Traffic jams aren't that bad after all...
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I pressed my brakes. There was an enormous traffic jam ahead of me and in front of me was a huge, green vehicle. It was one of those vehicles which are used to move stuff from place to place. I peeked from it’s side (because it was very wide) and there were mostly cars in this traffic jam, and that’s why it was taking this much time to open.

It wasn’t a red light traffic jam, it was one of those traffic jams which occurs by themselves from no where and practically never opens, which was even worse cause you never know when will they open, or if they will open. Plus you can find them literally anywhere, if you have a bad luck which, I have a lot.

There was no way I was gonna wait and stand in that traffic jam with a bicycle, especially on this afternoon of summers. The sun was spitting out fire, melting everything. I only had to go home but, still I was in a hurry, who wants to stand in an afternoon sun with all these fire breathing engines anyway. I would’ve melt in that.

I started looking for ways to get out of this traffic jam and, there! I saw it. I saw a small street behind me, it was on the other side of that road, I turned and through the cars I went in that street. It wasn’t that easy because more cars were coming every second

It was a very small street. There was hardly any space for even three people to stand side by side. It probably had backs of all the buildings here. None of the houses had their main gates here. There was not even a single soul here, probably because it was afternoon and people don’t really like to get out of their homes at afternoon.

I was going on my bicycle in a hope that this street might take me to the other side of the traffic jam. Because usually when there’s a traffic jam I would find a street and would reach the other end of the traffic jam by going through the streets on side. I looked for another street on my left but there came none.

After around ten minutes of riding the bicycle the street became a bit bigger than before. Now there was enough space for a whole car and then it increased to some two cars of space, when parked side by side.

Until now I was riding in the shade of the street so I didn’t really felt that much for even travelling for 15 minutes in this burning afternoon. But, now I had lost all of my hope for finding an out route, also perhaps the traffic jam would’ve opened till now too...

After around 15 minutes something strange started happening, something I didn’t expected would ever happen. The whole place started changing into an old-time place as I was going further and further.

All the houses now, were pretty smaller than normal and were very dull coloured. Then as I went further there were no houses on my right side at all. Instead, there was a very big ground with some grass at some places and bare soil at other. Now the place had turned into a complete village.

There were many cattle and dogs on the grounds. I saw some bullock carts and some tractors too. But strangely enough from the time I had came to this street I haven’t seen a single person here. Not even one.

Suddenly on my left I saw a school. It wasn’t that tall building but it sure was bigger than those houses.

But my eyes weren’t looking at that school building, they were actually looking at the girl who was standing on the roof of that school.

That girl seemed familiar to me as if I have seen her before. Even though I hadn’t and even if I did I couldn’t remember when. She looked sixteen too, just my age.

Also, she was the first person I had seen so far, since I came to this place.

That girl too was staring at me as if she already knew me. But it can be only me who was thinking like that, or perhaps she was looking at me because I looked like a complete stranger to her. I don’t know.

She was wearing a saree for some reason. Out of all the dresses I could’ve imagined a girl to be wearing at that time, a saree was obviously not one of them. Because first, she was too young to wear a saree as a common daily thing, and Second, the saree she was wearing looked like a party dress instead with all that glitter.

She was even wearing make up, which made her look so beautiful. Her face was glowing white, she had red lipstick on her lips. She even had eye liner and perhaps some more but…I don’t really know their names or perhaps couldn’t notice anything else but she was looking very, very pretty in that dress.

I staring at her the whole time I could, I had nearly stopped my bicycle and was pedalling very slowly. But for some reason, I don’t know, I just, didn’t stopped.

Then I went pass her and now the ground on the right had vanished too and it was those small houses once again.

That street seemed to end at some distance. There was a house straight ahead of me instead of being on any side.

I still went further and now I could see that the street wasn’t ending there but instead it was a sharp turn to left.

I got off from my bicycle and started walking with my bike in my hands. Although it was a turn but the street was just ending there. There was a front door of a house on that turn, it wasn’t really another street.

But what was even more suspicious was that on the front of that house, were a lot of people standing. Around fifteen perhaps. They were completely surrounding the main gate in a circle.

I went ahead and stood between those people.

The door of that house was a metal door. It was a really big double door. It was heavily decorated and was even painted with many colours. But all of them were pretty dull and the door looked a bit old too.

