Alice (One Shot)

|Alice|

It is a sunny autumn morning. The soft glow of the sun is falling on the garden, gently wakening up the living world and urging them to commence their chores. The brownish yellow senescent leaves on the big trees patiently waited for their turn to end their life on the tree. Anil is lying in his soft pink bed recalling the things which happened a month ago. Suddenly his eyes gets fixed on a jasmine climber swirling itself merrily atop the boundary wall. This plant is a very special plant which will always remain etched in Anil's heart.

Just a month ago, it was the same autumn morning where Anil was getting ready for the school. His mother asked him, "Anil! Are you ready for going to school?"

"Yes mom," replied Anil.

After coming back from school, he along with Peterson, Albert and Satish went to the play ground to play cricket. It was located in Mad Jameson's Lane. Actually, Anil neither knew about this Mad Jameson nor did he know whether he was mad or not. People claimed that in this lane Mad Jameson used to stay and due to his mad behavior, the lane was named as Mad Jameson's lane.

No one came in this lane, nor was there any settlement in that lane. There was a large playground and at the end of the playground there was a huge boundary wall. At the other side of the boundary wall, there was a cemetery. Only one caretaker stayed in front of the graveyard.

The four friends never stopped going there as they found it a very nice place to play. So it was almost afternoon, that day also they had gone to that play ground with bat, ball and wickets. And they started to play cricket. Anil then put the bat in front of the wicket and Albert held the ball in his hand and sprinted towards Anil.

Anil with one strike threw the ball over the wall, in the graveyard. Peterson, Albert and Satish got shocked, their small eyes widening. Anil confoundedly asked them, "What happened? Why are you looking at me like that?"

Albert said to Anil, shock still dominating his tone, "The ball has crossed the boundary and it has fallen in that graveyard! Man, don't you understand what that means?"

Anil then became sad and told them, "It is my new ball and it was gifted by my mom. If I tell her that the ball got lost, she'll become very sad and angry with me. Okay, no need to worry, I will go and pick up the ball, and return in a minute."

Albert freaked out, "Please Anil! Don't go it is a very dangerous place."

Anil chuckled, "What are you saying? That cemetery is a dangerous place? Huh... are you all afraid of ghosts? Well, I don't. Let's see which ghost harms me." His eyes glistened with the pride building up inside him.

They still requested Anil not to go to that graveyard but he without paying any heed climbed over the wall and started searching the ball. It was evening, the sun having set. Only a gentle breeze was blowing and the shrill cry of the cicada overpowered the silence of the graveyard. Several tombstones sat on the ground in rows, bearing corroding skeletons and corpses inside them.

Though Anil was feeling fear coursing through his body as he walked down the path in between the graves, he quietly searched the ball everywhere in the graveyard. Suddenly, he felt that someone just passed the ground on his back. He turned his head and found none there.

All of a sudden, his eyes got fixed on a little girl who was picking little white jasmine flowers from the ground under a jasmine plant climbing atop the boundary wall in a corner. He then quietly went behind her and asked, "Did you see my ball as it fell in the graveyard?" The girl was still picking the jasmine flowers and keeping it on her small blue frock.

Her blonde hair curled lightly as they kissed her shoulders, getting messed up by the breeze. Her face was as fair as snow and the little pinkish flush on her immaculate cheeks made her look only cuter.