By Yadnesh Shingare
It felt like I was going into labor. One of my doctors had mentioned it before, kidney stones for men feel like cramps while giving birth to a baby. The pain was unbearable.
My father took out the car and drove my mom and me to the hospital. My mother was panicking. Usually, I take a painkiller and drink lots of water to make my pain go away. But it was too much to handle that day. We reached the hospital. My father went to get the paperwork done while my mother and a nurse sat me in a wheelchair. They took me to a general OPD for some regular check-ups. The nurse was cute and I didn't want her to think of me as a cry baby. So I tried to look brave in front of her. She gave me a shot of painkillers to make me feel at ease.
A few minutes later my father returned with the paperwork and informed me that I’ll have to be hospitalized for a few days. They took me to the general ward where I was put in a private room.
The room was spacious enough with two beds, one for the patient and the other for a family member. It also had a good view of the city from the large french windows. But my mother didn’t like it. I didn’t understand why. She said she didn't feel good being there. Of course, no mother would feel good to see their only son getting hospitalized. And, my mother was already too overprotective of me. My father, on the other hand, would always try to cheer me up with sarcasm, yet he was a softie from the inside and never showed his love towards me. Now, both of them were discussing who would stay with me for the night.
I interrupted them saying I don’t want either of them to stay and that I was fine on my own. I really was. I wasn’t feeling any pain, the room was good with air conditioning and a TV, the nurse was cute, the night was young, what else could a teenage boy want?
Somehow I convinced my parents to go home and get some rest. The nurse also played an important role in this act. She asked them not to worry about me and that they are available 24/7 for all their patients. I just had to ring a bell which was kept beside my bed and one of the nurses would be there right away.
My parents left. The nurse gave me some medicine and asked me to get some rest. She walked towards the window and shut it. It made a loud thud which startled me for a bit. The window needs to be fixed, I thought.
I was simply looking at her. I don’t remember when exactly the nurse left. Maybe the meds she gave had started showing their effects and I'd fallen asleep.
12.07 a.m.
I woke up and checked the time. It was dark and awfully chilly. The nurse must have switched off the lights, I thought. I adjusted my pillow and stared at the ceiling above with both my arms at the back of my head.
I want to pee. But I am too lazy to get up. Maybe I should hold. Then again, this is the reason I keep getting kidney stones. I smiled to myself and got up from the bed. I went to the bathroom to take a leak. It was so quiet.
12.16 a.m.
I returned to the bed and checked my phone. The battery was almost drained out. I searched around for my charger and realized it was in my mother’s purse. I cursed my fate and went to bed again.
1.32 a.m.
I could hear someone humming. It was such a sweet voice. Soothing. It was a lady’s voice. Definitely an elderly one. It reminded me of my late grandmother. When I was a kid, she used to hand me money every time I visited her. I remember buying candies and chips with it. My mother used to scold me for that and then my grandmother would scold her for shouting at me. The voice had such a calming effect on my body. It felt as if I was floating in the air. I was sleeping facing towards the window and then I turned to the other side. I saw an old lady sitting on the other bed. She was knitting something. She stopped as soon as she saw me staring at her. The room was quiet again. She smiled at me.
“Who are you?” I asked.
“I’m just your well-wisher,” she said. Her voice was very sweet and friendly.
“Why are you here, aaji?” I asked again.
“I am here to warn you, son. Please be careful.”
I didn’t understand what she meant by that. Is she a ghost? Is it because she died in this very room and that’s why I can see her? I had too many questions to ask her.
“Aaji, what do you mean by be careful?” I asked.
“It’s not safe..” as she was about to complete the sentence a strong gust of wind blew across the room.
I looked at the window. I looked back at the old lady. But she was gone.
1.48 a.m.
I woke up panting for breath. I looked at the bed beside me. It was empty. It was just a dream. It was scary though, I thought. I looked outside the window. It was shut. I walked towards it and saw the view. The city was asleep. I checked the time.
“Only good thoughts! Only good thoughts!” I murmured to myself and went back to sleep.
2.03 a.m.
“Ahhh!” the lady yelled at the top of her voice. She was sweating heavily and crying out loud. There was no one with her to calm her down. I didn’t see any family.
“Please save me. Do something!” she requested the two nurses who were beside her.
Another nurse rushed towards the bed and started setting up all the medical equipment. She put up the saline and injected it into the lady’s wrist. A few seconds later the doctor arrived.
“Hey nurse, I don’t think I should be here,” I said looking at the nurse. She didn’t respond to me.
“We will have to perform a cesarean procedure,” the doctor told the nurses.
The doctor slit opened a small line carefully just above her uterus. She started bleeding heavily. The nurses applied cotton towels on her belly. The lady was losing consciousness. The nurses kept talking to her, trying to keep her awake. I did not understand why this was not done under anesthesia. The lady was losing a lot of blood. Then she wasn’t screaming anymore. She was looking at me and had a very calm expression on her face.
The doctor finished the procedure and took a tiny little thing out of her. It was covered in some sticky fluid and blood. I was about to puke. I did. I started puking right there on the floor. One of the nurses took the baby away and the other started wiping the lady. The lady was still looking right at me. Suddenly a nurse came out of nowhere with the baby in her hands.
“Here you go,” she said, handing the baby over to me. It was a little boy draped in a pink towel.
The baby was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. I held it carefully on my right arm and tickled its belly. The baby opened its eyes slowly. The eyes were pitch black with no whites in them. It looked right at me and gave a vicious smile. I panicked so bad, I dropped the baby on the floor and screamed. I looked up and saw the lady looking angrily towards me.
