Nihar widened his eyes to ensure he didn’t doze off. The Eastern Express highway wore a deserted look. “I will jump at a better job opportunity. Yaar, I am tired of these night shifts,” he thought, pulling his jacket closer as the cold November breeze seeped through the small gap in the window.
He had taken his eyes off the road for a second to change the radio station. When he looked up, he saw a lady in white with long flowy hair standing right in the middle. A cold shiver passed his body. The hair on his arms stood on end. His knuckles turned white as he hit the brakes instead of the accelerator.
***
“Driving on highways at midnight is not safe. It was an evil spirit that took your father’s life on the highway.”
“Aaji, Baba died of a heart attack. There is no such thing as ghosts. And if there is, this black thread you have tied will protect me,” Nihar smirked.
“No, Nihar. He mentioned a woman in white before breathing his last at the hospital,” Aaji sniffled. Nihar’s father was a womanizer. He was involved in a murder case but was later acquitted. After his Aai died in a road accident, Nihar stayed with his Aaji in Thane.
***
The conversations with his grandmother from the day he started working as a team leader at a call center resounded in his ears.
His chain of thoughts broke when the lady tapped her long-crooked nails on the pane. Grasping the black thread on his wrists, Nihar gulped hard. “Jai Hanuman gyan…,” he chanted but couldn’t remember the lines. Big black eyes layered with kohl stood out from the white face. The thick red lips muttered something incessantly.
When the tapping turned louder, Nihar’s fingers quivered as he pulled down the window. “AAAAH!” She gestured, bringing her thumb to her lips. As an impulse, he handed over his bottle. She smiled, revealing her black uneven teeth.
Nihar’s body was drenched in sweat and his teeth chattered.
“I am Madhavi Kamat, an actress working for a horror movie. My shoot continued past midnight and I didn’t have time to change. My car broke down halfway. Can you please drop me at Check Naka?”
Hearing this, he exhaled through his mouth. Nihar had read about a similar incident involving an actress asking for a lift after her car broke down at night. Though his mind accepted this, his heart beat out of rhythm.
As she slid into the seat, the soft hooting of an owl echoed in the distance.
“Why is her voice so gruff?”
“Why isn’t she carrying her bag?”
Thoughts spiraled in Nihar’s mind as he released his feet from the accelerator near Check Naka when her bony fingers turned the steering wheel steeply towards the divider.
“I have swiped away your family in the same spot your father swiped mine. Your Aaji is spared to sing my praises.”
Echoing laughter burst forth on the highway.
***
Glossary:
1. Aaji: grandmother
2. Baba: father
3. Aai: mother
4. Check Naka: a checkpoint where vehicles are stopped for security purposes.