Silhouette

The cool breeze ruffled up his hair a bit, and he instantly smiled at nature's gesture as if acknowledging it. Taking solace in nature's lap he felt at ease and didn't want to go inside, but then his mother called him to have his breakfast and he reluctantly motioned his wheel-chair into the house leaving behind the balcony and its ecstatic view.

For breakfast he had steamed idlis with tomato chutney, the way he loves it, and returned to the balcony, his world, his paradise. It is his routine now, since that incident he hardly spoke to anybody. It happened five years ago, when he was on his way back home accompanied by his friend pushkar.

"Will eat our dinner at a nearby Dhaba and go to the theatre directly" said pushkar.

"Alright, but a horror movie at midnight?" replied Bhushan. Pushkar chuckled and said "Coward....ha...ha", embarrassed by the humiliation Bhushan didn't reply.

"Ok-ok...I'll tell a story so that you won't be scared".

Eyes widened with excitement "please" Bhushan implored.

"On a night like this two friends set out to watch a movie........." began Pushkar.”Ah! stop!" annoyed Bushan chimed in. " I'll continue.....ahem....ahem.....one tall and ugly-looking-guy and another fat-but-cute set out to watch a movie, on the way they realize that something is stalking them....observing carefully it turns out to be a silhouette with a knife. It kills the tall-ugly guy, but leaves the fat one because he is so damn cute. End of story!!"

"Ha...ha...You’re crazy fat-cute boy", yelled Pushkar.

As they took a turn which led them into a narrow lane and again was broadened with bushy trees on either side, rustling loudly. Even the wind made a whoosh noise. At the theatre, they could spot only a few people....mostly drunkards, who are in search of a place to sleep. They bought tickets and took their respective seats in the hall. Some murmurs could be heard here and there, it was drunkards or lunatics talking to themselves.

Lights went out and the hall was engulfed by an eerie silence all of a sudden. The screen lit up with a sea-green color, accompanied by an awful music which was neither horrifying nor pleasant. Bhushan and Pushkar stared at the screen first and then at each other's face. "What muck is this?" whispered Pushkar more annoyed than scared. Whereas, his friend just nodded in agreement.

After a while, a black dot appeared on the screen. Right in the middle it was size of a tennis ball. But in a split-second it started expanding itself on the screen towards various directions. The shape was amorphous at first and later the fully formed version could be identified as a silhouette.

"OooH...!! Very scary" hooted Pushkar sarcastically. But the silhouette raised its hand only to reveal the shape of a sharp knife, and hurled it in the direction of Pushkar. He gasped for breath but instantly choked to death; everything took place so quickly that Bhushan neither had time nor the energy to cope with it. Sitting there frozen all he could see was the dark shadow waving at him and he passed out.

When he opened his eyes in the hospital it dawned on him that his lower part is paralyzed, and couldn't stop wondering whether the shadow had found him fat-and-cute enough to let him go.