It was nearly midnight, and the sky was clouded, with a high chance of rain. This had been the prevailing weather pattern for the last few days, and the forecast predicted it would continue for another week.
The railway halt, situated in the middle of a forest, was completely empty, even devoid of railway employees. Though it may seem strange for most stations, the locals in this area had always been accustomed to it.
They had no idea why this station was built, and trains rarely stopped there, with no civil transport passing through it. The other railway station built within walking distance of the villages was the preferred option.
This nameless station had been in existence for around 30 years, and since then, it was only used for special military affairs trains. For civilians, it was a notorious spot for suicide. Only one train passed by at midnight, and it did not even stop there.
Rumors circulated that the station was haunted by the ghosts of people who had previously taken their own lives there. Others claimed that the government conducted illegal experiments in the area, and monsters of all kinds infested the surrounding forest. Despite the conspiracy theories, none of it mattered to the man standing on the halt, waiting for his salvation.
He stood at the edge of the platform, staring out into the darkness. The train tracks stretched out before him like a never-ending path, and for a moment, he wondered if he should follow them into the unknown.
His life had been a series of missed opportunities and unfulfilled dreams. He felt like he had never truly lived, that he had just been going through the motions. And now, with nothing left to lose, he was ready to take his final leap.
But then he heard it. Footsteps.
"Nah!" he thought, "My ear must be playing pranks on me. It looks like fate is against my decision." But he heard the footsteps again.
"Who could it be on such a dead night? And why am I feeling afraid when I'm about to die anyway?" he wondered.
He had come to commit suicide, and the train was still 20 minutes away when he heard footsteps approaching. Though desperate to die, he never imagined getting shivers just from hearing footsteps.
"Is it a ghost, or a monster?" he thought. Surprisingly, the thought of taking his own life vanished from his mind, and he was replaced with the thought of saving himself.
Without wasting time, he started walking fast but carefully not to make a noise towards the crossover bridge, where he decided to hide at the corner beside the stairs.
Sweating heavily, he listened for the footsteps but heard nothing. After two or three minutes, still, he heard nothing. Was it just his mind playing tricks on him? He could swear he heard the footsteps; there was no denying it.
"Well, maybe the person who was walking decided to stop and rest for a bit. If that's the case, then there is no problem. He might just be another depressed soul who came here trying to commit suicide." Thinking this way, his anxiety began to disappear, and he calmed down.
"Either way, it's better to make sure first. What if I am wrong? Yes, let's take a peek and see if someone is down there." He decided to take a look down. Coming over the edge of the crossover bridge, he peered down, but it was so dark that he could barely see anything. He needed a torch.
Thankfully, anyone who traveled at night from the nearby villages had to have a torch or a flashlight with them, as the forest between the station and the villages was almost impossible to navigate at night without some form of lighting.
Now calmed down, he grabbed a flashlight and shone it down, revealing a chilling sight that made him shriek.
A weird, freaky looking person was looking up at him and smiling. The man fell back on the bridge and nearly had a heart attack after seeing the figure below.
"Why don't you come down, and we could have a chat?" The person spoke in a calm voice. "Even if you decide to go to the other side of the station after crossing the bridge, there will only be a dense forest waiting for you. And I should warn you, that's an area you'd rather not want to go."
"Besides, it's not like I am going to hurt you or anything. And honestly, why does that even matter? I mean, you did come here in the mood to commit suicide, right?A person who wants to take their own life is afraid of something or someone, or even death. The irony of the situation amuses me," the stranger spoke again, almost as if he was reading the other man's thoughts.
The words sank in, and he realized how foolish he had been to let his fears consume him. "What the hell, I came here to commit suicide, so why am I freaking out over this?" he thought.
He took a deep breath and made his way down the stairs to meet the stranger standing below.
As the man stepped off the platform, he surveyed the station and noticed no one except for the enigmatic friend who had invited him to chat. "What is your name?" inquired the stranger.
