The Hospital

Pradeep had a very hectic day. He was in his office when he received a phone call. His wife has called him to inform him of his uncle's deteriorating health. She told Pradeep to reach the hospital directly from the office. On hearing this he was a bit worried as he was completely worn out after a full day's office. He was extremely tired and his body was demanding rest. As there was no other alternative drained Pradeep took a cab and moved toward the hospital.

On reaching there he checked the time. It was 6:30p:m. Hurriedly he went inside and saw his wife waiting for him. She asked Pradeep to stay there in the hospital with his uncle until she sends somebody who could be there for the whole night. He thought, "I will stay here until my uncle's relative comes. It is a question of a few hours". His wife left behind her husband promising to send somebody as quickly as possible. She knew that her husband desperately needed rest.

Slowly Pradeep stepped inside the general ward where his uncle was admitted. It was on the third floor and his bed was on the corner of a big hall. There were a series of beds and the hall was accumulated with patients and their family members. Pradeep has always kept himself away from going to hospitals but this time he had no other option. He quietly settled down on the stool kept near his uncle's bed. He was observing every detail of that hall. His uncle's face was hidden underneath the oxygen mask. He was sleeping tangled between the pipes of different machines, saline, etc.

Pradeep was tired so he thought of taking a small nap. After some time he dozed off while sitting on the stool. It was a very discomfiting position so he woke up minutes after falling asleep. He was sitting there on that seat for about an hour now. His back has started to ache. He thought of taking a walk outside the hall, hence he came out of that hall.

While moving towards the exit point he noticed that the gate was locked. He thought why was there a lock on the gate? How will he go out of the ward? He was trying to find answers to these questions when he saw the gatekeeper standing near a water tap. He rushed towards him and asked him to unlock the gate so he could stroll outside for some time. The doorkeeper said, look at the time, It is 8:30 p:m. The visiting hours are over. As per the rules, I have locked the door and I cannot open the door until morning.

Pradeep requested him multiple times. He said he is feeling suffocating inside, so please allow him to go out for some time. He will fall sick if he does not go out. He desperately needs fresh air. On his humble request, the gatekeeper opened the door on one condition that he should come back in an hour. Promising him to return before an hour he moved outside.

He was wandering in the open place and reached the other side of that building. This time he could hear the sounds of people screaming, yelling, and shouting. Hearing that he rushed back towards his ward. On seeing his sweated and fearful face the doorkeeper asked him what happened sir, why are you in such a terrible condition? Pradeep told him about the sounds coming out from the other corner of that location. On hearing this the gatekeeper said, oh sir that side is the burn ward. People cry in pain. Instead of roaming here and there why don't you go inside and be close to your relative?

Pradeep had no other choice rather than coming back to the general ward. He thought of calling his wife. He wanted to know why Uncle's relative had not arrived till now. His wife picked up his phone and told him that because the weather was not good no one was coming that night. She requested him to stay there in the hospital for the rest of the night. Pradeep now had no other choice rather than spending the night in the general ward.

He went back to the patient's bed and was wondering what to do next because sitting on that small chair was not comfortable. He thought of lying down next to his uncle on the same bed. His uncle was squeezed into a corner. There was someplace for a person to lie down. So he quietly settled down on the bed.

While lying there he got a glimpse of somebody's legs from under the curtain of the entrance door which was just next to his bed. Only the portion of the leg below the knee was visible. Pradeep was anxious to know who the person was who was standing outside the hall behind the curtains for so long. Why isn't he moving? He was curious to have a look at the person whose foot was visible from his bed.

After waiting patiently for some time he falls off to sleep. Some time later he could hear a scuffing sound. There was a peripheral vision of something dragging on the floor. For a minute he was scared. Till now his body was numbed because he was lying in the same position for quite some time. Anyhow he managed to check the time. It was 1 o'clock A: M. Oh my God, at this hour who is walking without lifting the feet? He gathered courage and rolled his eyes towards the frightening sound. 

Pradeep somewhat lost consciousness. The sight was really scary and weird. He saw half-cut legs from beneath the knee crossing the middle path of the general ward. The upper body was missing. At first, Pradeep could not believe his eyes. Everybody was sleeping at that hour. He was unable to make out what to do. To top it all he heard the crawling sound of another pair of legs. When he rolled his eyes towards the sound he was almost dead. Four bodyless entities were crawling from one corner of the hall to another. All he could see was the half-cut leg from under the knee.

He was so scared that he hugged his Uncle tightly and waited for them to leave the hall. His heart was beating fast. At that moment he had forgotten that his uncle's condition was quite serious. He has clasped his uncle for a long time. He couldn't believe what he saw a few minutes back. There were four pairs of legs from beneath the knee. The upper part of the body was missing and blood was ripping from the cut portion. What was that, he thought.

Later when the sound vanished he ran outside the ward. His heart was beating profusely. While moving from the corridor he saw two nurses who were on night duty. They were chatting. On seeing them he felt better. He ran straight towards them. When the nurses saw his condition they asked him to sit down and gave him a glass of water. Pradeep was in a dual mind he was thinking that whether he should tell the ladies what he saw or not. Something stopped him and he told them that he is not feeling well can they arrange for a room for him so that he could sleep for some time? The head nurse permitted him to sleep in a nearby room.

Pradeep slept well for the remaining hours. It was nearly dawn when he heard the nurses calling him. He jumped out of the bed. What happened, Pradeep asked. Come fast your uncle has expired, one of the nurses answered. On hearing this in a state of shock he ran towards his uncle's bed. Oh my god, he died? He was really feeling bad about this tragedy. When did this loss happen? he asked. The head nurse answered - at 1 o'clock. What, Pradeep could not believe his ears. How was that possible? At that moment he was lying on his uncle's bed. At that hour he had embraced that sick man tightly. It means in fear he had not even checked whether he was dead or alive. He had hugged the dead body of his uncle. 

He was going through mixed feelings. On one end there was pain and sadness and fear on the other. He was confused and had not come out of last night's shock. In that puzzled state, he shared the previous night's scary incident with the nurses. They were surprised to hear that happening. The head nurse said, Ohhh that is the reason you looked so paled in the night. Then why haven't you told us about that incident at that hour? 

She continued, many years back while the construction work of that ward was going on, from the ceiling, a big iron rod had fallen on the feet of four laborers who were sleeping on that spot. All four of them had died there and then. Sometimes they are visible here at that hour when that accident happened. You were the lucky one to have got the chance to see them. Pradeep had nothing to say. He now knew that he had seen the ghost of the four laborers at 1 o'clock.

That was an unforgettable night for him. He had seen the ghosts of the laborers in the form of half-cut feet under the knee. It was a very long night for Pradeep, where he experienced uneasiness, fear, sleeplessness, trauma, tension, and more so an add-on experience of sleeping with a dead person for a long time assuming him to be alive. That was indeed a long and fearful night for him.