What The Eyes Don't See

6 | A Friendly Explanation

"So now I have told you everything... what do you think?"

Anay was sitting on the bed of his apartment, while Kautuk was in a chair across him. He had brought Anay to the house, done some first aid on the wound on his arm, and prepared some coffee. Over coffee, Anay recounted to him about all the bizarre things that had gripped his life of late.

"You mean to say there's someone following you? Other people can see him, but you cannot?" Kautuk said.

"It has been happening for a while," Anay said, nodding to himself. "Ever since I moved to Mumbai, in fact. At first, I could not see it, but people around me could. Like, there was this one time I went to a restaurant for dinner. I was alone. But when the waiter came, he brought two glasses of water. I did not think much about it, thinking it was their standard practice. But then, when I was placing the order, the waiter asked me if my friend was coming back and if I wanted to order for him too. When I said I had come alone, he gave me and odd look and went his way. I did not think much about it. Then, when I came to Changemakers on my first interview, I entered the elevator alone. There was an old man operating the elevator. He asked me which floor I wanted to go. I said eleventh. He pressed the button for my floor, and then looked beside me and asked, 'And you, sir?' There was no reply. The man then shook his head and said, 'That's funny! I could have sworn someone entered the elevator with you.' That was the first time I was shocked. I didn't know what to say."

"Weird. What did you think about it?"

"That they were coincidences. What else could they be? But these days, especially since last week, I am feeling it too. I am actually seeing things, Kautuk. I saw it the first time at Bandana on the night I met Shanaya. Then I saw it in the dubbing studio and at the café. It was threatening me, smiling at me. Oh God, I cannot think of that creature now. It's the scariest thing I have seen. I know it's out to get me."

"Creature? Is your stalker a man or a creature?"

"I don't know. People tell me he's a man, but I have seen him as a frightful creature. It was he who caused the collapse at the café, but who can I tell that to?"

Kautuk pondered over that. "What did the waiter and the elevator guy say? You must have asked them to describe the guy they saw with you."

"At first, I didn't ask. It was too ridiculous. But then I did. The description is more or less the same—a medium-sized guy with curly hair and glasses. That's who they see with me. But I don't know anyone with that appearance."

"And the creature you see?"

"Oh, he's terrifying. See up there on the ceiling? I saw him right there the other night. Like a black tarry mass oozing out of the wall. He had a face, though. Horrible thing with blue eyes. I cannot forget those eyes."

Kautuk looked up at the ceiling and shivered. "Creepy stuff, for sure," he said, and then leaned forward. "See, brother, our mind plays many tricks on us. And, according to what you told me, your mental state was disturbed whenever you saw this thing, whatever it is. At the washroom at Bandana, you were extremely nervous about the deal earlier that day, and today the roof literally fell on your head. It is understandable that your inner fears are playing out."

"What fears do I have?"

"Could be anything. Some inner phobia, perhaps. Then there is the fact that you are in a new city which is different from your hometown. You just moved into this new house in this new locality. It happens to all of us. I live with my parents, but I feel lonely too. Barely any friends except you guys, you see? I see things sometimes too. You told me once when we were drunk about your loneliness, remember? You live alone in this apartment far removed from the main road. All you can see out of your house is the desolate part of the beach. In the dark when sleeping alone like this in small apartments, surrounded by absolute darkness, your mind must get fucked up, maybe just subconsciously. You are living this constant nightmare of loneliness. That's all it is."