But what was strange was the lady, who was sitting on the front of that door. She was sitting on the ground. But what really strange about her was that she was crying.

She was facing the ground and had covered her face with both of her hands on her eyes, and was crying. There were many other women too who were trying to calm her down but it only seemed to make her cry even more.

I wasn’t really paying attention to her or whatever she was saying. I was busy looking at the place. It seemed very nice to me. I felt just like being in my own home village. I like that place and I started liking this place too for the same reason.

I was looking at another house nearby when suddenly that woman shouted very loudly. I got scared at first. Her voice was so sudden and unclear, that I couldn’t really hear what she said, but what was even more terrifying was that just as looked I towards her I saw, that she was actually looking at me. And now her face too had became a lot scary, because of her tears.

She shouted, got up and just started running towards me. That was really terrifying.

But I hopped on my bicycle just as she shouted and now because my bicycle was geared so I got an advantage from that and was ahead of her. I quickly started pedalling and didn’t cared about anything else.

I was so scared by her face and her scream that I could think of nothing else but getting out of this place as fast as I could.

After a few seconds I looked back and was completely shocked and terrified. All of the people who were standing there were running behind me right now. Their faces didn’t looked friendly at all. It seemed as if they wanted to eat me.

The strange thing was that they were running pretty faster than normal people. I was riding my bike on my full speed but still they were always just some foot behind me, and were getting even closer.

That woman who was crying, was at lead while everyone else was behind her.

I then looked forward and I saw a bright ball of light which was at a distance from me. Strangely enough I didn’t noticed but I came to this place at afternoon while right now it was pretty dark. It wasn’t dark enough to be called night time but evening.

I started looking everywhere else because everything was looking different then it did when I first came here.

While looking everywhere I looked above me, and my mouth remained opened on what I saw. I curled up a little in shock.

When I looked above I saw sun. I know it might not sound that shocking but the thing was that the sun was shining at it’s brightest while, it was dark everywhere like evening.

At this point, I was completely sure that I was stuck in some super natural stuff. Well, from my own experience of horror movies, the white bright ball of light that was ahead of me appeared to be the only way for me to escape.

That, my chance to escape gave me more inspiration to pedal even faster. But just as I went a little further I saw that, that ball of light was actually like a link between this world and the normal world.

I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw it. And I still don’t know how I should explain it. It was like a line of division between this dark world and that world of light.

Everything ahead of that line was shining with light, while everything behind that line which was here, where I was at that time was dark like evening. It wasn’t really like a line but it appeared like that to me because of this part being black and that part being white. But it was the same place it was just about the lighting.

But what was even more terrifying was that there were two men standing just before that line between the light world and this dark world.

In right of those two men was a parked car. It was a pretty old model but still it looked pretty new to me. It was shining even while it was dark everywhere.

Just when I was thinking about that car a thought struck my mind and I started planning how to get past those two men and just when I was planning my out route my eyes went to that same school I saw before when I was coming to this street.

Its gates were opened. I was just going to look at it’s roof when I noticed that, that girl which was standing at the roof before was standing on the main gate of that school.

She was still staring at me. I went pass her and was staring in her eyes all the time. She was looking worried.

I looked forward and oh shit! Those men were standing just in front of me now. My escape plan had failed because I went too close to them and right now I could think of nothing but to throw my bicycle at them and jumped on that car which was parked beside them.

One of the men fell down due to my bike and I slipped all the way on that car to the wall on the other side.

I got up, and now the other man too was coming to get me I quickly ran from the roof of that car and then jumped on the bright side that man too jumped on the roof of that car but I had already jumped on the bright side and he couldn’t get me.

I started running with any energy that was left in me. I wasn’t thinking about anything right now. I wasn’t even looking anywhere but forward. I had ran to a distance from that street.

Just when I was running away from that street, A very loud bark came from jut ahead of me and it was so loud and I was so scared that I kind of jumped back.

I looked what it was and I saw that it was hug dog! It wasn’t big. It was huge. Like really huge for a dog and was barking at me.

It happened so suddenly that I couldn’t think of anything but to run back from where I came. The dog too ran for me but it was very slow. Perhaps it was just fat or old or something.

But, what was I doing. I was going back to an even greater danger. The super natural place I just left. I can’t go back there those people will eat me for sure.

