The Arrival
In the cold month of November,journalist Ritabrata Sen arrived in Kalimpong to investigate a strange local rumor.People said that travelers who walked along Morgan Road after midnight sometimes vanished.
Ritabrata didn't believe in ghosts.He believed in facts.
The town looked peaceful. Colorful houses Clung to the hills,prayer flags fluttered in the wind ,and the Kanchenjunga glowed under the sunset.
But something felt wrong.
At the small homestay where he stayed ,the elderly caretaker Pema warned him quietly.
" Sir… if you hear someone calling your name from the fog… don't answer."
Ritabrata laughed.😁😁
"Why..?"
Pema stared at the kist outside the window.
" Because it might not be himan."
The First Night
That night the fog came early .
By 10:30 PM the entire hillside was swallowed by thick white mist .Ritabrata grabbed his camera and recorder.If there was a mystery,he wanted to proof.
Morgan Road looked abandoned.
Streetlights flickered weakly.The forest beside the road stood like dark walls of pine trees.
Suddenly he heard something.
A faint voice.
" RITABRATA…."
He froze .
No one knew he was here.
The voice came agin,carried by the wind.🌬️
" Ritabrata …. come here …"
His heart pounded .Slowly he walked toward the forest edge.
Suddenly his recorder switched on by itself.
Static filled the air.
And through the fog… he saw a shadow.
The Disappearance
The next morning the town buzzed with whispers.
Another tourist had gone missing.
His name was Daniel Carter ,a photographer from London.He was seen walking near Morgan Road the previous night.
Ritabrat felt uneasy.
That was the exact place he heard the voice.
When he visited the police station ,the officer sighed.
" This is the fourth disappearance in five years."
" Ghosts?" Ritabrata asked jokingly.
The officer didn't smile.
" No bodies… no witnesses ….just fog."
The Old Story
Determined to uncover the truth,Ritabrata visited an old monastery above Kalimpong.
An elderly monk listened to his carefully.
Then he spoke.
" Many years ago, during the British era,a colonial bungalow stood on Morgan Road."
" A terrible crime happened there."
A British Officer had murdered several villagers after accusing them of theft.The angry villagers attacked the bungalow that night.
The officer died in the fire.
But before dying,he cursed the land .
"Anyone who walks this road at night…will never leave."
Ritabrata felt chill.
The Return to the Road
That night Ritabrata returned to Morgan Road .
Midnight..
The fog was thicker than before.
His camera light barely cut through the mist.
Then it happened.
Footsteps 👣👣👣
Not behind him .All around him .
Shadows moved between the trees.
The same voice whispered again.
"Ritabrata…"
But this time he saw the source.
A tall dark figure standing in the fog.
Its face twisted with rage… eyes glowing faintly.
Suddenly dozens of ghostly shapes appeared behind it.
The missing travelers.
Their faces pale… empty… trapped in the mist.
The Whispering Hills
Ritabrata sen .
Branches scratched his face as he sprinted up the road toward town .
Behind him the whispers grew louder.
" Stay with us…"
" Stay in the fog…"
He reached the homestay just before dawn.
When the sun finally rose ,the fog slowly disappeared.
But something had changed.
When Ritabrata checked his recorder,he heard a voice he never recorded .
A deep whisper.
" Next time….you won't escape."
Ritabrata left Kalimpong that morning.
Yet sometimes at night,when fog fills the streets of Kolkata, he hears footsteps 👣👣behind him .
And a familiar voice calling softly.
"Ritabrata…"
For somewhere inside the mist .
But he still can't understand it,he still feels everything about that night.
👻The End 👻