Swarag – Ghost story (3)

Hi , Any guesses of Swara and Ragini age . Ok Lemme Concude it they are into 10th Class

School started, and Swara was busy with her studies, so she had little time to think about the ghost. She continued to avoid the garage and the yard around it. It was only at night when things slowed down that she allowed herself to think about him. The ghost was real, this much she knew for certain. She didn’t think he would ever go away, and it was going to be inconvenient for her to avoid the backyard forever. She knew she would have to face the Chief eventually and find out just what kind of ghost he really was.
One evening, Swara was getting ready for bed when Sharmishta came into her room.
“How was your day?” Sharmishta asked.
“It was OK,” Swara said.
“Did you make any new friends at school?”
“Naaah, same old friends.”
“Do you like your teacher?”
“She’s OK.”
“What did you do today?”
“Nuthin much.”
“Nothing?” Sharmishta asked. “You did nothing all day?”
“Ma, is there any such things as ghosts?” Swara clamped her hands over her mouth. She wasn’t sure why she asked the question.
Sharmishta looked at her and smiled. “There might be. I don’t know for sure, but anything is possible. Why do you ask?”
I.. I’m just curious, “ Swara said. “No reason.”
Sharmishta narrowed her eyes. “Uhuh…”
Are ghosts mean?” She might have already said too much, but she could not help herself now.
“Like Halloween ghosts?” Sharmishta scrunched up her nose. “I don’t think so. I think ghosts, if they are real, would be nice.”
“But they are scary, right?” Swara asked.

“Ohhhh, maybe,” Sharmishta said. “I guess they could be scary when we don’t understand them.”
Swara thought about that for a moment. “Soooo… if we get to know them, they won’t be so scary?”
“Yes, I think that’s probably true,” Sharmishta said. “Why, are you having trouble with a ghost?”
“No,” Swara said. “I’m just wondering.”
Sharmishta looked at her for a moment. “Yeah…”
“Well, I want to go to sleep now,” Swara said and rolled over.
Sharmishta kissed her good night, turned off the light, and left the room. Swara lay in bed thinking about what she needed to do. As scared as she was of the Chief, she needed to go into the garage and figure out if he was a mean ghost or a nice one.
The next day at school, Swara found Ragini on the playground. She pulled her aside and looked around to make sure no one could hear.
“Can you help me with something?” Swara whispered.
Ragini looked around and whispered back, “What is it?”
“You remember that ghost I told you about?” Swara said.
Ragini rolled her eyes and laughed. “Whatever.”
“Shhhh,” Swara hissed. “I’m serious. I need you to go into the garage with me.”
Ragini scrunched up her face. “Ewwwwww! There are spiders in there!”
“Pleeeeeassssse?” Swara bounced up and down. “I need you to go with me!”
“OK,” Ragini said. “But there are no such things as ghosts.”
“We’ll see about that,” Swara said.

After school, Swara and Ragini walked together to Swara’s house. Swara left Ragini outside and ran inside. She came back out a few minutes later with the key, and they walked across the lawn towards the garage. Swara stopped short of the door.
“What’s the matter, Swara?” Ragini asked.
“Just working up the nerve,” Swara muttered.
“Oh c’mon,” Ragini grabbed her arm and pulled Swara to the door.
Swara clutched the key in both hands in front of her staring down at the lock.
“Well?” Ragini gasped.
Swara handed the key to Ragini. “You do it.”
Taking the key, Ragini unlocked the door and stepped inside the garage. Swara refused to move. Ragini leaned out the door.
“Are you coming in?”
“Nope,” Swara said.
“Sheesh,” Ragini said. “What a chicken!”
Ragini ducked back in the garage leaving Swara outside.
“Do you see anything?” Swara asked.
There was no answer.
Swara leaned closer to the door and peered inside the dark garage.
Ragini?”
Still no answer.

A long, blood-curdling scream came from the garage. Swara leaped through the doorway and found Ragini standing by a stack of boxes near the back wall of the garage, her face lit up in a huge smile. Swara’s face was fixed in terror. Ragini began laughing. She laughed so hard, she fell against the boxes toppling one of them to the floor.
“That’s not funny!” Swara yelled. “I thought you got hurt!”
Ragini was sitting on the dusty floor holding her sides and shaking with laughter.
“You should see the look on your face,” she said, wiping tears from her face. “You were so scared.”
Swara stomped over to where Ragini sat on the floor, her hands on her hips.
“It’s not funny, Ragini,” Swara said.
Just then, Ragini stopped laughing, her eyes grew wide, and her mouth dropped open. She stared past Swara.
“I was afraid you got hurt,” Swara said. “You can’t just go and do…” She stopped when she noticed the look on Ragini’s face.
“Oh oh oh oh…,” Ragini said, pointing her finger to something behind Swara.
Swara crossed her arms. “You are not going to get away with that again. You can’t fool me.”
Ragini jumped to her feet and backed up against the wall, her eyes focused past Swara.
Swara rolled her eyes. “I’m leaving.”

When she turned for the door, she saw a whirling column of dust in the middle of the garage floor. Swara clamped her hands over her mouth and backed up against the wall next to Ragini. The dust cloud whirled faster and faster and grew in height. It moved closer to the girls, passing through the narrow column of light coming from the garage window. Just like last time, where the light touched the dust, it became solid. The dust slowly thickened and changed into the shape of Chief Rajat Sharma. He stopped just a few feet from the terrified girls.