Ghost of Dad
Rita was trying so hard to concentrate on work. She started to sense that she needed to work more to get her project in best way. She began to study for that project since long time. It was creating different world with that project. She knew very well that it was going to be biggest success. She needed to study for it. She must work hard for that project. Her father's entire lifetime work was dependent on it. She needed to study every area which would provide her help. She began to study different ideas. She started to search different thoughts which began to give new hopes to that project. She created all. She began to check and recheck again. It was just perfect. She worked so hard to get that project in such promising way. She wanted herself to achieve something big. She started working hard to get things as per her choice. She knew that it was important. Her Dad worked so hard to get it. He kept studying on each day. She still remembered those days when her Dad started this. He used to work for days. She used to run towards him whenever he returned from office. He used to be so tired. But whenever she asked him to play he used to smile immediately. He used to start suggesting games to play. Her Mom used to warn him " Don't do too much otherwise it might harm you." Her Dad smiled and said "Playing with my daughter doesn't harm me." She used to feel so happy. She got such a wonderful Dad. She knew Dad of her friends didn't play with them. Some were so aggressive that they kept screaming on everyone around that house. But her Dad!! He was such a nice angel. He always tried his best to handle things. She still remembered those games which she played with him. They were most wonderful moment of her life. She didn't want to forget them. But then she remembered that deadful moment. She was running around and her Dad came running to catch her. He told her to slow down but she didn't listen. First time she was faster than Dad. She was so happy and excited. She never thought that such a thing could happen. She never felt that she might need to take care of her Dad's health too. She kept running. Then she heard scream of pain. Her Dad was fallen on ground. He was in dirt. He was lying while holding his chest. She felt as if he wanted to hold his heart. He was feeling so scared that it might came out. Then in few seconds she sensed all stopped. She screamed and called Mom. Her Mom came out as fast as possible. They called Doctor and ambulance. But soon they sensed that it was too late. Rita knew that no one said it loudly but they all knew that she killed her Dad by forcing him to play with her when he was tired. She needed to act like good girl. She knew that now she would be punished. And her fear turned out to be true. Her Dad was dead. She still shivered at this memory. No one blamed her for Dad's death directly but they all kept saying that he worked to hard for his family which included her and he needed to at least take some rest after returning home so she became cause again. She was so upset. She kept crying. For many days she kept avoiding sweets and chocolates as punishment. She tried so hard to take away her every pleasure. Her Mom didn't sense it. She was too busy in earning for their household. Now Mom needed to do all. Her Mom didn't have time. She used to stay alone in house. Her Mom kept baby sitter for sometime. Then Rita began to stay alone. Her entire life was changed. Her Mom didn't able to complete this project. She took job. Rita decided to complete it instead of her Mom. It was so hard. She needed to study what her Dad did. She needed to work hard to complete her studies. Her professors kept advising her to change course according to her skills. But she kept studying same course. She needed to complete her Dad's project. It was not easy. She was not fond of her subjects. But it didn't stop her. She kept studying them. She kept understanding every way to make them work. It was so hard for her. Sometimes even her Mom advised her to change course. But she managed to complete it and now she was finally working on that project. She completed all. She was so happy about giving it's presentation. It was her important day. She was planning to present it before all partners of her Dad's business. She knew that their business was closed for long time. Still her Dad's partners agreed to come for her sake. They were old and retired but still they were enthusiastic. They wanted to know about new look of her project. She picked up everything. She was about to go when her eyes fall on another file. This was new project. She created in her favourite subject. She never studied it that much. It was just hobby not her work. But she was so tempted to take it with her. She felt that it might bring good luck to her. She smiled with hope. So she got dressed and took both files. Then she went to take blessings of God. It was her tradition. But she normally didn't follow it. She was not that much believer. She couldn't forget how did her Dad die. Her Dad was innocent man. She saw many criminals living for much long time while innocent like her Dad dying without cause. She didn't feel it was fair. She didn't like this at all. She felt that it was not fair. Her Mom kept telling her that God couldn't change destiny just because to fulfill wishes. But she didn't understand why did God created such destiny. On that day she decided to pray to God. She wanted to forget whatever negative she had in her soul and she heard that God took away negative feelings. So she decided to pray. She felt nice by it. She took her both files again. She started studying her clothes once again. She saw properly everything was fine. Then she went out. She took deep breath and sat in her car. She wanted to feel confident but she was scared. She looked in mirror of car. She suddenly began to feel that she was looking so unimpressive. She was not that smart and beautiful. She needed to become that way. She decided to get ready in her best way but something was missing. She didn't point out what. Truthfully she didn't sense that it was just her confidence.
