I never thought this would happen to me. I am baffled, confused and distraught. I am still trying to fathom what happened to me and Pam. Oh, didn’t I tell you? Pam is my fiancé of three years. She is lovely and very understanding. We were one of those fortunate ones to have gotten the blessings of my and her parents for our engagement.
It was a grand celebration with all our friends and relatives showering us with good wishes and for course loads of gifts. Everything went well. We both decided to go on a drive through the countryside exploring all the old villas and palaces of historic importance and some just for their grandeur. It was a lovely trip.
On our way back home, we stayed in an old villa located in Amangarh. The place itself was desolate. There were no other guests. We literally had the place for ourselves with the attendant. The décor was somewhat in heritage style. The high roof, huge long winged fans on longer stems. Yes, there was this old attendant who also doubled as a cook and butler. On the whole the experience was full of old world charm and a quaint peaceful ambience, despite the raging rain outside. It offered an excellent shelter.
After a night’s stay, we returned to our car. A shock was waiting for us. Our car lay there, half burnt with two people charred to death in the front seat. Pam looked at me in askance. Who could they be? And what were they doing in our car? Why didn’t they come in and seek shelter, at least from the rain. Nobody would have refused. Pam and I went closer and a bigger shock awaited us.
I tried to open the door and it would not budge. I shouted for the villa attendant. I don’t think he heard me because no one turned up. May be he went back to his servant quarters which is located at the back of the villa. Somehow I pried open the car’s front door.
I can’t believe what I saw. Why do the dead couple look like me and Pam? I turned to Pam and reached out to hold her hand. She was trembling in fear. My hand went through hers like a knife through butter. Why can’t I hold her hand? Why is she looking so pallid?
I went closer, only to just walk through her. What is this? She felt like a cold misty person shaped like Pam. I am not sure what I am looking at. I called her out. She came closer. She was calling me out too. But what happened to us? I looked at her trying to understand. Is she thinking what I am thinking too? She looked at me in desperation. It dawned on both of us at the same time that we died last night. We are the dead bodies in the car. Tears welled up in our eyes but would not run down. Where are we?
We walked away together trying to understand what has happened. Suddenly there was nothing around us. We were floating. We had no shape. We knew were together but there was nothing to hold on to. We are a part of the cosmic ambience, air, moisture, the heat of the sun, vacuum, but no earth only a few dust particles. There was nothing to stand on.
We kept floating. We both felt at the same time, that we should go back to our home and see actually what happened. We turned around wondering how long it could take to reach our home in Mumbai. But shock and surprises are not over for us. We were there the next moment. It is our home. My father and mother seated in the drawing room sofa, looking crestfallen with grief. How did they know? What did they know? I wanted to tell them we are there for them. I wanted to touch their feet in obeisance. But they looked like nothing happened. I wanted to reach out and assure. We are still there for them. But how the hell can I do it? They are not even seeing us and behaving as if we did not exist.
I can’t take it anymore. I wanted to weep. I wanted to cry. But for a person like me who is a scientist, to realize that Pam and I are no longer alive and have become a part of the universe. Our last breath is now a part of the universe. We are a part of the air and all other elements of earth breathed by all other living beings. What have we become? Are we ghosts? Will we be roaming around scaring people with our non-existent bodies? Do we look like typical ghosts in long flowing white robes? Please, someone explain where we are and what has happened to us!
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