When this thought came to my mind I stopped and was now standing on the turn. Ahead of this turn was that super natural place.

I was trying to peek around that turn but that dog barked at me at the same time and I jumped over that turn all scared.

That dog was standing just in front of me. I backed two steps and then took a look at that super natural place and I was shocked to see that, all those people who were running behind me were standing on the edge of that separating line between that place and this place.

But only this time, they weren’t looking like real people, like they did before. Instead, they were all completely pitch black with shining eyes. They didn’t looked like people at all but they looked like statues. They looked more of a drawing in which you drew these people and then painted them completely black.

I was just looking at them when that dog came just in front of me it wasn’t running now but was just walking slowly. As if it wanted to play with me like its pray or perhaps it was just exhausted.

But, it was pushing me back and was constantly barking. A bit less loud now, but still loud bark.

The dog was pushing me back and I was very scared. In front of me was a giant dog coming slowly to eat me and behind me were some super natural people who chased me. Both of them were equally terrifying.

When the dog was pushing me, I was getting closer and closer to those people but surprisingly enough they weren’t doing anything on that they were just standing exactly like statues. They weren’t even moving. Which in fact was making them even scary, because I knew that they will eat me, as soon as I get near them.

I thought that perhaps they can’t do anything in the light and normal world but they weren’t even moving inside their own world and that was equally strange and scary.

I looked ahead the dog was barking at me. I looked behind, those people were standing still with their shining eyes on the dark. I looked forward again, the dog was still pushing my back I looked back again and now I was less than a foot closer to those people.

I was completely terrified and I didn’t even knew what was happening to me. It was like a minute ago everything was completely fine and normal I was going back to my home peacefully and in the most normal way possible but after a wink everything turned all horrified and super natural things started happening all around. At this time I don’t know from where but all the happiest moments of my life started flashing in front of my eyes. My first bicycle, my dad gave it to me on my tenth birthday, I was so happy and got bruises everywhere just the other day.

But then suddenly, out of nowhere a very loud and clear sound came.

It said, “Sheru hat! come here.”

Although the voice was so clear but it was so sudden and loud especially at a time like this, when I was just about to get eaten.

When that voice came I fell backwards, in shock. But that dog was still coming near me.

That man shouted a few more times, the dog went to that man and till now that man too had come very close to me.

He was standing in front of me while I was laying on the ground and was just about to get up taking support from my hands and lifting me up.

And he said, “So what did you stole?”

“Stole? I didn’t stole anything.”

“This dog ain’t as dumb as you think him too be, kid. He only barks at people who are running. He is well trained.”

Just as he said running I remembered why was I running. I quickly looked back but this time as expected was nothing behind, instead the place has turned to a normal street.

“What you looking at?” he asked.

“Th-there were people... the-the-they were chasing me. There were a lot of people. I was running and then this dog... and you came..and they disappeared. They were here just a minute ago... they were here!”

“What people? Who was chasing you? And why?”

“I don’t know... I-I was going there... then that lady shouted..they all started chasing me...I fell from my bicycle”

“OK! OK! If there are people chasing you, then you should go home now I’ll check who it is.”

“but, my bicycle...It’s there” I was pointing backwards where that car was and strangely enough it was lying there, on the ground. I stopped, shocked.

He quickly went there, picked it up and until now I had gotten up too. He handed me the bike and I hopped on it.

I looked at him and said, “but, those people?”

“Oh, yeah I’ll see what it is. Don’t worry, you can go home.”

Then he went to that street with his dog. I was still getting my breadth at that time. In just some minutes he went so far that I wasn’t able to see him anymore. I was looking back and while I was just trying to recover from whatever had happened a minute ago I saw that!

I saw that school on which that lady was standing before and I thought that now that man had gone away all those things might be coming back and just afraid of everything that had happened a minute ago I quickly placed my foot on the pedal of my bicycle and got out of that whole place.

And... yes...the traffic jam had opened till now. There was still a lot of traffic on road. But, it wasn’t bothering me anymore by just thinking about what had happened just a minute ago.

I reached my home and when I tried to open the door I found out that it was locked from inside. I waited for some time but nobody came to open the door and I started getting scared once again.

I shouted, “OPEN THE DOOR!!!”

suddenly, my neighbour from some houses past ours came outside and said that my mom had given her the keys to our house.

My life came back to my body I took the key and entered the house.