Rita entered in hotel. Her Dad's partner booked a conference hall for this meeting. She was not rich enough to book one but her Dad's partners did it. They wanted to see her as successful person as her Dad wished. As soon as she entered, she saw one of her Dad's partner entered in hotel. He smiled towards her kindly. He was nice man. He always encouraged her. She went towards him and asked for his blessings. She said " Mr. Sharma just wish me good luck. I worked so hard for this. Just thought of failing in it send shiver throughout of my body." Even when she began to think about it, just thought of failure managed to sent shiver through her body. She began to feel so scared. She didn't understand how could she mange this. She was so tense. She needed to feel confident. Mr. Sharma smiled kindly and said " Don't worry. This is not end of life. We can find other opportunities for you too." After hearing this she felt little bit relaxed. But truthfully it didn't help her much. She needed to use this opportunity. Suddenly Mr. Khurana came on that time. He was with his son who was looking snob. His son didn't even smile. He said angrily " I want to see that project too. Dad no longer do active business. I do it. He might be fooled." She was so shocked. She was just giving presentation not trying to fool anyone. Rita "Sir this is just presentation. Investors are not supposed to agree or disagree today. They have a week for it." " Really?!! So you will not confirm anything today?..come on I don't believe this. I am sure there must be some trick inside it. I have seen lots of ways to earn money like this. I once tried one myself. I made few glass showpiece and slowly convince investor that it is antique. Many of them believed. When people cross one limit of age, they lose common sense and you have invited just those senior citizens only." She was so shocked by hearing this. She never expected to hear such statements from anyone. She wanted to give one suitable answer but Mr. Sharma took hold of her hand and said in slow voice " He is instigating you with intention. He didn't want you to be relaxed on presentation. His father is interested in investing and he wanted to stop him. But trust me. His father is one stubborn old man. He never let his son decide for him. But if you say something disrespectful. He will immediately get upset and he will not invest." She said slowly "Thanks for warning." Then she smiled and told to that young man " You are welcome to my presentation and I will not ask for confirmation today. You can see it." That man nodded and went inside. But before going he said loudly " I heard even this conference hall is sponsored by someone and we supposed to believe she will not take money what a joke!!" She was so angry. She was planning to answer but on that point she noticed even other investors were coming. She decided to ignore this man and shifted her attention to others. She greeted everyone. Every person in that room had different attitude towards her. Some came due to affection towards her Dad. Some came to earn money. Some even seemed to came just to harass her like that young man. Finally they all sat in conference room. She first told hotel to serve something to eat. Mr. Khurana " I don't want anything.." his son interrupted " Dad you must drink and eat. It's free. I don't want it to be wasted." Khurana just ignored him. Then Khurana once again repeated " I don't want anything." His son screamed angrily " Then gave his snacks to me too. I will eat double." Everyone looked at him with frustration then they all decided to ignore him. Rita began to gather her files. Then she put on slides. She started slideshow. She began to explain. Everyone kept quiet when she tried her best to explain. She knew that she was failing to achieve that goal which her Dad had achieved easily. She needs to work hard to achieve it. She was hoping that she would but on end of her presentation she sensed that it was just forced clap. She worked so hard to get over her troubles regarding understanding project but nothing worked. She kept studying her project in different areas to understand it. She started to learn different ways to complete her project. But no one seemed impressed with her. She kept feeling so sad. Finally few people started to talk about it. Then suddenly Khurana's son pointed towards other file. " What is this?" She tried to hide it. But she sensed it was too late. She said slowly " This is just hobby. I have not made it for professional purposes." " You must show it. We are here to see all. You can't hide projects from us like that." " No..no sir I am not hiding it. Why does I brought it if I wished such thing?" She lied. She never planned to show it. But she knew what would be that person's next allegation. And he immediately said it " I feel you might want to show it in