I was in my studio when I received that call. Let me introduce myself. I am a professional photographer, and have been taking photos since my college days and am now doing it for a living. This incident happened to me when I had just started working at a reputed studio in my city, Black Town.
Along with working in the studio, I had started to take photography and videography assignments on an individual basis for extra income. One day, I was asked to cover a birthday party assignment, which I mentioned above, and I accepted it immediately.
The function venue where the function was scheduled was in a small town about 75 kilometres away from my studio. I thought that the party would not end before two in the morning, as it was scheduled for 8 PM. I checked for a night stay arrangement, but there was no motel or guest house in that area, but the nearest hotel was about 15 km from that place. So I decided to come back after finishing the assignment, and I was a little worried because I knew that the road was not safe for night travel.
I reached that place at 7:15 pm with my cameras. I was impressed looking at that house and its decorations. There were too few guests by the time I arrived. I set up my main camera and started taking pictures of the interior. Finally, the party started at 8pm and as soon as the party started, I saw a very beautiful girl about 22 entering the hall with a boy about the same age as she. Her golden hair and brown eyes attracted my attention. I appreciated her photogenic face and her sense of dress.
Suddenly, she looked at me and asked me to come out of the party hall. I thought she wanted me to take her pictures in the garden, so I showed her my camera and said, "Wait for five minutes, I am coming."
After finishing the photos of the group, I followed her. I saw that the girl was sitting on a chair in the garden. She saw me and waved at me to come close.
I immediately went to her and asked, "How can I help you, ma’am?"
I had said so much when my eyes fell on her face. Where we stood, there was less light, so her face was not clearly visible, but it seemed as if it was red, and her brown, beautiful eyes had now turned red, and she looked angry.
I thought she was angry because I didn’t get there immediately, so I said sorry and told her that I had to take everyone’s photos, so I could not come earlier.
After that, I asked her, "Why are you standing here? Let’s go inside."
For a while, she stared at me with a look of anger in her red, scary eyes. Then she pointed me towards the nearby bush. I refused and told her to come inside. She asked me to return with the gesture of her hand. Saying this, she moved towards the bush. I thought, why was she going towards the bush at this time of night? So I went after her. But what I saw was beyond my wildest imagination .
Suddenly, I found a thick, dark cloud beginning to cover me. I was very scared, and as I was about to turn back and run, it felt as if someone was pulling me from behind. I wanted to scream, but I was too scared, I don’t know why, but no sound was coming out of my throat. I thought this was probably the last day of my life.
After a few moments, it stopped pulling me back, so I got up and looked around. Suddenly, I saw a pile of stones lying nearby and could see two people there. The girl, whom I had talked to a while ago, and the boy were standing beside the stones pile. The stones were kept in such a way, which gave the impression that someone was buried beneath them.
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That area was so foggy and dark, that made it even more difficult to see things clearly, but I felt a white smoke covered the piles of stones. I could see their eyes were red and shining in the darkness.
Now I was beginning to understand. I thought maybe these two were about to perform some ghostly ritual. I tried to run away from there but was too scared to lift my feet. After a few moments, both of them disappeared, leaving behind a shadow with two heads. It was so horrible that I felt as if I was about to faint. Now my breathing has almost stopped as I felt the blood was dripping from those heads.
There was a terrifying groaning sound coming from the stone pile. Then I heard the sound of a bike coming down the same path. I thought maybe this was my chance for an escape now. I heaved a sigh of relief when the bike stopped near me. Before I could respond, the young man on the bike asked, "What are you doing here in this dark garden?"
I told him about what had happened to me, but he didn't even look at me. Then the young man sitting behind the bike took me to the party hall, where he told the party organizer that I was walking near the bushes.
The organizer asked me what I was doing there. He looked at me and said, "Don’t come here again, not even to deliver photos." They gave me my payment and asked me to leave immediately. I was even more astonished as I saw the guests had already left and there was no sign of any party there.
I left quietly, but after a few moments, a few questions came to my mind. "Who was that girl, and why did she call me to the garden? Did she want to tell me something?"
With questions in my mind, I went straight to the nearest police station from there. I saw 4–5 policemen sitting in the police station, so I went and told them the whole story. I was amazed to see as they all started to laugh. I looked at them questioningly, "Why are you laughing, sir?"
After a few moments, one of the police officers said, "I have been here in this police station for the last two years, and as far as I know, no one has lived in that house for the last two years since a shootout took place at a party in 2019." He further added, "A young boy and a girl died in that shootout, and they were buried in the cemetery close to that house."
I still shudder when I recall that scary incident that happened to me in that mysterious house, and even today sends a chill shiver down my spine. And would you believe it? When I attached the camera to my computer, there were no pictures on the memory card. Then I checked my wallet. Even the money they paid me was not there.
#theinkwell prompt "lens"