Tales from the Neverbeens

This village has something weird about it. All the people in it stay indoors in the evening, no matter what. It made me very curious. I had reached in the dusk just to find that even my host was hesitant to open his door to me. I asked him, but he just deferred the topic saying that the time was too dangerous to talk about it. By the time I had my sumptuous meal, I was dead tired. It was a long journey I had made. But as soon as I was getting ready to sleep, I was reminded of the behaviour of the village in the evening, and curiosity got the better of me. I walked out into the living room to meet my friend. I found him seated beside the fireplace, stoking the fire. "Welcome, my friend, I was just beginning to think when you're going to ask me again," he said, clearly knowing why I had come. "It is the story of just a few months back. The highway as you know connects two large cities. A lot of vehicles ply over it throughout the day. One day, some men fishing in th...

Neil and I had met after a long time. Almost eight years. But he looked all the same, except for the stubble that he had grown. We happened to meet on a warm Sunday morning on the path along the forest during my morning-walk. And like old times (whenever we did something together, it was never something normal) we decide to walk into the forest instead of along it. About half an hour later we were deep inside the forest and had no idea where we were. And nor did we care. We were busy talking and catching up with each other's life. But a sudden rustle nearby brought us back to the present. It was unlikely that it was somebody. Nobody came into these woods. It was 'something'! We waited motionlessly to listen. There it was again. Definitely footsteps, but of what? Silently we moved in the direction of the sound, gathering all our courage. We walked into a clearing. The next time we heard the sound, it was closer. I picked up a pebble and threw it in the direction of the s...

I am quite fond of a baby's sound. But not always, which I learnt just the other day. Just yesterday when I reached home and unlocked my door, I heard a baby's laughter. It took me some time to realize that it was coming from my apartment itself - an apartment that had been locked for the last nine hours. I walked inside, my mind making all the rational reasonings upon the sound and all the other senses trying to find where the sound was coming from. A fair approximation led me to believe that it was coming from the wardrobe. Was it a prank? Or did I leave my laptop on inside the dresser? I opened the door slowly, only to find that there was nothing but clothes and accessories that in no way could make such a sound. I was tired, and it was already 10 o'clock. I had no will to rush out, though I was quite disturbed by the sound. On the third floor, there was no way for some cat or other animal to cry from the outside. But deciding to be brave (and lazy) I waited till the...