Neetu

“Don't stop for the woman near the bridge,” Neetu told Rajat.

Rajat looked up, startled. “Where did you come from?” he asked.

“You heard what I said?”

“This woman... is she hot?” he asked slyly.

Neetu threw a bowl at him.

“Hey!! I could've gotten hurt...” said Rajat angrily.

“Nothing compared to what the woman will do...”

“What will she do?”

“She's dangerous... I'm serious, Rajat!” Neetu shouted when she saw him grinning.

Rajat stopped smiling. He'd known Neetu since secondary school. They lived in the same neighbourhood and shared everything. Their families were very close. She was normally very level-headed.

“Why get so worked up about some random woman?” Rajat asked.

“She's a ghost!” Neetu blurted out.

Rajat couldn't think of anything to say.

“What a ridiculous thing to say!”

“I don't want to argue!” countered Neetu. “Just promise me you won't stop for anyone near the bridge.”

“Alright, Mataji... I won't stop,” said Rajat, folding his hands.

She moved to the balcony and Rajat followed.

“How do you know she's a ghost?” he asked.

“How do you know that I'm not a ghost? How can you tell if anyone is a ghost or not?” she retorted dryly.

Rajat waited...

“She hasn't got eyes, Rajat... just empty eye sockets... wears goggles to hide them...” Neetu told him.

“Okk...” said Rajat, suppressing a laugh. “Alright... got to go... Big day tomorrow.”

Rajat had recently been made vice-president of his company and he wanted to make a good start.

“Think about your wife and daughter, Rajat...” she said softly.

That stung a lot. He spun around angrily.

“Not cool, Neetu... not cool. Keep my family out!”

“I'm just saying, you know...” Neetu said in a conciliatory tone.

Rajat looked into her eyes.

“Listen Neetu... I understand your concern, I really do... We'll talk to your parents when I get back. And I agree with you. You've earned your place in society. You have every right to make your own decisions. They need to accept it...” said Rajat.

Neetu simply looked at him and shrugged her shoulders. It was a gesture so typical of her that Rajat’s anger melted away.

“I'll give you a call when I get back... but don't shut your parents out... call them...” he said.

She looked at him and nodded slowly.

Rajat waved his hand and was gone...

The road was almost deserted. The bridge came up, looking like some surreal painting, bathed in the diffuse light of streetlamps. Someone stepped out of the shadows. It was a woman... Short hair... Very well endowed. The saree clung to her, defining each curve gracefully.

He stopped and asked her if she needed help.

“My car broke down... can't reach a mechanic... could you drop me off at the highway?”

“Alright...” he said and was about to open the door when he noticed that she was wearing sunglasses.

Who wears sunglasses at night?

Now, the idea of ghosts was preposterous in bright light... Alone, there at night... a different story.

“Why the sunglasses?” he asked suspiciously.

“Oh... my eyes are a bit... sensitive...” she replied coyly.

Rajat could only stare.

“OK... I'll take them off if it bothers you...”

She removed them, looked up and smiled. Rajat's blood ran cold. She was the woman that Neetu had warned about. The ghost woman with empty eye sockets...

The woman was now stroking his ear with a cold finger.

“You'll drop me safely, won't you?” she said.

Terrified, Rajat sat clutching the wheel tightly. Then, something like a deformed animal rushed from behind the car, dragging the woman into the bushes along the roadside. Rajat's brain kicked into action and he drove away at top speed...

He reached home and ran up, forgetting the elevator in his fear. The door was open. Priya, his wife, was crying on the sofa. There was a man in a casual shirt and khaki trousers. A woman constable was standing near Priya.

“What happened?... Why are you crying?” he asked, momentarily forgetting his fear.

She got up, wiping her eyes.

“Rajat... sit down please,” she said, gripping his shoulders.

“Just tell me what happened!” he said.

“It's Neetu... she's dead, Rajat!!”

“Dead?...” Rajat repeated in a daze. “But I just...”

He swayed a bit and collapsed...

He woke up in the bedroom. Getting his bearings, he entered the living room to find the police officer and the woman constable conversing in low tones.

“Hello...” Rajat said.

They both rose and nodded.

“Hello... I'm Inspector Shinde. This is my colleague, Constable Gosavi... we're truly sorry for your loss...”

He seemed sincere.

“Are you alright?” Shinde asked.

“I'm fine. Let's just get this over with,” Rajat said firmly.

“How did she die?” he asked.

“She was murdered, Mr Pradhan.”

“Call me Rajat. How... I mean why?”

“No idea... but she'd been dead for some time by the condition of the body... she was clutching a bloodied saree and broken goggles.”

“Okay... so what now?”

“You'll have to come down to the station and give your statement.”

“Alright...” said Rajat.

Rajat gave his statement at the police station and quickly went out. Shinde followed him outside.

“I usually don't smoke but...”

“It's okay...” Shinde said.

Rajat offered him one but he refused. They stood in silence while Rajat smoked.

Rajat and Priya met Neetu’s parents the next day... they had taken it stoically... After coming home, they both went to bed early. But Rajat lay awake thinking... Neetu had been dead for a week, at least... Yet he had spoken to her in person the day before... How was it possible?... And her cryptic warning... it had come true.

What’s happening?!

Rajat hadn't told the police about the woman or the creature. They'll think I'm crazy...

But now, he understood everything. Neetu was that creature which dragged the eyeless woman away. She had looked out for him while she was alive, she had reached out to help him from beyond... It was pure love... The rest was unimportant...

The tears rolled down silently... the rain had started outside.

Neetu’s father’s phone began to ring at night. He got up, looked at it and was petrified. His wife saw him and shook his shoulder. He showed her the screen. She covered her mouth in fear...