As I Entered

Image courtesy of Wikipedia Commons, taken by Alejandrol Linares Garcia and shared under Creative Commons

As I entered the room I almost stumbled.  Someone had tried to trip me, I was sure. But there was no one nearby. In fact there was no one in the room. I was all alone.

I thought that I must have imagined. Who could have tripped me if there was no one around? But yet I could feel presence of someone in that empty room.

Soon others arrived; the teacher came and promptly started his talk on ‘rituals, magic and religious rites.’

I did not understand what he was saying, not even one word. I was rather looking at the person who was standing next to the teacher; he was a man with unblinking eyes.

A strange picture appeared on the huge screen. It was of a man, who was perhaps drunk, tripping on the road. I could no longer hold myself. I stood up. For no reason I glared at the girl sitting next to me but she did not take any notice of me; she was gazing at the teacher with dirty intentions.

“But why are showing that dirty… I mean irrelevant picture. It has nothing to do with what you are saying?”

Teacher looked at me with amusement.

“And who is he? Why is he standing there, over there?” I pointed towards the teacher; I was trying to point at the man with unblinking eyes.

“Will you please sit down and let me continue?” said the teacher in a tone as if he was talking to a moron.

A wave of murmur rose in one corner; very slowly very leisurely, as if enjoying the journey, it travelled to the other corner. Some eyes turned towards me and lingered on.

I felt I would collapse; but someone held me and seated me in my chair. I looked around. I could see no one. It was mystifying. Something odd was going on but no one seemed disturbed. Everyone was very busy appearing fully engrossed in the lecture.

Then I felt that total silence had descended on the room. The teacher was still delivering his lecture; some of the students were talking to one another in whispers. One person on the right side was snoring; he was in deep sleep.

But I could hear nothing; I felt I was surrounded by shadows; or perhaps by ghosts and spirits. Had the teacher said something about ghosts in his unending talk? What did he say?

Everyone got up and left the room. No one even looked at me. I was unable to get up; but that did not bother anyone.

A girl said something. Not the girl sitting next to me; the other one, who I thought, liked me.

“Why some guys get drunk at this time of the day?”

“Strange. But I too can get drunk any time of the day, only you have to be with me.”

Man with unblinking eyes was still there. As I left the room I stumbled. Someone did trip me.

**************

Written for Light and Shade Challenge 15^th October 2014
http://lightandshadechallenge.blogspot.co.uk/

Inspired by the picture above and the quotation below:

Yesterday, upon the stair,

I met a man who wasn’t there.

He wasn’t there again today,

I wish, I wish he’d go away…

                                 Hughes Mearns