I was supposed to go home and return to campus later, but CR insisted I would never return if I went home. So, I had to wait with her until night. This was the first time I had stayed on campus until night. It was incredibly boring, especially since I couldn't watch a single episode of my anime. Missing a day of anime felt awful. It's like my mental sugar; my brain can't function without it.
It was now nine o'clock. CR and I were heading to the room. Generally, no students are allowed in the library after eight, but it stays open for staff until ten. CR, terrified, clutched my hand as we walked. I wasn't scared but felt a bit embarrassed since I'd never walked this close to a girl before. I thought of saying something to ease her fear but couldn't think much. "What floor is the room on?" I finally asked.
"Second floor," she answered in a trembling voice.
"Try singing a song while we walk," I suggested to calm her.
"No song is coming out of my mouth," she said.
When we reached the second floor, I asked, "Which way is the room?"
She pointed shakily, "That way. Room 205."
"Oh! Over there."
We walked towards the room, seeing no one around. Suddenly, the lights went out. It felt like a power outage, but looking out the corridor window, I saw the surrounding buildings were lit. The entire floor was dark, making the path ahead pitch black. A chilling breeze began to blow, not from outside but from ahead of us. It felt like there was a presence nearby, creating a truly eerie atmosphere. My phone was out of charge so I couldn't use its flashlight. I couldn't say anything to CR either. Slowly, we inched forward in the darkness until we reached the room. CR started praying. I knocked on the door and realized it was locked from the outside. Yet, there was a faint noise coming from within. Peering through the window, I saw a figure in white cloth standing a few feet off the ground.
CR gripped my hand tightly as the figure turned its head towards us. Her scream scared me too. She pulled me away, and we ran to the gate, both of us panting. Luckily, the library door was made of glass, thanks to the AC, or the staff inside would have come running. I calmed down after a while, but CR was still breathless. "At least let me check it out."
CR clasped her hands together, pleading. "Didn't you get scared when it glanced at you?"
"No. Let's go back and check again," I insisted."
Not now," she replied, looking at her. She was hunched over in fear.
"Alright, you go home then. I'll check it out," I advised her.
"No. It will strangle you."
"Oh, that could just be a curtain."
"No, no, you aren't going anywhere now. We'll check it tomorrow morning." She wasn't going herself and wouldn't let me go either.
"Okay, we'll go tomorrow."
"Okay."
I walked the CR home. Her place wasn't far from mine—about six or seven kilometers. So, I took a rickshaw and went home. Today, Naim opened the door. He stood blocking my way, leaning against the door.
"Brother! Did the sun rise in a different direction today?" he said sarcastically.
"Don't you know which direction the sun rises from?"
"No, that's not it. You haven't been hanging out with me lately because you're always watching anime. And today, you didn't watch anime and stayed out till late. Did the significance of aanime drop?"
"Don't be silly. It's not 'anaime' but 'anime.' And if I don't watch it, my brain doesn't function. Anyway, I was busy with something, so I got late. Come on, let's go eat."
I tidied up my bed and got ready to sleep. There's a class at one pm tomorrow, but I have to go early to check that room. I couldn't sleep. What was that thing in the room? Was it a ghost? Seeing that ghost reminded me of 'Higurashi,' where the girl stabbed her ear with a knife. That scene had given me chills down my spine. I remember that was the only anime that made me so scared I couldn't sleep at night. There's no use thinking about these scary things. It's better to read manga (Japanese comic books). I started reading 'Iris Zero' on my mobile. The story of this manga is very good. At least it will take my mind off today's horrific scene.
The next day—
In the morning, the CR and I went to check the room. It was completely clean. No sign of a ghost or anything. If there was a curtain, there was no way to put it up either. The CR had already started believing in ghosts and said she was planning to leave the university. But what could I do about it? I couldn't think of anything. I spent time in the library until twelve-fifty and then went to the classroom. Today, we had physics first. The teacher taught us about light refraction and reflection. The topics reminded me of my ninth and tenth grades. How peaceful those days were! The more classes I attend, the more restless I become. Today, the teacher covered lenses. After class, I was listening to music on my phone. The CR came again. She looked very sad, like someone who had succumbed to fear and other thoughts. Seeing her made me feel sorry. Yesterday's incident didn't seem normal. There was some trick behind it. I had to find out what it was. The CR wasn't saying anything. She was completely silent. I looked out the window. It was midday, two o'clock. The sun was slightly leaning west. The window was closed due to the heat, although there wasn't much chance of a breeze coming through this window. My eyes fell on the shadow cast by the bench near the window. The grill's shadow formed a relatively large shadow. One minute, the teacher had said that the angle of incidence equal to the critical angle results in a ninety-degree refraction angle. And if the angle is greater than the critical angle, the light is completely internally reflected. This is why we sometimes see mirages. I was silent for a moment.
