Oh, what was it? Where I was? It was already 1 a.m. by the time she fell asleep. There been so much work. They had only returned home at 10 p.m. after a long day. They had gone to the mall for the first time in a while, and her husband suggested, "Why bother preparing dinner in the kitchen after going home? Let’s just eat here.""Oh, you should have told me earlier! If we were going to have dinner here, I wouldn’t have eaten the golgappas!" she replied."Come on, how does eating four pani-puris matter? And if it’s really ...Read More

She worked on the project report late into the night. Only after finalizing it and sending it back to son did she feel relieved. Then she slept peacefully, stretching out comfortably.The remaining sliver of the night passed in the blink of an eye. At 5 AM, the alarm rang loudly and harshly."What a nuisance!" she muttered, pulling her hand out from under the blanket to silence the alarm, as if she were shooing away a stray dog that had wandered into the house.She had forgotten that her husband had to leave at 7 AM instead of the usual 8 ...Read More

He increased the speed of the car considerably. But after a short while, he noticed something strange. The intersection had just crossed reappeared in front of him as soon as he stopped at the red light. He was utterly bewildered.His head began to spin when he realized that this was happening repeatedly. He would cross the signal, move ahead, but after covering a bit of distance, the same signal would appear again. He glanced around inside the car. It felt like some invisible force was following him, somehow stretching the road and delaying his arrival home.Bhatanagar remembered what his ...Read More

Bhatnagar Ji’s mind was spinning as he sat in the washroom. What was happening? He had a powerful dream night, and in the dream, he saw all sorts of strange things!In the dream, he took his wife to a mall, watched a movie, and had dinner. In the morning, he got ready and left for the office, only to feel like some ghost or spirit was troubling him. The ghost even threatened to go to his house to talk to his wife. Panicked, he left the office and ran back home, and on the way, strange things started happening. ...Read More

Taking four long strides, he had just reached the house door when he saw a lock hanging on it. another problem. Now the taxi driver would haggle for money. He'll think I'm trying to cheat him, Bhatanagar was flustered.He felt a bit annoyed at his wife too, who had locked the house and left, not to be seen anywhere. But it wasn’t her fault, was it? He had gone to the office; how was she to know he’d return like this? She must have gone out for something.What to do? Should he call his wife? He should at least ...Read More

He slammed the door shut and, drenched in sweat, hurriedly dialed his wife’s number on his mobile phone. A of people noticed the bag slipping from his hand and started watching him closely. One gentleman, sensing his distress, stood up and approached him, asking, “What happened, Bhatnagar ji? Why are you so worried?”But Bhatnagar ji himself had no idea what had happened. What could he even say?Meanwhile, the phone connected, and on the other end, his wife, Mrs. Bhatnagar, was speaking.“Hello? Yes, tell me. What happened? Did you forget something? Has the meeting started? Tell me, why did you ...Read More

Bhatnagar ji lovingly patted his son's back and hurried to the office, but his mind wasn't at ease there. was anxious about several things.First, he felt that though he had left, his wife would now spend the entire day with their son. He feared she would tell him all sorts of things about the morning incident, and in the evening, when he returned home, both mother and son would make fun of him. If he had been there, his wife might have at least shown some consideration while sharing things with their son.Second, he was bothered by the fact ...Read More

Bhatnagar, in a panic, asked the shopkeeper, "Oh! I just parked my car here a moment ago. Where did go?"The shopkeeper replied, "Sir, what can I say? The corporation's traffic police patrol around here, towing vehicles. There's no approved parking here, so they must have taken it."Bhatnagar exclaimed, "But they should have at least informed me! I didn’t even hear any sound; they just towed it away?"The shopkeeper, slightly annoyed by Bhatnagar’s abrupt tone, thought to himself that Bhatnagar hadn’t paid for the rabdi yet.Bhatnagar then added, "Listen, my wallet was in the car. Take the rabdi back."Hearing this, ...Read More

At the dinner table that night, Bhatnagar Ji's wife and son had a lively conversation. However, Bhatnagar Ji kept his wife's gaze. The redness in her eyes that he'd noticed when handing her the earthen cup of rabdi earlier in the evening had left him shaken inside. But until something unusual or untoward happened, he didn’t want to say anything for no reason. There was no point in worrying his son unnecessarily with suspicions or fears.Still, Bhatnagar Ji took a small precaution. He felt there might be some supernatural occurrence that night, so he decided not to sleep. What ...Read More

"What's the use of regretting now when the birds have already eaten the field? No matter how hungry Bhatanagar was, he didn’t have the courage to ask his wife for food. What would she and their son think? After all, they had just finished dinner a little while ago.Bhatanagar ji was already afraid that his wife might have told their son about his dream; otherwise, he would become the subject of great mockery. If he asked for food now, it would be even worse. What if his wife came to the dining table to serve him again and saw ...Read More

Bhatnagar Ji, rubbing his face, walked over to his son and lovingly watched what he was doing on the soon as his father arrived, the son quickly turned off the laptop and cheerfully said, "Dad, I have to work late into the night. I also get hungry, so I'm ordering a pizza for myself. Do you want some?"At that moment, Bhatnagar Ji saw his son like an angel. His eyes welled up with tears. In his mind, he thought, 'Goodness and asking?' But outwardly, he said to his son, "I'll keep you company, go ahead and order!"While his son ...Read More

Bhatnagar Ji couldn't understand the riddle at all—why was this happening? What kind of ghost is this that makes distinction between dreams and reality? How does his wife find out exactly what he dreams about?Caught in this puzzle, when he arrived at the office the next day, he decided to seek advice from his friend, Vilas Ji. When Vilas Ji heard about this strange ghost, he too was baffled.The next day was a holiday at the office, so they made a plan: first, the two friends would search for the beggar woman who roams around the Rabri shop. Then, ...Read More

This time, along with the salary, the company also gave an annual bonus. Bhatnagar Ji’s pocket got heavy.As per advice, Bhatnagar Ji wasn’t supposed to buy anything. He just had to visit an expensive showroom and haggle over the price of some precious item, be it a diamond necklace or a studded emerald bangle.Even during the bargaining, he had to make sure not to quote a price so low that the shopkeeper would agree to sell it at that price. Otherwise, he’d be forced to buy the item. Bhatnagar Ji just had to haggle and walk out. The plan ...Read More

Mr. Bhatnagar was feeling a bit off today. The bangles he had proudly bought for fifteen thousand rupees after tough bargaining, thinking he had gotten a fifty-thousand-rupee item for a steal, were purchased by his wife for just nine thousand rupees online from the comfort of their home. All his efforts seemed in vain.After dinner, he sat outside, looking a bit tired, when his neighbor, Mr. Saxena, came strolling by. As soon as he arrived, he said, "Come on, let me take you for a ride!" "Where?" asked Mr. Bhatnagar. "Just come along; I'm taking out my bike. I ...Read More