13 year old Aarna woke up with a start and turned "Yes mama? What happened?" There was no one there. She sat up puzzled. She had distinctly felt a hand on her shoulder, gently shaking her awake. She got out of bed and walked to her mother's bedroom and peeped in. Her mother was fast asleep. Must have been a dream, Aarna thought to herself and went back to bed.
Aarna and her mother stayed alone in a typical two bedroom DDA flat. Being the single child of a single parent they had always shared a strong bond, though teenage rebellion had started rearing its head, occasionally. Aarna's mother worked in a government organization and as a hobby she practiced astrology. Aarna used to be fascinated by how her mother could interpret and read horoscopes. She had a clientele of over 500 but refused to charge them till she was working. Aarna loved getting into discussions about karma, destiny and past lives with her mother. There was something very scientific about the way her mom explained it all.
A couple of nights later Aarna woke up again to the feeling of being shaken awake. Once again there was no one. Each time she woke up she felt as though someone was trying to say something to her. There was a sense of urgency in the air. It was an unnerving experience and she was getting a bit spooked but she didn't want to say anything to her mom yet. When for the fifth night in a row Aarna had the same experience, she decided to tell her mother the next morning.
Her mother heard her out and asked "When did this first start?" Aarna thought back and said "You remember the day we shifted the drawing room furniture around and moved my bed from near the window to against the wall? That was the first night." Her mom looked at her with a strange expression. "How about we shift the bed back where it was and see?" her mom suggested. Aarna was game.
They moved the bed back to its original position and that night Aarna took a long time to go to sleep. She was convinced she would be woken up again. Finally she fell into deep sleep and in her dreams heard someone whisper 'thank you.' When she awoke it was morning but the dream was vivid in her mind. After that night she didn't have disturbed sleep again. Aarna's mother was convinced that the shifting of the bed had blocked the passage of a presence who tried to communicate to them to shift the bed back.
This was over 20 years ago but Aarna still often thought of her 'friendly ghost'; that unseen presence which wanted an unhindered passage to wherever she was supposed to go every night.
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