The Road Back Home

By Malhar Desai

The pleasant sound of the violin kept my mind in a state of bliss. No worries about any work to do, people to please, money to make or taxes to pay. For the one hour that I ride from work to home, I am free. The air condition of my car along with my favourite playlist playing on the car stereo, I am in bliss.

A few minutes into my drive, I saw a man on the side of the road. Poor guy was carrying 2 backpacks and a suitcase, and they seemed heavy. From the looks of it, the man seemed to be an outdoorsman, and a really tired one at that. The nearest town was about an hour away by car, and in the opposite direction the factory that I worked at. Taking pity, I decided to stop and offer him a lift. I slowed my car, stopped before him and rolled down the window on the passenger side.” Would you like a ride to the next town sir?” I asked.” Yes! That would be great” he replied, looking relieved.

I opened the trunk and he kept his bags there. After that, he settled in the passenger seat, wiped the sweat off of his forehead, and breathed a sigh of relief. I started the car, and we were on our way. He was breathing heavily, and his bright white jersey was stuck to his body due to sweat. I waited a couple of minutes for him to catch his breath and then struck up a conversation.” What’s your name friend? I am Sanctus”.

” My name is Guido, and I really appreciate you giving me a ride.”

“Not a problem. Italian, huh? Your English seems pretty good for an Italian guy.”

“I get that a lot.” he said grinning. “My grandparents came to the states just after their marriage. So my father was brought up in America, where he married my mother- an American. So, I am Italian by descent only, I haven’t visited Italy even once.”

“Oh, I see. Have you ever thought of going?” I asked.

“Sometimes. My grandparents are from Florence originally, so I have to visit my hometown if I go to Italy. Other than that, I really wish to see Venice.”

“Ah! Venice. A beautiful place. I have always wanted to go there too. A city with water as streets and boats as the transport, I find it oddly captivating. Did you know that an island called the Poveglia Island in Venice is considered to be the most haunted place in Italy? I want to see what nonsense goes on over there.”

“Nonsense? What do you mean by that?”

“I mean that I don’t believe in ghosts and spirits and other paranormal stuff. They are either someone’s misunderstanding or someone’s imagination. Most of the times, it is just another scheme to make money, because dumb people will believe anything.”

Hearing that, a serious look came over his face. “You should not be too quick to dismiss the existence of ghosts. I have a couple of friends who have experienced the paranormal. I have heard their stories.”

“Tall tales! They were probably yanking your chains. Tell me, have YOU ever met, or even seen a ghost?”

“No I haven’t. But that doesn’t mean that they don’t exist. For all we know, I myself might be a ghost.”

“You know; you might be right. There are rumours of a ghost causing accidents around this area. Ha ha ha! Anyways, let’s change topics, because this just creeps me out. How long have you been backpacking like this?”

“Oh I don’t know. It seems like it has been forever since I started. But it is fun. I have made some great memories.”

“Really? Care to share?”

“Well, there was this one time, I was trying to cross the road while lugging those three backpacks and was almost hit by a truck. It missed me by a hair’s breadth.”

“That sounds dangerous. And you still carry on doing it. Don’t you want to stop?”

“I don’t know why, but I just can’t seem to stop. Anyways, what do you do for a living? Those grey overalls tell me that you work in a factory?”

“Yes. I am the plant manager at the steel mill. I am returning home from work right now.”

“What else do you do except work?”

“Nothing much. You know, I don’t do anything else. Every day, I follow the same routine. I drive to work, work, drive back home. But I like driving. It is the highlight of my day. Especially this section of the highway. A long stretch of straight road. I can drive as fast as I can.” Saying that, I gradually started speeding up.

The guy gave me a perplexed look. “Have you gone crazy? This part of the road is the most longwinded and twisted.”

“You must have this confused with another road. I have been driving on this highway for the past two decades. This road is as straight as a stick.”

“Straight as a stick my ass! You have to slow down or we both will plummet to our deaths.”

Guido became really fidgety and restless. I paid no attention to him and kept driving. Suddenly he screamed “Can’t you see there is a turn coming up. SLOW DOWN! SLOW DOWN!” and made a grab for the steering wheel. I was surprised and lost control of the car. The car started veering off towards the edge of the road. I tried my best to regain control of the car, but it was too late.

*CRASH*

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I opened my eyes, and at first, I could only make out he silhouettes of the trees. Then, I heard sobbing. I could not see the man, but I could clearly hear him crying. “I am sorry *sob* I couldn’t stop. *sob* I remember now. The truck, my death, I remember everything now. I am sorry I did this to you. *sob* I couldn’t stop.”

He came closer and I could see his tear strained face. Despite my own state, I could not help but feel pity for him. He slowly started to fade away, right at that spot, until at last, he completely disappeared. ‘So, ghosts DO exist’ I thought as I slowly lost consciousness. The last thing I saw was splotches of red, staining my bright white jersey.

By Malhar Desai