THE MYSTERIOUS GRAVE !!! (A Short story for Sachnews Jammu Kashmir by Mr. ULFAT ANJAN WANI) It is 2100. Dark clouds, having defeated the mighty sun have conquered the sky .A farmer can be seen busy in his field as it is the mid of April. He is tilling the land to sow some corn seeds.Sweat is dropping down drop by drop from his nose tip. He has been working in the field since early morning and now it is noon. No other person can be seen at the spot.There is complete silence save the sound of the spade used by him to dig the land.He is feeling tired and sits down to take some rest.He looks at the sky and says to himself ˝ I must finish it soon before the rain comes. Taking a glass of cold water,he gets up again and starts his work.Suddenly the spade stucks into something. He pulls it hard but is not able to free it. After trying a bit harder , he is able to get the spade out but to his utter astonishment there comes out something which gives him a terrible shock ! A human skeleton ,covered in mud ! He ,greatly terrified and shocked ,drops the spade down and just gazes at the weird thing ! Hollow and empty eyes ! Soon it starts raining and he takes shelter under a nearby chinar tree. There is complete silence except the rain sound. He ,is still looking at the skeleton from a distance with strange thoughts disturbing his restless mind.Suddenly ,to his astonishment , he notices certain things which make his heart beat much faster.What does he see ? The skeleton making some movement ! No ,not only movement it comes to life ! It gets up and starts walking towards the petrified farmer ! The human skeleton,washed by the rain ,comes close to him and sits down beside him.The farmer ,utterly shocked tries to run away but the eerie being holds his hand. “Dont be frightened farmer i will not harm you ! says the skeleton.“I cant harm anyone .I am not as cruel as you think. The Farmer sits down again but still shivering. “wh...wh....who are you ? Why are you stopping me ? asks the terrified man.The hollow and empty eyes begin to drop blood red tears and the empty mouth starts to narrate the most horrible tale on earth. “Im a kashmiri .Javaid is my name.“Jaaaved.Repeated the farmer.“Yes my name is Javaid. I was the only son of my old parents and the only brother of my five unmarried sisters.My mother was very ill and my father too had developed ailments because of poverty and hard life.I was the only earning hand in my family running a small cloth shop. I had to manage and support all the family members and had to face lots of hardships.Two of my sisters were of marriageable age and the other three studied in a govt. school.We could hardly make both ends meet. One evening, i left my home to get some medicine for my mother. I had to reach the medical store located about a kilometer away from my home.The way passed through dense trees.I had crossed about half of the kilometer when i heard some gunshots .I was in the dense area and could not know the location of the shots. I continued to walk and all of a sudden i found heavily armed uniformed men in front of me. They all shouted together “Hands up.I raised my hands and they came closer. Without uttering anything they tied both of my hands and blind folded both of my eyes.They also sealed my mouth with a cloth piece and i could utter nothing. I protested but of no avail.I was taken to some unknown destination.When my eyes were uncovered i found myself amidst many armed men .They told me nothing but were making strange gestures with their hands and eyes.They talked something about ‘promotion’ which i could not understand.Soon i started yelling...“please set me free ...Let me go...!Oh my ill mother ! My father ,my sisters—They will be waiting ...! Please let me go...please....!But they would listen to nothing.Two of them again held my tied hands and i again protested by raising a storm with my helpless cries.They suddenly turned violent and beat me ruthlessly with their guns till my eyes refused to see and my tongue refused to utter words.There was only darkness....! After opening my eyes i found myself at a secluded spot among dense trees .I could neither move nor speak...! They , tied me with a rope and left me beside a big rock. After walking a few steps they stopped again and looking at one another with ferrocious smiles and aimed their guns at me and showered a storm of bullets on me .I could only see darkness.With a little life left in me ,they dragged me here and buried me beneath the earth. There was complete darkness ! There was complete silence.....................! Soon i opened my eyes and came out of the grave.I rushed twards my blessed home .I found my yard crowded with people .There were only tears in everybodys eyes.I went closer and found my dear sisters around a bed and my old father beside it -raising an ugly storm with their innocent tears.And then i beheld the pale face of my dear mother who was deep asleep on the bed-a sleep from which no one awakens again.I went much closer and started crying as aloud as i could but what i found was utterly shocking!!!No one heard me! No one saw me !My father could not trace me !My sisters could not locate me !They were only Crying aloud with pitiable voices “Javaid where are y0u? Please do come to bid farewell to your dead mother...Where are you? O where are you?”... I sat down under a tree invisible and unheard...!Just shedding vain and futile tears and sometimes raising helpless and dumb screams....!Soon my mother was taken away and i wept more and more...My fathers tongue refused to utter my full name but only partly “Javi ...Jav....Ja....My sisters too raised tempests with their tongues calling my name ....I answered but all in vain...I felt a fire raging inside me and ran away as fast as i could and again slept here for ever ,with my beloved body that had already deceived me...! Now after a hundred years you have awakened me again...And i am thankfull to Almighty that i was able to make you hear my heart...It was the will of God...You heard my inner heart....!!! Now i am relieved ! Now i have peace......!” Saying these words Javaid goes back and sleeps again in the soil...The farmer ,wiping his tears buries the unfortunate being and prays for his soul......! He then leaves the spot with a heavy heart turning his eyes again and again towards the mysterious grave............!!!!!!
Posted on: Tue, 14 Oct 2014 06:17:09 +0000
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