I have often heard that paranormal activities taken place at hospital morgues, crematoriums, deserted roads, unoccupied buildings, dense forests, or anywhere cruelty has left its mark. But what about place buzzing with the joy of a sacred celebration? Can we cross path with the otherworldly beings at supposedly happy and safe spaces? Sadhana (pseudonym to protect the identity), my friend answered these questions.
Sadhana and her mother had to travel to her remote ancestral village for her cousin's wedding. They embarked their tour in the morning, but reached the village only after the sunset. The journey was long and tiring. Since there was some time before the ceremonies and dinner, Sadhana decided to take a power nap. She thought a short shut-eye would recharge to enjoy the nightly rituals. She did not know that it was the beginning of a nightmare.
Exhausted from the commute, Sadhana fell asleep instantly. Some time later, she felt a gentle tap on her arm. Assuming it was one of her cousins, she mumbled without opening her eyes that she’d be down in ten minutes. But the tapping did not stop. She opened her eyes. In front of her was an unfamiliar young boy, not older than 8, dressed up in shorts with thin yellow t-shirt. With wide eyes he was looking at her. As soon as Sadhana sat up, he sprinted out of the room, making a quick exit. Sadhana figured out that one of her relatives sent him to ask her to join the ceremony, but the shy kid could not gather the courage to speak. She decided to track him down and play with him in the wedding ceremony. She smiled at herself, freshened up, and went to join the rituals.
During the evening festivities, Sadhana kept an eye out for the mysterious little boy, but he was nowhere to be found in the sea of relatives and guests. The wedding took place the following morning with a much smaller, more intimate crowd, yet the boy remained missing.
Once all the rituals and ceremonies concluded, it was the time for Sadhana and her mother to head back home. Though Sadhana was pleased to visit the village and be a part of her cousin's milestone journey, she was still puzzled by the appearance and disappearance of the mysterious kid. Unable to contain her curiosity any longer, she approached her aunt, described the boy's outfit, and asked, "Who was the little boy sent to fetch me before the evening ceremony? I saw him that first night, but he wasn't at the wedding.". This question surprised Sadhana's aunt. She insisted that they had not sent anybody to wake her. Furthermore there was no boy of that age amongst the relatives and guests. In fact, the ceremony was supposed to be only for the grown ups and nobody had attended with their children. With every answer, the mystery around the boy only deepened.
Finally, Sadhana's senile grandmother who offered the only plausible explanation. According to her, the departed souls of the family often return to witness these grand milestones. They leave the mortal realm but still stay connected to their mortal lives and kins, sometimes manifesting as children and other times as elders. When no logical explanation remains, she whispered, you have to accept that you've crossed paths with an apparition.
Sadhana felt chills down her spine. The thought of crossing path with an otherworldly entity was not only terrifying but also also deeply unsettling. She could not understand who was that boy? Why the apparition chose her over hundreds of relatives? How had he managed to slip by everyone else completely unnoticed? Was the departed kin trying to tell her something? Why would it suddenly disappear? Each question leading to a dead end. The mystery remained unsolved, but one thing was certain: from that night on, whenever Sadhana visited the village, she would be sleeping with one eye open.
[Note: Above image is AI generated]
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