"Huh? Oh, it's Ajay, Ajay Gupta," he replied. "So, Ajay, why did you want to commit suicide?" The stranger's voice compelled Ajay to respond. "Why do you care? Why do you want to know?" he retorted.
"Well, since you're about to die, I thought it might be a good idea to share with someone, talk about it, and reflect on your life. You know, like a final time," explained the stranger.
Although they conversed, Ajay kept his distance from the stranger. The image of the mysterious man's twisted face remained etched in Ajay's mind. He sensed a threatening aura, both attractive and repulsive, emanating from the stranger, who had interrupted his peaceful death.
"Well, for just one reason, I feel like there is nothing to do in life. It's not that there isn't anything to do; it's just that nothing suits me. Life is boring. Not a single thing can make my life beautiful. My life up to this point represents the word 'dull.' There's no point in living such a life, wouldn't you agree?" asked Ajay.
For a minute, Ajay heard nothing except the swift breeze and the sounds of wild animals and insects. Then, the stranger spoke again. "So, as far as I can think, you feel like your life was devoid of life itself, right? Well, what if I could show you how to feel that life that you always wanted? What do you say I make your last moments feel exactly the way you wanted your life to feel?"
Ajay listened attentively, but responded skeptically, "You don't have to lie to make me feel good. It's all lost. You can't do anything."
" I'm not trying to save your life or help you feel good. Most certainly not the last part. Making someone feel good isn't my job. It's quite the opposite. That said, I don't think of my job and nature as an act to make people sad either. But most people think that's what I do," clarified the stranger.
"Well, then what do you do? And what's your name?" Ajay asked.
"For the first time, you've spoken something fitting to the situation. You see, if you knew the answer to either of those two questions, you'd already know the answer to the other as well. You know, because I'm someone who literally brings the meaning of my name to life," answered the stranger.
Ajay was captivated by the stranger's voice and speech, but his body would not move toward the stranger, for some reason. So, standing where he was, Ajay asked another question, "So, what is your name? And what do you do? Would you at least tell me before I die?"
The stranger's reply was chilling. "Have you ever felt like someone was watching you, just standing behind you? I'm pretty sure everyone in the world has felt that way. Sometimes when you're in bed, you feel like someone is beneath the bed. Or someone is hiding in the closet."
" Perhaps sometimes trees are staring back at you. Imagine if all those things that humans categorize as folklore were not just some random stories passed down to entertain and civilize children. Imagine if they were all true. They're as real as you are."
In a typical situation, Ajay would have thought the stranger was insane. However, instead of thinking that way, he wanted to escape now. Sure, Ajay's heart was pounding as he stood there with a stranger on the deserted railway station.
In any other situation, he would have dismissed the guy as a lunatic. But this was different. With a sense of unease, Ajay began to climb back up the stairs of the bridge. "Y-you're kidding, right?" he stuttered, hoping against hope that this was all some twisted joke.
But the stranger's next words shattered that hope. "Of course I'm not kidding. Why would I joke when someone is about to die?"
Ajay could hear the man's footsteps coming closer, and his fear grew by the second. "You can't outrun me," the stranger taunted, his voice echoing throughout the bridge. "You wanted to taste life, and now that you're finally getting a taste of it, you're running away? Don't you like it?"
Terrified, Ajay bolted in the opposite direction. He ran until his legs could carry him no further, finally coming to a stop in the depths of the forest. With his heart pounding in his chest, he searched frantically for a place to hide.
He hid there inside a bush despite the fact that he had a strong fear of snakes and other venomous insects. He was just to terrified to even think about any of those stupid things.
"Found you!"
Hearing those two words, made Ajay pee in his pants.He looked up in horror to see the most grotesque creature he had ever laid eyes on.
Its face was burned beyond recognition, with a single eye in the center of its forehead, tongue like structures coming out of where its eyes should be. Its nose looked like it was carved out. There were no lips to cover its mouth, and bones were in place of teeth.
It opened its mouth wide and started to devour Ajay's feet. Despite his screams and pleas for mercy, there was no stopping the creature.