Untold Story of 12th Block-Manipal

Room 213, Block 12, 12:07 a.m. – Ritika and Aaisha were going through the ‘Untold story of Block 1’. “These people scared the shit out of all the girls of 1^st block; one of my friends stays in the room just above it and she couldn’t sleep for 3 days” commented Ritika. They both were what one can call an exception to women in case of ghosts; they loved to talk about the paranormal and wouldn’t flinch at a chance to experiment. “Why do you think he still stays there? Isn’t one murder enough for salvation from this world?” continued Ritika.

“You never know with the paranormal, what they seek, how, when and why they do stuff; they just come, destroy and leave. Sometimes they give me faith though (she was looking down now), maybe it would happen to me” said Aaisha. Ritika could feel the atmosphere getting tense; she took Aaisha’s hand in hers and said “You really loved him didn’t you? I wouldn’t ask you to forget because I know it’s never easy, but I hate to see you like this”

Aaisha had lost her boyfriend to an accident earlier in the semester. Being a strong woman, she held herself well but would often go through bouts of depression. Hailing from Punjab with the typical fair, sharp looks, she had no shortage of options. But all attempts of her getting another guy failed as she would proclaim, “He spoiled other men for me”.

The eternal silence was broken by Ritika desperately trying to change the topic, “Do you know about astral projections? They say it is a method by which your soul can leave your body and wander around. See the movie ‘Insidious’, they show it brilliantly. Not everyone can do it, as apparently it’s a bit hereditary too. To tell you a secret I have done it a couple of times. It was like a dream only I was aware that I was dreaming. I couldn’t move as if stuck to the bed. After much struggle I got out only to see my body lying on the bed. I freaked out and suddenly woke up.”

Intrigued by the idea Aaisha managed a laugh, “That explains you talking in your sleep”. Days passed and Aaisha was still caught up with her past, when one night things started changing.

It was around 3 in the night. Ritika was fast asleep, Aaisha on the other hand was reading High Polymers (Chemistry is a bitch!!!). Suddenly Ritika was talking again in her sleep; only now Aaisha could hear her, “You are still very beautiful Aaisha; I love you”. Excited that she could now take out a few secrets and confused about her roomie flirting with her, Aaisha went closer. But she could hear nothing else. Being confronted Ritika didn’t remember the dream. The week passed with nothing new to entertain Aaisha.

Aaisha  had the habit of waking up very early.She would often roam around in the quiet hostel in the chill. It made her feel at peace with herself. She would sit at a flight of stairs and would pen down her thoughts. One fine Sunday morning, while sleeping at 4:00 a.m. she felt someone near her; still in a trance she opened her eyes and what she saw pushed her back and she screamed in horror. Ritika was sitting beside her bed, staring at her face. She woke up after hearing the scream confused how she got there. They didn’t talk about it as it freaked both of them out.

Days passed and the sleep movements of Ritika started getting more evident. One night both of them were studying on their respective beds. Aaisharealised that Ritika had fallen asleep. She was still admiring  how cute she looked when she opened her eyes. Ritika was smiling at her. She said “Do you still keep the rose?” Aaisha was horror struck. She had just one rose given to her by Atul, no one knew but it stayed in her diary that she used to maintain since her sixth grade. With tears trickling down her face, she managed to muster some courage to speak, “Is that you Atul?” Ritika just smiled and said, “I miss you, be with me.” She slept again.

Unable to ignore it anymore Aaisha talked to Ritika the following evening. Ritika confided that she had been astral projecting lately and had been seeing Atul’s soul in the misty world. They couldn’t tell it to anyone as no one would believe them. Unsure where to go, they contacted us hoping that the ghost writers would know something about this. They were directed to me.

I told them that Atul’s soul is looking for a vessel to take. He is trying to communicate with Aaisha. Ritika feared something like ‘The Exorcist’ would happen to her. I refuted the theory saying that that was the devil not a human soul; a soul cannot assert command over someone else’s body. Aaisha asked me to tell her how one could do Astral Projections. Afraid about the topic myself, and apprehensive of telling it to her especially, I gave her a few E-books I had collected on Outer Body Projections (OBE), after much persuasion.

It was later that I realised my grave mistake. Ritika came one day and told me that Aaisha too started talking in her sleep and she also mentioned that she’d go to any length to meet Atul. I told her that I’d do more research and get back to her. I also advised her to contact her parents but she refused. I was reading some diary entries by people doing OBE whose souls were sometimes claimed by other people. They all said that one’s body cannot be taken over unless it’s a very powerful force. But acquisition was not my fear. I feared that Aaisha might get manipulated by the outer world and decide to leave herself.

So I went to meet them the next day. As I reached the 12^thBlock gate I saw Aaisha coming towards me. As she drew closer she smiled and said, “Thank you” and she left. I noticed a knife in her hand so I rushed inside (no one stopped me as there already was chaos in the hostels). Ritika lay wounded near her bed. She was crying and somehow with all the blood around, she still seemed to be in horror rather than pain. On seeing me she said trembling, “Aaisha woke up and she was laughing loudly in the morning. When I asked her what happened she gave me weird smile and said, “Aaisha is now lost forever.” When I started to ask further questions, she attacked me. You taught her!!!” She screamed and became unconscious.

I knew what had happened and I just regretted that I didn’t know it could. All this time I thought that he wanted her to live with him, like him, he always had an ulterior motive. I later got to know that a soul can take over a body if the owner allows it to. Aaisha (Now Atul) went missing. Her parents couldn’t believe that their daughter is caught in a world, alone and helpless and they could do nothing about it.

‘Love’s blind and love blinds

An illusion that takes you to oblivion

Sans realisation one agrees to fall

Lucifer hath created as he tempt us all

Savour said God but it never was’

– Work of fiction 😐