2.19 a.m
I was wide awake sitting straight up on the bed. I looked around the room. Again, it was just a dream. Not a good one this time.
“Wow! That one was scary” I said to myself. “Did this pregnant lady also die in this room? Like the old grandma before? What’s with this place?”
I had some water and looked at my watch. I should have let my mother stay for the night, I thought.
2.28 a.m.
I was browsing on my phone. After a few minutes, my phone died and I was left all alone again.
I thought of watching some TV but then changed my mind. It was too late and I had started feeling sleepy again.
“It’s nothing. I am overthinking this. Just a bad dream. That’s it!” I said to myself loud and clear.
3.07 a.m.
I was lying on the bed when I heard a knock on the door.
“Maybe it’s the cute nurse,” I thought.
I walked towards the door and opened it. There was no one.
I went back to bed and kept staring at the ceiling above. Suddenly I felt someone pulling my blanket. I am used to covering my feet with a blanket to keep them warm. I just can’t sleep without a blanket. No matter how hot it is.
The blanket was slowly being pulled down. It was now below my waist and then my knees until my feet were wide open. My feet started feeling cold. I didn’t move out of fear. I kept staring at the ceiling and moved my hands to find the blanket without trying to look at the end of the bed. I was too scared.
Suddenly someone leaped on my chest and choked my neck. I grabbed it with one hand and grabbed the bed sheet tight with the other hand. It was something grey. It had a burned face and was covered in yellow hot oil dripping down the pores all over its body. Every drop of oil that fell from it burned my body and everything that it touched. I couldn’t breathe. My palms were sweaty and I couldn’t get a grip of its strong hands on my neck. I coughed out hard and could see drops of blood in the air coming out of my mouth. The creature above me had no eyes, its eye sockets were hollow. Then it opened its mouth wide and I could see its yellow teeth. Its breath stank like that of a dead rat.
I struggled to escape from its hold but couldn’t. He got right to my face and bit my mouth.
3.13 a.m.
I woke up holding my neck. I looked at my palms front and back, they had gotten sweaty. I wiped it on the hospital uniform. I was sweating heavily and could hardly breathe. I looked down at the end of the bed. There was nothing. There was no one else in the room. I searched for the blanket. It had fallen on the ground during my struggle to wake up from the nightmare.
“Oh, God! Please help” I prayed.
I knew this wasn’t normal anymore. These dreams. These nightmares. It was because of this room. I looked around the room one more time. An eerie silence spread across the room. But I could now feel the negative strength in that room. The vibe around felt unreal.
I sat there holding my legs tightly to my chest. I was about to cry. I was praying hard to all kinds of gods. Making false promises.
3.56 a.m.
An hour passed. I was still sitting on the bed. Frightened to the core. I kept chanting broken prayers in Sanskrit. Whatever I could remember. Those that I had never paid attention to, never listened to carefully even when my mother had insisted to. I promised to pray every day. To respect my parents and to be kind to everyone else. To not commit any sins. To look at every woman with respect.
4.09 a.m.
I was sitting on the bed when I saw a dark shadow appear right on the wall in front of me. It was pitch black with no human traits. The figure was the darkest shade of black I had ever seen. It was so powerful I felt my life getting dark with every second I stared into it. As if it was sucking my soul right out of me. I felt weak and dehydrated. I lacked the strength to move. All of a sudden I felt sadness taking over my body. I was depressed and lonely. As if there was no light. As if there was no future for me. Life suddenly felt a lot miserable at that moment. Like a heavy burden of responsibilities weighing me down. I didn’t want to live anymore.
The black shadow was drawing nearer and I lifted my hand up to feel it. The shadow touched me and I felt my hand going deep into the abyss. Into nothingness. A dark space. Like another dimension. The black shadow merged with mine. Now it was right behind me, controlling my thoughts and my movements. I looked at my palm. It felt numb. I felt my skin, it was dry.
A few moments later I was walking towards the window. I opened it. A cool breeze of the early morning dew caressed my face. I saw the dark city. I looked down at the empty streets. There was not a single vehicle. The roads were so clean amidst the flickering street lights.
I was standing at the edge of the window. One more step and I’ll be free. Forever.
4.30 a.m.
I slowly opened my eyes. I was still on the bed. I wasn’t afraid this time. In fact, I was feeling quite strong and positive. I rubbed my palms and felt the warmth in my eyes.
I looked towards the window. It was open.
I walked towards the window. Suddenly a loud noise interrupted my thoughts. A prayer. It was a chant in Urdu, coming from a mosque just a few kilometers away from the hospital. It was the early morning Namaaz. I was not a Muslim. I didn’t understand a thing. But it just felt so peaceful. So positive. Something to wake up to. Religion didn’t matter at that moment. I was sure of his existence.
I joined my hands and closed my eyes for a minute. I tried feeling the negative presence in that room. I got goosebumps. I prayed for them. The old lady and the pregnant woman. Also for the baby. I didn’t know the whole truth about them but I was sure their spirits were somehow trapped in that room because of the evil around there. I wasn’t sure if it would work but still, I tried. I believed in the power of god and somehow I could feel the Namaaz getting louder and louder in that quiet morning. I kept praying for them to be free. I felt the room getting colder. I sensed some movement around but I wasn’t willing to give up and I was too afraid to open my eyes.
I felt a ray of sun touching my arm. It was so warm and comfortable. I opened my eyes and saw the sunrise. I never felt this positive before. The sunrise was beautiful. I looked around the room and didn’t feel any negative vibes anymore.
I just believed if there is evil around, there’s always a God!
By Yadnesh Shingare