next meeting to some different investors." Another investor " Stop this nonsense. You are doubting her without cause. She is not showing it since she doesn't took permission for it." Rita took breath of relief. Then she started her second presentation without second thought. This time loud claps were heard. Investors were so happy. They all said that she did it. She made such great project that she deserved clapping. Just Khurana's son was upset. He wanted to trap her but instead of it he managed to give her road towards success. Rita was happy but she could sense some strange sorrow from soul. On that moment she saw curtain of window moved with wind. She felt so scared. She sensed someone was behind curtain. Her scream was about escape from her lips when Mr. Sharma touched her hand to shake it. Mr. Sharma " You did it. Your father would be proud of you in heaven." " But this is not his project!!" " It's okay. You can try your project first. His project will come next. When investors will have confidence in you then they will invest in that project too." She felt so happy after hearing this. She smiled and thanked Mr. Sharma for everything.
Rita was working so hard on her Dad's project. But everyone liked her other project. She felt so sad. But she knew that she needed to fulfill every wish of investor. She started working hard on that project. She began to get involved in it. She started to feel it was so easy. It was her favourite work. She was feeling so happy during doing it. Slowly she began to just work on it. She started to just forget other project. She was so involved. She collected people to complete her project. There were different people who needed to complete it. But she found them all. She settled everything in perfect way. She was so happy. Then she began to plan everything. It started to feel so hopeful. She began to create new hopes not just for herself but also for her Mom. She began to feel tense sometimes and then she was even planning to try her father's project. She began to create different sides to earn profits. She needed to work for sometime. But then finally all got settled. Her project began earning. Every investor was happy with results. They were just wonderful. Rita started to get relaxed. Then one day she took breath of relief when she managed to come home early. She ran bell in home her Mom might be inside. But when door didn't open, she sensed that her Mom was not inside. She wished only if her Mom used some way to indicate no one was inside home. But her Mom never did anything. She always get tired in guessing. Then she opened lock with her key and she went inside. She once again inside empty house. It was happening every day. She knew that her Mom was no longer working. She had retired as soon as Rita started project. Her Mom happily said " Now I can take rest." Rita felt that now she would take care of her house. But her Mom was missing from picture since last two days. Rita didn't even informed about her whereabouts. Rita didn't feel that she should keep asking. Mom deserved freedom. But Mom was not even cooking in house. She needed to order or cook herself like old times. She didn't understand how could her Mom acted like that. Mom knew that she was working so hard for them. Rita was also sharing her every happiness with Mom and Rita felt that Mom should share her sorrows too. But it was not happening. She began to feel so sad. Her Mom didn't have any time for her. She was upset. She began to work on computer. Rita studied hard. She managed to get things as per her desire. She didn't even sense that she came back early to relax and she was working again. She just wanted to keep working. She needed to relax too. She decided to start working again. Then she suddenly sensed that curtain was moving in strange way. Just the way it moved when she went for presentation. She thought that it was wind on that time but this time she sensed a figure was standing behind it. She was so sure. She felt so happy. She thought her Mom was standing there. She thought that her Mom might be watching something out of window. She said happily " Mom I was so upset that you are not in home again. It was so upsetting. I am so happy that you are here. It will be nice if you stay in home and do little bit work in house like cooking." She kept talking when suddenly she sensed that door bell rang. She stood up and said " I will open it." She went to door and felt shocked when she sensed her Mom was standing before her. Mom clearly came back from some marketing. Rita felt so nervous. She looked towards curtain. No one was behind it now. She didn't understand. She was so sure that someone was standing behind curtain. She afraid. She didn't understand. Then her Mom took out package of food. Mom " I bought some food from hotel. Actually my friend gave birthday party to me..." Mom