"Why aren't you saying anything?" she asked.
"You don't need to be afraid anymore. Because what we saw yesterday was a kind of mirage."
The CR asked, "What do you mean?"
"What we saw was just a blurry reflection. Someone created the real scene's reflection using something. It means it was a human trick."
"So, did some magician create that ghost?" she asked, and I laughed.
"No magician is needed to create this ghost. Anyone can do it."
"Can you do it?" she asked eagerly.
"Yes, it's very easy. For that, I need a plexiglass."
"Plexiglass?"
"It's a synthetic polymer. Acrylic elastomer made of polymethyl methacrylate; a hard transparent plastic usually used as a shield. You might find it in the chemistry department."
"Oh, okay. Let me know if you need anything else."
"I'll also need a camera or a picture of a ghost and a torchlight." The CR seemed intrigued by the idea. She and Rima went to gather the materials. Meanwhile, I took some rest, relieved that the mystery would soon be solved. After a while, the CR and Rima returned with everything.
"Now, let's go to an empty room," I said.
The CR pointed to a room and said, "That room is empty. Let's work there."
"Okay, let's go," Rima agreed.
"You hold the plexiglass at a forty-five-degree angle outside the window," I instructed Rima.
"How is it possible to get a precise angle with bare hands?" she asked.
"It doesn't need to be precise, just close enough,"
Rima started working as I had directed. I adjusted the angle of the glass with hand signals. Once it was in position, she gave me an okay signal with a thumbs-up. After getting her signal, I called out to the CR. "CR, turn off the light."
"Why?" CR hesitated.
"How will you see the ghost in the light?" She turned off the light. A few moments later, CR was astonished to see the ghost I had created.
"How did you do that?" CR asked.
"Rima is holding the plexiglass at a forty-five-degree angle, and behind it, I illuminated a picture of the ghost with a torchlight. As a result, you can see the ghost. The trick is that the glass must be at an angle close to forty-five degrees between the viewer and the ghost. The plexiglass creates a partial reflection, forming an image that makes you see the ghost," I explained with a smile.
"Then where did the sound come from?" CR asked, now curious.
"There must be a device around here for the sound. Look for it."
Rima and CR searched the room. After a while, they found a speaker under a table. "Now I understand," CR said.
"Someone did this. When we catch them, they'll get a good beating," Rima said angrily.
"Yes, you're right. We need to catch them today. We'll go to the library building at the same time. Rima, you go near the room and act as you did before. Sakib and I will catch the culprit. Today, we have to deal with this troublemaker," CR decided.
"Okay. I'll be there too," Rima agreed.
Today, I realized why she was the CR. Now we had to wait until nine o'clock to catch the culprit. What a hassle! I wished someone else could take my place. Anyway, I had to finish this job, or I wouldn't be able to watch my anime tomorrow. Finally, it was nine o'clock. We'd been waiting for this moment for the last two hours. Rima went straight to the room, and we circled through the adjacent street. The culprit was once again creating the image to scare Rima, and she played along. I saw someone on the opposite side of the room. We approached him cautiously. Then I placed my hand on his shoulder. "Well done, human! Keep it up."
The boy looked at us as if he had seen a ghost, too scared to speak. "How strange! The ghost maker is afraid of ghosts," I joked.
"What?" he stammered.
I thought for a moment. "Your idea was good. If you had left some clothes in the room, it might have thrown off my deduction."
"But? How is that possible? How did you find me?" he shouted.
Annoyed, I looked at him. "Ask why I found you, not how."
"What do you mean?"
"When in trouble, even a cat eats vegetables, or you could say a tortoise runs. And I'm just a human."
"I don't understand what you're saying."
"You wasted two of my days, and now you say you don't understand?"
"Huh!" He wouldn't understand the pain of losing two days. Anyway, despite the hassle, I felt relieved that the ghost was caught. Tomorrow, I could return to my normal life.