On most days, the well-lit spick-and-span platform three of the Ahmedabad Station would usually be a pleasant experience for travellers. However, something had gone wrong that day. The train was late and the delay in announcement about it made matters worse. The digital clock at the station was not working and this made Shailesh very angry. He thought to himself “If I was the station master, I would have ensured that things worked perfectly. No wonder China is ahead...” He was travelling to Rajkot to report to office the next day. Being a Sunday the crowd was enormous. Many businessmen and office goers return from their home towns on weekends. The 19059 Surat-Jamnagar Intercity Express was supposed to come by 5:35 PM but it was already 6:00 PM. He was still looking at the digital clock when he saw the light in the distance, and for a moment he felt like jumping with joy, but the bhelpuri in his hand made him rethink. The train would have to cover five stops to reach Rajkot, and had the train not been late he would have made it by 10 PM. But by the time he reached the station it was 11:10 PM.

Rajkot being a safe city to reside, and with his in-laws staying there, the decision of accepting the transfer was easy for Shailesh. His in-laws were staying just 3 kilometres from his office guest house. He took an auto rickshaw to the guest house. On the way, he thought of the good old days when he wasn’t married to Ekta. He would meet her secretly in the park near Kalawad Road. After all Rajkot was where he had spent his college days and it was in college that he had first met her. But soon after college he had got a job in Ahmedabad and had to shift there. Now, the same office had transferred him to Rajkot.

He reached the guest house at 12:00 AM. The guest house caretaker had already arranged dinner for him. Shortly after having dinner he went to bed thinking about the new responsibilities that awaited him in the new office the next day.
 

Shailesh returned from office early the next day. It had been a long time since he had played rummy with his Father-in-law. So he went to visit him. The old man was pleased to see him and greeted him. After brief discussion on various subjects, he took out the pack of cards. Both he and Shailesh loved to play rummy and would get immersed in the game, losing track of time. That night it got really late and getting an auto rickshaw to return back to the guest house was going to be difficult. The Father-in-law suggested staying back for the night. But Shailesh insisted on returning home. So his father-in-law suggested taking the scooter that was lying idle in the garage. He said that it belonged to his son but the scooter was lying unused after he went abroad. Shailesh, shy at first, accepted the offer. Having stayed in Rajkot most of his college days he knew the roads. He warned Shailesh not to take the lane adjacent to Nataraj Nagar but the one after it. Shailesh got curious and asked the reason for this. The Father-in-law replied, “Because there is a ghost who hitches rides! God knows what he has in mind. What if something happened to you? Who will take care of Ekta if something happens!” Shailesh was not someone who could be convinced easily. He was scared too but he believed in logic and science. He couldn’t believe it. How could he? So he rubbished it and said that they might be rumours. He also urged everyone not to pay attention to such things. Deep in his mind he wasn’t convinced and intended to find out. He wished goodnight and started on his ride back home. In the rear view mirror he saw the Father-in-law waving to him and he kept thinking of what he had heard.

After crossing Kalawad road, he reached the University road. Further down the University road was Nataraj Nagar. He had two options, either to take the lane adjacent to it or take the after just as his Father-in-law had suggested. He stopped his scooter and thought about it for a while. He then decided to play hero and test the credibility of the story. What if none of it was true? What if it was just a rumour? So he took the forbidden lane. He kept riding along the dimly lit road. Ten minutes into the lane he suddenly felt like something heavy came and sat on the backseat. He was now scared. He could feel the breathing of this now unwelcomed rider on his neck. Shailesh was now scared and started perspiring profusely. He saw a shadowy figure of a middle-aged man, astounding built with a moustache that reminded him of the Rajputs.

“Hi, I Am Kalol! And you are?”
“I am Shailesh. Who are you, and what do you want from me?”
“To tell you a story.  Please don’t go. It’s important that you listen. Nobody ever listens and those who do never return to this lane. They are too scared. Look, I have limited time, and after that street light on the other side of the lane, I cannot come with you. Please slow down the scooter so that I can tell you”
“Story about what?”
“About trust, friendship, and betrayal!”

“What? Listen, I... ”

Shailesh was still speaking when suddenly he felt the jerk again. The backseat of the scooter felt light again. He felt relieved and on reaching home told the caretaker about it. The caretaker said that a few months back there was an accident on that lane and since then the stories began about the hitch-a-ride ghost. Going to his in-laws to play rummy became his favourite time pass and routine. For the next few days he had carefully avoided entering through that lane.

But then curiosity crept in and he thought to himself, what if the ghost was wanting to say something? So that night he decided to take that forbidden lane again. Ten minutes into that lane he again felt that jerk.

“So, you came back to hear my story”

“Yes”
“Not long ago this used to be my favourite lane. I used to stay in that abandoned house all by myself. At night I would go for a walk after dinner. One night I was walking on the side of the road when I heard a sound of a scooter coming with full speed. By the time I turned around to see it, it was too late. I was hit.”
“You got hit by a scooter? What, that’s it? End of story? Listen man, a lot of people have accidents, that’s no excuse for you to hang around and hitch rides!!!”
“Wait! I am not done with my story, but my time has come to depart, until next time!”
“Wait, complete the story...”

The scooter became light. He had vanished again!

He made it a point to follow up the next night. So the next day he took the same lane.
He came back!
“Aha! There you are... Of all the people I took a ride with you are the only one who came back, the others didn’t care! So where were we?”
“You got hit, died, and became a ghost!”, said Shailesh.
“Nope. People don’t become ghosts by accidents! They become ghosts on murder!”
“Murder?”
“Yes, I was murdered. I was still alive. I had become unconscious momentarily due to shock but could have survived had I been rushed to a hospital. The concussions had caused blockages in the arteries in my brain. Had I reached the hospital on time I could have been alive. But the person riding that scooter decided to dig a hole behind those bushes and bury my body instead.”

“Oh God! Do you know anything about this man? How can I be of help?”
“You would help me?”
“Of course I would. I will get you justice”
Shailesh felt sorry for Kalol and his anger was building up for the murderer.
 Kalol pointed to the exact bush behind which his body was buried. Soon after that kalol left.

Next day, Shailesh went to the police station and told his version. As was expected, nobody believed a word he said. Everyone laughed except one, Sub inspector Ranjith Rathore.
He was different and showed interest. He asked Shailesh to show him the exact location of the incident.
Ranjith hadn’t come alone. There were some constables whiling away time at a distance. He ordered some of them to dig at that exact spot. Soon the rotten corpse of Kalol came out! Ranjith looked at Shailesh and said, “Well, you were not lying”.

Shailesh: “What are you going to do now?”

Ranjith: “You see that traffic cam there?”

Shailesh: “Yes, I can.”
Ranjith: “I will ask the cyber cell of Rajkot police to see the traffic cam footages and in the meantime the forensic laboratory in Rajkot will determine the exact cause of death. Hopefully, the culprit will be caught”
After a week, Ranjith called up Shailesh.
“We have a possible suspect who may have entered the lane at that time of the night and might have hit Kalol, his name is Ravi Kanabar. We want you to come along.” Shailesh readily agreed.

After some heavy rounds of questioning, Ravi accepted killing Kalol in cold blood. Ravi was sent to jail and was sentenced to life imprisonment. Later that day Ranjith breaks the news to Kalols family members. He assures that the forensic department would soon release the body for last rites. Ranjith later introduces the family members of Kalol to Shailesh. The family members thank Shailesh for justice could not have prevailed if he hadn’t been brave enough to listen to the ghost.

Shailesh felt happy to think that finally he was able to give justice to a good man and that the story of the hitch-a-ride ghost had finally come to an end.