The Ghost Rider

Bittu was driving through the darkness that lay ahead. Not a single ray of light could be seen anywhere around, nor any living soul on the road. This was his daily experience, but sometimes darkness felt engulfing, as if it was going to consume his entire being. FM was playing on the radio, " Ta tana nana Tandoori Nights". He raised the volume, much as an invisible assurance in the eerie gloom. The flashlight was on, and his eyes caught a glimpse of someone far ahead, walking in the dark. He was startled.

As he drove ahead, he passed a woman, impeccably dressed in black. He caught a glimpse of her angelic face, white as porcelain, with blood red lips. Her dark curly hair caressed her forehead, and an inexplicable mystery shrouded her. What was she doing in the middle of nowhere, that too dressed to kill? Should he offer her a ride? Yes, he should; it's his duty to be a Good Samaritan, more so because the lady was so attractive. 

Bittu stopped his taxi. The woman approached his window. " Are you going to offer a lift?" 

Bittu smiled, " Anything for you, madam." 

The woman laughed, her teeth sparkling like a crystal chandelier, her face beautiful but cold, " Are you not scared? Think about it. The Darkness and the Lady in Black."

" Oh, madam, you should be the one to be scared, to walk alone in the midst of nowhere. Please come in, and I will drop you off at your destination."

" Fine, you invited me. Don't blame me later," she said as she entered the car.

Bittu adjusted the front mirror so that he could catch glimpses of her new passenger. Beauty like this should not be hidden. 

The taxi went ahead. There was a suffocating silence. The radio somehow stopped catching a signal. He spoke out, " Were you stranded here, madam? It is unusual for a lady like you to be at a place like this, in this wee hour." 

" I travel to places, different ones, whenever I want. And accept lifts whenever someone offers them to me willingly. I never ask," she said in her caramel sweet voice. 

" Doesn't that get you into trouble?" Bittu asked, surprised.

" Haha, no, not any more," she was looking into Bittu's eyes through the mirror. A faint smile appeared on her face. 

There was something in her look that ceased Bittu from asking any flirtatious questions further. " Concentrate on your work, Bittu," he affirmed.

" Madam, where do I have to drop you? There is a 2-way ahead. Could you please let me know which one I should take?" he asked, without looking. Looks can kill after all, given the passenger is so stunning.

" Take one of your choice," the woman said playfully.

" Come on, madam, you are joking with me. How do I know where you want to go?" Bittu tried to keep a calm disposition; he was aware of traps like this.

"I will go wherever you take me," her caramel voice echoed through the silence outside.

A puzzled Bittu, unsure of what to do, began noticing the woman in the mirror. She was not carrying any bag or phone with her. Clearly, she was not going to pay; he should have noticed all these before offering her a lift. What was going on in her mind? No wonder she was attractive, but he had never seen such expressionless, blank eyes in his entire life. Something was uncanny about the woman.  

The gloomy atmosphere suddenly turned volatile as heavy winds started to blow. It's a storm. The branches of the surrounding trees began to sway violently, as if dancing in the wind's groove. 

Bittu's eyes got fixated on the woman sitting at the back. She was unperturbed, her eyes looking blankly out of the window. And they arrived at the junction. 

" Please tell me now, which way should I take? Right or left?" Bittu asked impatiently.

" Take any way, but don't take the wrong way," she said while looking at him.

" I am getting late, madam. There's a storm outside. Frankly, I am not in the mood for joking." Bittu's voice rose a bit.

He stopped the car and looked back at her. She was smiling at him, her eyes were full of life, sparkling in the car's dim light. She calmly said," We have to be here for a while, Bittu. Look ahead at the trees; anytime, any of those could fall. You don't want to crush yourself to death by a tree, do you?"

Bittu realised she was right. They waited in the taxi. He could hear the whistle of the wind from inside. Suddenly it occurred to him, how did she know his name? He did not remember disclosing it at any time. 

He again looked at the back; she was looking at him, with the same expression. "How do you know my name?" he asked, his voice filled with confusion.

" I know, I also know you are not the person I am looking for. But his name was Bittu too, and I have been looking for him for the last 5 years," she said in a composed tone.

" Why are you looking for that Bittu? What business do you have with him?"

" An unfinished business, some deals that were left halfway, when he finished me inside his taxi, masked. I didn't see him, but I heard his name when he got a call on his phone; someone called out 'Bittu'. "

" What are you telling madam? I have nothing to do with what happened to you."

" I know that was a hired killer. My car broke down here, somewhere. I was trying to change tyres when he approached and kidnapped me into his taxi. He killed me with a blow of my own Tyre screw. Now I am in search of that Bittu and the one who hired him to kill me. But don't worry, I will not do anything to you." A sudden lightning flashed in the back seat, and it was all empty, without any trace of the woman. 

Bittu cried out loud before passing out. He woke up the next morning at the same juncture, still trying to figure out if whatever had happened was just a fragment of his imagination. 

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