaas looked at other ghosts and back at me.

“We thought that humans would do anything if the task involves the word God in it so we thought it might be worth a try”

“Am I like every human you have met?”

Kaas paused for a few seconds, “You are not…. that is why we are here to ask for your help”

“Our boss Seki sent us here after he came across a prophecy about a human in the living world who can help ghosts cross the line between the living world and the mortal world. We ghosts are right at the centre of the line. If we attain salvation, we go towards the hands of God but that is not what we want. We want to avenge those who killed us while we live and breathe.”

Kaas then handed me a slip of paper that read the prophecy.

The one who can merge the living and dead, he who lives in Chandan Nagar near KK Bungalow, the one who has a parrot as a pet and can scare anyone with just one glance will be the saviour of all of us...”

I had never read a more cringier prophecy. I shot Kaas a disgusted look. He seriously couldn't be serious.

“What?” Kaas asked.

Which Harry Potter fan wrote this?”

“This is real okay!! Our boss gave this to us”

“Your boss must have been binge watching Philosopher's Stone”

“Nope i can assure you this is the real deal”

“Oh really? Then why is the prophecy so specific?”

“This was written by a ghost”

“So?”

“Ghosts like to get to the point”

“How did you even find me?” 

“Uh…we…. umm…who knew Google maps would be so useful, right?”

“We just had to look for a weirdo whom everyone runs away from and it turned out to be way easier than we thought,” said one of the ghosts chuckling.

Kaas immediately shot an angry stare at him and he quickly hid under my desk out of fear.

“It's okay. I am not hurt. I am used to hearing stuff like that” I said,

The tiny ghost peeked slightly out of the desk, still unsure whether he should come out.

“What's your name?” I asked him,

“ThTh…aaa…. Tami”

I smiled at him. I don't know why but I like him. I really like him now. I see a certain kind of innocence in him that I haven't seen in anybody I have ever met. The kind of innocence that makes me want to protect him.

“I am Ayaan. Nice to meet you”, this time I passed him an even bigger smile. Tami looked at me with a child-like gleam. He opened his mouth to say something but stopped.

“Enough with the introductions, just tell us what you need in return for helping us?” Kaas said impatiently.

“To be honest, I don't know how to help you”

“You must be kidding”

“I am not, I can't help you”

“Our boss can never misguide us. Just wave a wand or do whatever with your hands and send us to the living world”

“Seriously? Are you guys Harry Potter fans or what?”

Kaas came closer to me, tilted his head and said in a low register, “You want to test our patience boy, It won't be good for you, remember that...”

I stared deeply in his eyes. “Oh… Is that so?” I said with a sarcastic grin.

“I know you won't even lay a scratch on me. I am your last hope, ain't I?”

By Trisha Kapoor