The chair, the ghost and my dog.

It was a perfect winter evening. There was enough smog that you did not need to exchange glances or smiles with strangers therefore no need to worry about your appearances. I must have really come far since I was out of thoughts generated by my subconscious mind. I was thinking of turning back when I noticed there was a man sitting on a chair which had only two legs. No matter how hard he tried, he could not balance the chair. It was an amusing sight. I kept watching him, but not for long. Curiosity got the better of me and I decided to approach him. “Can I help you”- I said. “Indeed” he smiled at me and vanished into this air. Next minute I was sitting on the chair and trying to balance it. No matter how hard I tried, I was not able to get up. And as happens with all the nightmares, I woke up sweating and trembling.

I got up and walked towards the fridge. I had moved recently into this house and was getting accustomed to it. There were many doors and I ended up opening the wrong door. After switching on the lights I realised that this is not the kitchen, but just before closing the door, my eyes fell on an object which I could never forget. Not on that night, not ever in my life. A chair with two legs. My knees suddenly became weak. The problem with the Heart attack is that it does not come as easily as they show in movies. You have to go through the full agony of realising the implications, the fear and the pain. You have to feel every drop of sweat dripping down your forehead and a chill down your spine. It is wrong on so many levels. Your whole life’s disbelief in ghosts come crashing.

The human mind is very strong. It conjures up images and the face of the man sitting on the chair was in front of my eyes. For the first time I realised that it was a face which could not be described. I am not sure whether we can call it a face. The man was now sitting on the chair. The chair was perfectly balanced on its two legs.  He whistled. My dog came running. My dog was now sitting in his lap. The chair was balanced. Somehow the fact that the chair was balanced seemed to be much more significant that all of this. Fortunately the human mind can only take as much so I collapsed.

I could never go back to that place even for collecting my stuff. I moved to the city and drowned myself in work. My kids help me remain occupied in one thing or other. I miss my dog. The life has changed, except on winter evenings…..