It must be 12 at midnight. I heard that the radio kept on table inside our house started making a strange sound. The sound was like thousands of green insects are hovering over our head!
"Am I in my dream?” I asked myself. I was on wooden bed in the yard. I was really confused whether I was in dream or in reality! One moment I felt I am in dream and another moment I felt I am hearing the sound in real. I tried to open my eyes! But... Oh no! What was this happening?
I was unable to open my eyes. I felt as if some invisible force has tied me to the wooden bed. And the volume of the sound was increasing with every minute!
Suddenly I heard the familiar voice, "Vhyom. Vhyom!" What was that sound?
Yes! The voice of the white Satan? No! The mad man! Is he back?
And the chirpy sound in the radio? Oh! It seems like the sound of angry honey bees. But why the sound feels to be coming from radio? I wished to put my hands on my ear but couldn't because I was unable to move my hands. How come?
I tried to get up on bed but alas! I was not able to move my body!
Frightened due to this I wanted to scream but oh no! I was unable to open my mouth to utter any letter from it! Something sinister invisible thing started pressing something on my mouth!
Suddenly the radio sound stopped. Vhyom sound stopped. And the pebble which I had thrown to the hive on that day came towards my chest from nowhere and rested on my chest. But its weight was felt as if it is 100 KG.
I sensed that time has suddenly moved forward. In fact, I was unable to figure out the time around me. Had I moved to some another time zone?
I noticed Tatya, Maai, Raaj and few unknown people in my village around my wooden bed. They all were trying me to detach me from the bed. Oh No! Was I dead?
Some also tried to detach my bed from ground but in vain!
Fortunately, I was not dead! Slowly I was able to move my hands, legs, mouth and body. But I was in no position to speak anything to anyone and explain what I was going through! I felt unconscious!
When I gained my consciousness back, I saw a large honey bee troop had attacked our house. Yes! It was fire goblin. How horrible looking it was! I do not want to explain its shape to you otherwise you will not be able to sleep your lifetime. The white mad man was sitting under the banyan tree and looking at the moon. And laughing! Endlessly!
I guessed that Tatya might have decided to leave the village in the night itself due to return of the white mad Satan and the goblin. I could see myself on a bullock cart with a dead looking driver along with Maai and Raaj, some stuff and the radio. No one was speaking! Another bullock cart with another deadly looking driver contained gunnysacks, buckets and other stuff. We all were injured due to honey bee bites. And Tatya was coming behind the two bullock carts on his cycle!
Someone had said that it was 3 am in night. But who said it? The voice didn't belong to Raaj.. Neither to Maai. Who said it?
By now the honey bees' troop had started playing with the mad white Satan. The mad man was enjoying playing with them. In the moonlight we could see the mad man running with thousands of honey bees flying around him and him looking at the moon and laughing horribly! At least the bees were not after us! Thank God?
We felt a relief. Now the only aim of ours was to reach another village. Yet at least one hour was remaining! No one was really in position to talk.
Through the darker road with bushes and trees around, our bullock carts and Tatya's bicycle were moving forward. By now the mad man and honey bees were out of our sight. The only sound now was the movement of bullocks, their bells! The drivers were driving the carts without looking at us! Who were they? A lantern on each cart was tied to ahead to get light for driving. And lantern was kept near us.
Calmly we were travelling. The honey bee bites were paining.
Calm road. Calmer travel.
It was a wonder that without being tired, Tatya was cycling. Looking at us with a straight eye. No emotions on his face. Nothing!
Oh no! The lanterns were about to blow off. But the moonlight was to help us at least! It was reaching less to us due to bigger trees beside the roads but still it was okay. Raaj rested on Maai's lap and her hand on my shoulder. I was looking constantly backwards towards Tatya who was coming behind us.
I couldn't believe my eyes! Tatya started looking at the moon and smiled in a bizarre manner.
And to tell the same to Maai and Raaj when I turned at the front side, I found that the drivers on both carts were missing.
The lanterns suddenly blew off!
Dark! Total dark! Dark under the moon!
And the moon also suddenly got switched off. Literally like we switch off the light!
Darkness fell under the dark moon!
All sounds stopped. No sounds of bullocks! No sounds of bells.
For a moment, in the darkness I witnessed in a sudden light that the mad man was swinging on a tree over us with his legs tied to the tree and his laughing face downwards the ground. Exactly above my head. And in next second, no one was there! Again darkness. This time darker!!
And I lost all my fear! Don't know why?
I shouted, "Tatya, Maai, and Raaj!!" No reply! Silence! I tried to touch them in the darkness. Maai and Raaj were there. But motionless!
And the moon got switched on!
Now we all along with cycle and bullock carts were floating and flying in the air. I could see stars right near us. I could touch one of them! Many of them!
No... No!! They were not stars! No! They were honey bees. This time bigger in size!
The fire goblin had captured us!! All of us!! I lost the sense of time! We all were now inside the shattered fort ill-famous for the goblin. In a window of the fort, was sitting the mad man, this time more scary looking and waiting for us with fire in his eyes…
The radio suddenly switched on and a voice from inside it said in whispering mode, "Hey! Hey! No one can go back once came to this fort"
And I also without my own control said in the same whispering voice, "But, we didn’t come here with our own will!"
The voice in the radio said, "That doesn't matter anyway!"
Who was he? I felt unconscious!
When I woke up, I felt my body was very light and I was flying. Oh! I had become a honey bee. Maai and Tatya and Raaj! All had become honey bees and became an integral part of the fire goblin.
And the mad man!! He is now our best friend! We all dwell happily in the fort. We are part of fire goblin now.
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