CLIFFHANGER…a short story
THE DEATHLY
TRIP!
I walked to and fro in my
room, tapping my feet for no
reason. I was angry with that
moron. She rejected my road
trip. "Fine, if she doesn’t want
to come, let her go to hell!
Aargh”. I yelled at the top of
my voice, but I knew that no
one was hearing me except
my sofa and my dearest four
walls, no actually six. I
always preferred hexagon
shaped room. Okay enough! I
comforted myself and banged
her room’s door. I know that I
had to walk half a mile to
reach
her
home.
My
friendship always dominated
my ego, but this time it was
my anger rather than my
friendship. She could clearly
identify that I was annoyed
with her, but she was an
expert. She exactly knew how
to make my mood even worse
than before. “Not this time
sweetheart” she winked. Our
fight continued for an hour
but I couldn’t resist going out.
I knew that I was acting like a
desperate fool. But I was sure
that nobody could avoid that
place. THE MIRACULOUS
PHOTO HOUSE. The name
itself gave goose bumps all
over my body. A place which
completely displayed the
pictures of famous celebrities
and great personalities. “Why
don’t we go and chill at a
beach? Let’s have a girl’s
pajama party instead?” She
asked in a low tone. It was
more of a statement rather
than a question. “I hate such
stupid ideas” I arrogantly
replied. I dragged her and
pushed in the back seat of my
car. I drove for three hours
and finally entered into the
woods. “The place was indeed
very scary”, I swallowed my
breath. “Don’t eat and drive”.
She stated politely, which
added much to my irritation.
“Just shut the hell up and help
me out”. I was harsh but she
deserved it. She helped me
with the routes and after a lot
of confusion and our stupid
fights, we reached the
destination. We should have
started earlier, don’t you think
it’s quite late? She questioned
angrily. “I know but don’t
forget that it was your
mistake. It was you who were
playing with me”. I again
blamed her. This time I was
really scared and this idiot
was concerned about the time.
I was quite sure she was
worried about her dinner.
“Ok! So let’s peep in”. She
excitedly said as she saw the
arrow direction”. I was
equally
excited
but
somewhere deep inside I was
scared. We walked slowly
stepping on the rags, bones,
and god knows what not!
There were four rooms.
People who died of accident,
Murdered people, people who
sacrificed lives, Haunted by a
ghost. “Really? Can people
die even like that?” I
curiously questioned her.
“God knows! Let’s forget it
and walk”. She held my hand
and we walked and looked at
the people. I was actually
more focused on my legs as
they were shivering faster
than my heartbeat. We saw all
the pictures. I was confused as
tears rolled down her eyes as
we passed through the section
of the people who sacrificed
themselves for the country.
Most of them were from the
army. A big salute to them,
but on a serious note I was
much bothered about the
fourth room. “Let’s go to that
room!” She exclaimed. She
could clearly see that I was
scared. “Why don’t we leave
from here?” I requested
politely. “I guess it was you
who told me that life should
be adventurous?” she winked.
Stop poking me, I sighed. But
no, actually it was my idea to
visit the place. So why not
visit all the rooms? I asked
myself. “Shall we move over
there?”
I
questioned
confidently. She tapped her
head at my stupidity. We
walked in and saw all the
pictures. “Awh! Aren’t they
scary? Who knows why were
they killed? They look like
real ghosts, don’t they?” I
asked her but later realized
that I was talking to myself.
SHE WASN’T THERE. “For
heaven’s sake stop playing
with me and come back!” I
shouted. “No. No way! This
can’t happen”. My breath
stopped when I found her, not
with me, but on one of the
photo hanging on the wall!
-SHIVANI BONDUGULA
ECE A (2/4)