kept chatting while Rita ran towards window. She took deep breath to control her unsteady breathing and she removed curtain. Nothing was standing there. She was confused. It seemed as if she entered in some horror movie. She never hallucinated like that. She began to get tense. Her Mom started asking from behind " What happened?" "Nothing!" She was so upset. Her Mom once again ready to force outside food under her throat when she desired simple food cooked in house. She began to feel tense. She started to shiver. She wanted some simple things in life but life kept getting complicated. First she saw something behind curtain and how hard she tried to convince herself that she had not seen anything. She was not getting convinced at all. It was so frustrating. She tried hard to tell herself and during this time her Mom started to bring out dishes. She started arranging food on them. Rita could see oil dipping out of food. Rita began to imagine how unhygienic might be that person who cooked it. She started to imagine many sickness due to it. She began to feel that this food might be poisonous. She started to feel so scared. She just turned her attention to other side and said " I am not that much hungry." Her Mom looked nervous. Mom " So sorry. I know I supposed to cook but my friend invited today. I will cook from tomorrow. I promise.." Rita nodded but she knew that this was not true. Her Mom would not cook even tomorrow. Rita needed to keep cook if she wanted simple food. Her Mom was never fond of cooking but she never hated cooking so much too. She cooked with interest when she was small child. But after doing job her Mom completely lost touch with cooking. It seemed as if Mom totally forgot how to cook. Rita " I will tell watchman to send cook tomorrow." Her Mom jumped with joy. Mom " Great. I will tell her to cook simple food of your choice." Rita just nodded and went inside her room. She knew that her Mom would order whatever she desired. But Rita decided that she would make her wishes clear every morning too. She went in her with just one thought that she would find cook soon. She knew that everything would be fine. But somewhere in her soul she was so scared. She didn't understand why but she knew that something wrong was going to happen.
Rita's Mom didn't tell her entire truth. Mom tried to cook but it didn't work. Mom wanted to hide her mistake so she lied. Mom knew that she did mistake by lying but she didn't want to tell her daughter that she tried to cook but she managed to burn vegetables. It was so insulting. Mom knew that she needed to cook but whenever she started entering in that kitchen. She began to sense her husband. She felt as if he was touching her with affection. She began to feel so happy. She started to go in her past. She began to live that life which she wanted from soul. But then she sensed that it was artificial thought. She started to feel frustrated by it. She wanted to forget all those memories and while thinking about them. She totally forgot about pot which she kept on gas. She couldn't forget those moments. She really felt presence of her husband. She was so sure. After it she just ran out of house and didn't enter until she became sure Rita was there. While putting that food in plate she regretted that she didn't choose some healthy food. She was so tense at that moment. Her friend never called her and she never went to any place to enjoy herself. She was wandering around road like mad woman. It was so frustrating. She knew that she did wrong thing. She should be working in her house. She supposed to help her daughter with household duties. But she was so scared. She regretted her decision of retirement. Then she suddenly felt hiding it wouldn't help at all. She turned to Rita and said " I kept feeling presence of your father everywhere." Rita was so shocked. Rita didn't expected this from her Mom. She knew that she was feeling strange presence around her but she never thought her Mom could sense it. She began to feel that it was something truly existed. Rita shivered with fear. Rita was so sure that it was just her imagination. But now she was confused. She was no longer that sure. She started to feel confident that something truly existed. " Mom I sense it too." Her Mom shivered. Mom "Let's shift." " But where Mom?" " Anywhere but far away from here." " Mom I don't feel ghost truly exist." " Then whatever it is I am scared of it and I want you to take me away from it." Rita nodded. That night when Rita went to sleep, she began to hear different sounds. She started to feel presence of her father. She was so scared when curtain moved. She began to watch towards it. She felt surely someone was behind it. Then she suddenly felt movement and she screamed on top of her lung. Her Mom came running inside. After this she slept with Mom in same room but