Perfect Picture

Perfect Picture

Click! Click! Click! The more Avatar pressed the button of his newly acquired digital camera the more astonished he became with the results he got.

At first he thought there might be some malfunctioning in the camera but whenever he removed the camera from his eyes and saw with his bare eyes the more scared he got.

“Is it a ghost or am I getting delusional because I was not able to sleep properly last night,” thought Avatar.

Avatar again pressed the button on his camera and this time he wanted to run after seeing the screen of his camera. He wanted to run but his legs refused to co-operate with him as they froze due to the dread paralyzing Avatar’s body. All of this happened when Avatar was just strolling as usual in the front park of his housing society in the afternoon. Then he saw some white pigeons sitting atop the school building adjacent to the garden. His imagination started to run wild due to the brand new camera bought by him just in the morning. Actually, the pigeons sitting atop the school building were not a magnificent or rare view. And Avatar had never cared about these pigeons but this newly acquired camera was making waves in his creative mind.

He released his newly acquired camera from the bondage of its pouch and adjusted it in front of his right eye to take the perfect picture to soothe the waves roaring in his creative mind. Click after click and Avatar was delighted to have perfect picture from his newly acquired camera. In this manner after his creative waves soothed down a little then Avatar realised that there was a man standing in front of the school building gazing at him. Avatar smiled to the person but the person’s face showed no emotion leave the prospect of a smile.

Avatar again gave a wide smile to the person but Avatar realised there was something weird about the person. Then Avatar thought to take a picture of the weird man along with the pigeons sitting atop the school building. He placed the camera lens in front of his eye and clicked a picture. Avatar looked at the screen of the camera but did not find the weird man in the picture, but the school building with the pigeons sitting atop it was perfect. Though Avatar’s heart pounded a little, he rubbished its claim citing some problem with the camera. Then again, a click, and this click too produced the same horrifying results. Avatar was terrified at this unusual happening.

He stared at the weird man cautiously. There he was standing in front of the school building resolutely as if waiting for Avatar to come over and meet him. Avatar, though terrified, decided to walk to the school gate to at least deny his delusions. Avatar placed the camera back in its pouch, which was tied very neatly to the belt of Avatar’s black trousers.

Avatar reached the school gate. The weird man was still standing there. Avatar smiled at him but got no sign of affability from this weird man. Avatar mustered all of his courage and clicked a photo again. And with his hands trembling, he looked at the picture, which showed him the school building with the pigeons atop it but the weird man missing. Now Avatar was finding it difficult to bring his eyes up to take a re-look at the man standing there defying all usual things in this proud sane world.

Avatar wanted to run but could not. His whole body started to tremble with fear. His hands could no longer hold his newly acquired camera and the camera fell on the concrete floor in front of the school gate. The school guard, on seeing Avatar trembling as if he were having a standing convulsion, rushed to his aid. He placed his hands around Avatar’s shoulders and took him into his cabin located close to the school’s gate.

The guard placed a glass of water to the lips of Avatar. Avatar tried his best to drink but his fear had already engulfed his senses, not allowing him to respond to the glass of water. After ten to fifteen minutes, Avatar was able to regain his senses.

“Are you okay sir? I saw you clicking some pictures of the school then I went inside my cabin and on hearing a thud due to the fall of your camera, I came out and saw you trembling. Are you okay now,” asked the guard.

Avatar looked at the guard and took his camera from the guard’s hands. Avatar showed him all of the pictures clicked by his camera. Then he asked the guard, “Can you see any man standing in front of the school building in these pictures?”

The guard knew about the man. But he did not want to reveal about it to a teenager. If the news spread about some unusual activity in the school, he would be the first one to loose his job and after that, he would never be able to find another job in this city.

“I saw no one standing in the front of the building sir. And if you saw one he might have gone by now,” said the guard.

“Gone by now…,” said Avatar astonished, as he looked into the eyes of the guard. The guard lowered his eyes and Avatar now understood what the guard’s words implied.

Avatar gave his camera to the guard and said, “Kindly keep it forever as I know I won’t be ever able to take pictures from it in the future.”

The guard took the camera in his hands and said nothing.

And saying this Avatar got up walking towards his home, not looking towards the building anymore. Avatar knew what he saw and that from now on his life will not be the same anymore.

 

---- Atul Sharma.

---- Photo Credit, David Niblack, Imagebase.net.