My first Magazine A Face in the Dark, Ruskin Bond | Page 7

The boy did not respond and continued to cry silently. Oliver again
enquired what was troubling him and asked him to look up.
Question (iv): How can you explain the boy’s ‘strange, soundless
weeping’?
Answer (iv): The boy’s 'strange, soundless weeping' could be explained
on the basis that Oliver had been hearing stories about supernatural
events happening in the region. Being a bachelor and lonely person, the
stories of ghosts and spirits might have left deep impressions in his
subconscious mind. The boy sitting on a rock, as perceived by him in the
flickering light of the torch, augmented with eerie atmosphere created
b y the weather and the forest; triggered a sequence of images in his
mind which made him feel uneasy.
The flickering light from Oliver’s torch was insufficient to completely
illuminate the object he was seeing. Oliver perceived a boy sitting on a
rock with his head hung down and who seemed to be weeping silently.
His school was located in the outskirts of the hill-station of Simla which
reinforced his belief that what he saw was indeed a boy from his
school. Concerned about his well-being, he tried to communicate with
the boy, but the boy did not respond and continued to weep silently.
Question (v): What strange revelation took place when the boy finally
looked up at Oliver?
Answer (v): When the boy finally looked up at Oliver, it was revealed
that the boy had no features on his face. Oliver was terrified to see that