still she kept sensing someone's presence. Her sleep was restless. She kept turning from one side to another entire night. She started to feel that she needed to sleep properly but she couldn't. At beginning she thought that it was just feeling of one day but it continued. She and Mom didn't even chat normally inside that house. They kept feeling that strange presence. Rita kept working properly. She didn't let it effect her work. But her smile started to vanish. She was no longer acting like her old self. One day finally her colleague asked " What happened Madam? Why you look so tense?" Until now she didn't ask for anyone's advice but on that day she decided that she must talk. She told everything. She thought that everyone would call her mad but they started telling their experience too. Soon entire office was full of ghost stories. They all clearly enjoyed it. When she went home, she had list of rituals in her hand. She did everything. Her Mom also cooperated. But it all proved useless. She kept screaming night after night. Finally one day one colleague showed bravery to tell truth. He said " Madam did you tried psychiatrist?" Another fellow screamed on him. " Stop this nonsense. Madam is perfectly sound mind person. You can't call her mad." Rita felt so nervous. Finally her fear turned in truth. They began to call her mad. So she decided to turn entire issue and she started laughing. Rita " Do you really believed those stories?" They all looked shocked. Rita " I was creating them just to entertain. Actually it's new project. I want to see can I force you to believe in supernatural? If I can then I can convince customers too and then we can start our new show." Everyone started laughing. " Ohh!! This is about new TV show. Are we launching channel?" " Don't discuss it now. It is too early. I need to work on it." " But I really like your idea of father's ghost. That discussion in office seemed so real. Can we use it on TV?" " Ohh you want to become star so trying to grab role?!!" Then they started joking with each other. They were excited by this new turn. They all wanted to become famous. They wanted money and fame. Rita managed to escape since they were in their dreamworld. She was so tense. She suddenly began to doubt her sanity too. Her Mom was imagining same thing. She was confused. She decided that she needed to search on internet about this. Soon she found case of group hallucinations. She understood that it might seem impossible but it was possible. She felt so shocked. She decided that she needed to visit psychiatrist with her Mom. She needed name of psychiatrist and it was hard to find one without telling true reason. She started to call her family Doctor who gave her one name. She kept watching that name and number. Then she suddenly sensed that someone was standing behind her. She turned around and saw no one was there. But still she sensed her father's presence. She knew that he was not there but still he was. She immediately called psychiatrist for appointment and took earliest appointment. She needed help and she couldn't live like that in fear.
When Rita reached home, she told all to Mom. Her Mom didn't deny. Mom " I was thinking again and again. This ghost theory didn't seem logical. I mean why did your Dad harass us? He was man who believed in moving ahead. He never remained stuck to past. And after his death we will become his past so he will not remain stuck to it." Rita nodded. Rita " And this started after beginning of project.." " And my retirement!! Maybe I shouldn't have retired?!!" " No Mom I feel we should have visited psychiatrist after Dad's death. Any way it is not too late now. We will visit tomorrow." Next day they went to psychiatrist. Rita told everything. He listened attentively. " Did you see his face?" " No..no just presence." " And what about you?" He turned to Mom. " Just presence." " Did anybody in your family have mental problem?" " No." Then psychiatrist started chatting. After long discussion he said " This reaction due to truama of your past." " But when my husband died we don't feel this way." " You tried to hide your sorrows. And your daughter followed you. It remained hidden in your soul and this project started all. " Rita shivered. She started crying. " Instead of his project I started my project I did big crime. I cheated him." Mom patted on her shoulder. Mom " Your Dad never desired as much for success of his project as success of your project. He did everything just for you!!" Rita started crying loudly and said " I killed him by my selfishness." " No..no honey it was not your mistake." On that day Rita first time confessed her pain and psychiatrist started to treat it. She continued her treatment and soon she also started her channel too. On that show her Dad truly existed as ghost but in her imagination he stopped coming.
The End
