I can hear the birds chirping, the crows cawing, the leaves murmuring as the first rays of the dawn breaks the dark emptiness of the night. As time marches away with every tick and every tock of the round bland clock, I wake up to the sound of the human commotion.
As the day begins, our bodies start running like the wheels inside that clock, running the hour, minute and second hands, sometimes stopping for a recoil then running again. Making time, as we go. Leaving history behind. And creating the future that waits ahead. All the while, wearing off, withering away and slowing down with every friction or resistance we face.
The day burns out quickly like the jet fuel and all that remains of the day is the dark black smoke of the night. Slowly spreading and engulfing every inch and every bit of space.
I always return late from work. As any other day, that day was no different. I came down from the bus. I was the only one to leave the bus at that stop. The bus slowly drove away with the remaining few passengers. I took a bit of time. Looked around a little. I can clearly listen to the sound of the crickets chirping.
The whole day was quite sultry. But by the evening, a mild breeze started blowing. And it was still blowing. Bringing a much needed relief. But the whole mood was murred by a strange foul smell that came with the wind and lingered around my nostrils for quite a while.
I glanced at my watch. It was 12:45. I looked at the quite town again. It looked sleepy. Strangely beautiful and full of mysteries. I wondered, " People are probably sleeping in their cozy beds now, surrounded by their loved ones, and here I am looking blankly at the dreamy eyes of the town and getting all poetic. I should hurry up before everyone starts worrying. "
As I walked towards the subway entrance, I smelt that foul smell again. But within seconds, it was gone again. I slowly walked down the flight of stairs, thinking about my kid. Smiling, at times, remembering the childish and funny things that he does, and worrying at the same time thinking that I might be missing the best times of his life while working and that I would never get these days back. I will never be able to cherish these moments ever again.
The subway was half-lit. It felt very creepy that night. Then there was occasional hooting of the night bird. As I kept on walking, some of the lights flickered on and off. At times I could hear a sound or listen to a whisper and look back, all scared and astonished at the nothingness of the tunnel.
I kept walking. I started to sweat. I can feel the air getting thicker and thicker. Soon enough, I couldn't see anything that lay in front of me. I looked back and forth. There was dense, dark fog everywhere. I thought to myself, " Am I dreaming. Is this a dream? " I slapped myself. "No it isn't. "
Again, I could smell it. That foul smell. I started feeling dizzy. The thick fog was choking my breath. Meanwhile, it came to me, "Wait a minute. How long have I been walking for? The tunnel is just a few feet long. Where am I? Am I at the right place. What is happening to me?
Just when I thought that things couldn't get any worse, something grabbed my leg from beneath, and a muffled scream could be heard, "Pull me up. Please. Pull me up. Help me. Save me. " I didn't know what to do. But I held those hands as hard as I could and I pulled it with all my strength. Soon enough, something snapped and I fell, hurting my head badly.
As I slowly raised my hand. I saw the hand of a skeleton, twitching in my hands. Then I felt a shot of pain gushing through my head and within seconds, everything went dark, and the last thing that I heard was a sharp shreak, "HELP ME!!!!!!"
Next morning, I woke up at the call of a couple jogging past the tunnel. As I woke up, I looked around with awe. "Where's the hand? Where's the fog?" I ran towards the exit stairs. "Ah! It's morning. " I quickly gathered my belongings, that lay scattered on the floor and rushed to my home to a worried, terrified and ofcourse angry wife and parents. I quickly went to my son's room. I stood for second beside his bed. He was fast asleep, unaware of the dreadful ordeal of the awful night. I kissed his forehead. Like I never did before.
After a while, the paperboy left the day's paper at our doorstep. As I picked it up and opened to see the front page, my heart stopped for a second, as I read the headlines, "Tunnel workers confess, burying co-worker alive."
