Touch Of Fear - Zaafar Meets His Fear

Following is just an event happened somewhere, there is no definitive moral needed to associate with your life.


Through my eyes, I have noticed that the world and humans are almost divided on everything. It could be religion, caste, color, place and so on, it is regardless to mention that this division is endless and no one could ever categorize it.

Since childhood I was very curious and interested in ghost, spirits and the dark world. We always believe that such thing never exist but there is an argument, if we can believe in God then why not devil. I think existence of god came after devil already nailed its existence among humans and Gods appeared to get us out of devil's grip. I can't see any other reason over existence of God.

There was a peculiar story narrated to me when I was 7 year old. It was during the time when I used to visit my village during my summer breaks. This story changed my perception for long enough.

It was 8 o'clock of night, we just done with dinner and as usual all of my cousin including me thrived to run to Mobin. Mobin had been working with my family for last 35 years. During our summer breaks he used to narrate us stories and event that he experienced and learnt. He used to sleep under Banyan tree, once on asking he mention that his family post death lives on this tree and he talks to their spirits, we believe at that age but now it seems that he lost his Medualla Oblongata (in short he was nuts). I insisted him to tell some real incident. He holds for a while and starts narrating….

"I entered adolescence with Zafar, he was my immediate cousin", Mobin started slowly.

"Zafar since childhood used to fear night, darkness and loneliness, he couldn't imagine to walk 10 meters alone in dark. We used to make fun of him and play pranks around, but who knows that this fear would cost him more than anything in life". There was deep sadness in Mobin's voice. 


Mobin continues.....

"Zafar had 1o members in his family and he took house responsibilities at very young age, as bread and butter was like daily war for them. To support his family he usually used to make some handcrafts and walk all the way to nearby town to sell them off. But there was never an incident when he went  alone to town as it used to get darker while return and his fear for darkness was known well around.

One day his father fallen sick and he had to go alone to town as money was hard to come by. To avoid darkness he left well early and reached town. Out of blue, happened a riot in the town and curfew was imposed in the town. All the transportation and movement was halted. He had to wait till the situation could relax. Around evening tension was eased and authorities allowed movement out of town but still vehicle were prohibited. He had no choice left except making the move at night. His father was in need of medicine and family, money.

I could see that Mobin's forehead lines started to shrink as he was going through a intense stress while narrating to us, but he continues after a sigh....

Zafar started walking on a dirt pathway leaving the main road to cut short the time. He was going through all the fear which he developed around ghost, spirits and what not, he heard and believed since childhood. Every step was like walking with a ton of weight above head.

Suddenly he startled he saw a small and cute goat. He stood there for a while and then ignored the goat and started walking towards village. After 10 minutes he realized that the Goat is following him, he got scared and stopped. He made his move towards the goat and lifted the goat in his arm. He started shouting, " Who's goat is this". He did this for a while and then thought why he shouldn't take this goat to home, it would be useful for  many reasons later.

He was carrying the goat and once again started waking, then after sometime he realized that  goat had become little heavy. He thought as he is tired and that is why feeling this, so hold the front legs of goat forward and carried the goat on his shoulder and begin the walk.

But he wasn't sure or confused why the goat's weight is kept on adding on? He also felt that goats legs have grown, but again he ignored thinking that is imagining it as he is full of fear.

After 10 minutes, he begin to hear some sound as if someone is dragging a log of wood on road. Whenever he stops that sound stops and as walks that sound repeats. At that moment he was really full of fear and scared to hell.

Suddenly that goat calls him " Zafar" slowly in his ear. He stumbles and falls of, then what he witnesses was unimaginable. He sees that the goat has grown full size. The goat's eyes turned RED and goat is laughing on him. His heart was pounding like a rail engine. At the sudden, goats calls "Zafar". Now he realized that he is been getting haunted  by CHHALAWA. It is a spirit who haunts its victim by changing its appearance to almost anything.

Without wasting a moment Zafar started running like wind. He left the road and running through the sugarcane fields but that goat kept on chasing him. The chase went on for 20 minutes then he fell in pond. He swam across the pond reaches the other bank. When he looks back he notices that the goat is still there and still watching him with those red eyes.

It is said mythological that each spirit has its range of movement, they can't bypass certain place or object or human.

Now he gained some confident and started overcoming his fear. They watched each other for sometime and then Zafar screamed, " Come on now, let me see you, why don't you come now, I'm calling you, come with me". He just said that and goat disappeared.

Zafar didn't wait any longer and ran straight to his home. He reached his house and fallen on bed, but this incident shocked him and his entire body. He never shared this with anyone as all would thing as if he has imagined this and honestly no one would believed his part of bargain. He caught fever and fallen ill.

Next night when he was sleeping in house, suddenly he heard," Zafar, you called me, I have come to meet, you". He just turned his back around and saw that same goat is standing behind him and laughing evilly. He fainted due to shock. These incidents kept on happening for many days. His health condition deteriorate badly.

One night while sleep he asked for water and his mother came to him with glass of water and asked him to drink it. His eyes was half open and as he drinks the water he notices that eyes of his mother had turned red and she was smiling like that goat and called his "Zafar" with that same voice.

He got still for a while and fell back on the cot.

He was found dead next morning as he had the heart attack.

Zafar was done with the story but all of us had a deep impact of this and a new fear developed. Whenever I used to walk alone in dark, I used to fear and every little living creature made me felt haunting.

Still there are times when I alone walk in a dark night, it feels that someone is watching me, stalking me, laughing on me and want to talk to me but waiting for me to call FIRST…... 


                                                What you see and feel is not always what it is in reality


04:59 am, 29-12-2009
Kothrud, Pune
Manish Choudhary

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