The Wiped Existence

Not a single soul! The roads were empty. The houses were closed. Not a single kid was playing in the garden. Not a single car was panning the road. It looked like a ghost town.

I looked at the huge mall building, covered with glasses holding the huge hoardings that flashed sales. Just a week back, I was inside it enjoying coffee, on a table near the glass pane. I was looking at the busy street, wondering when the crowd would stop growing in the city. The city had already exhausted its capacity to hold more but people seem to not care. Every year, around ten thousand new people would enter these streets only to never go back. Bad traffic congestions, pollution, long queues of people waiting for buses and local trains were common.

I could never have imagined this day when the roads of the country's busiest city would become empty.

People had not left the city. Why would they? They loved it. It was the most lively city in the country but they were not seen because they were hiding.

Three days back, a new soul had entered the street. It was nothing uncommon. M-City welcomed all new people and loved serving them. But this time, we were inviting a wrong guy. This one guy was to change the fate of the entire city and of every human living there.

He walked across the lane freely, happily, and confidently as soon as he entered the city. I had seen him walking into the same street that looked empty today. He walked like a king who believed that the city belonged to him even when he was only a day old here.

I felt a strange pull towards him. While sitting on my balcony, I watched him walking along the footpath, from the 2^nd floor. He sat on a bench and took out a device from his pocket. It looked like a mobile phone except that it was bigger. He ran his fingers on the screen and after he did, he looked up.

An old man with thick spectacles was walking on the path, looking towards the road, watching every vehicle pass carefully as if waiting for them to slow down so he could cross.

“Excuse me!” said the stranger and the old man turned to him.

He smiled and the old man smiled back. He got up and pushed his hand towards the old man as a gesture of greeting and he said something which I could not hear for it was not loud enough. Normally, such a pleasing gesture would get a happy response with a handshake but this one did not. The old man did shake his hand but his face did not have any smile. In fact, he suddenly looked scared. In fact, terrified. The moment the handshake was over, the existence of the man was too. The old man had vanished in the next second.

“What the hell!” I jumped on my chair and the book that I was holding in my hand fell down. I got up to look down. Was it my illusion? I wondered. This was impossible. How could a person just disappear by shaking hands with a man? I tried to take a peek at the face of the strange man but he was wearing a huge hat that was hiding his face.

He confidently walked again on the street as if nothing had happened. I looked around. There were so many people but no one looked bothered as if no one had seen what had happened. How come I saw this happening from my balcony but not the people who walked on the street? Was this guy a magician? Was this my illusion? I was reading a ghost novel, perhaps it was getting over me. For a while, I kept thinking but since I had no logical reason to believe what I had seen, I accepted it as an illusion and resumed my work. I should not have done that. If only I had taken some action, perhaps had warned others, this day could have been avoided.

I picked the fallen book and put it aside thinking that it was making me crazy and went to the kitchen. I flipped open the refrigerator door and took out a bowl of freshly cut pineapple. My maid used to come at 10 am every day, would slice the fruits, and keep them in the fridge for me. So, when I would be done with my exercise, morning ablutions, and reading, I could enjoy them fresh.

I turned to my living room and switched on my TV. It was regular news, nothing special. I flipped through a few channels till I settled on History. Some old stories from Greek mythology were narrated by the host who was taking us on a virtual tour of old monuments and was discussing folklores. I liked folklores, found them amusing. So, I was lost in the stories and at the same time, was busy with my breakfast snacking.

“Madam, did something happen? Did the government announce a curfew today?” came a voice from behind. It was my maid, Nadiya.

“What? No, why are you saying that?” I turned to her.

“Mam, no one is on the street. It is all empty”.

“What?!!” I was shocked. I quickly got up and reached out to the balcony. She was right. There was no one on the street.

“How is that possible? This can’t be true”, I recalled the man who had dissolved an old man a few minutes back. Did he do that to others also? Did he make everyone disappear?

“Nadiya! Don’t go down. I know it would not be easy for you to believe me but something is wrong. Very wrong! I just saw a man vanish on the road and there was a man in the hat who wiped him off. I do not know how this works. It actually sounds unbelievable but this is true. Don’t go out till we know what is happening.”

She looked confused and was unable to comprehend my words.

“ah! Can you get me some water?” I said suddenly as I understood that she needed time to absorb it and more than her, I needed time too.

“I must be dreaming!” I told myself. What just happened was humanly impossible. Nadiya came to me with a glass of water in her hand and I took it from her. In one gulp, I drank it all as if in a hurry. I wiped off the shreds of fear from my face.

“What happened madam? You look worried?” She said in her typical concerning voice.

“Why would I not be? Look outside, so many people have just disappeared. This street used to be so busy and all of a sudden, there is no one here. And we have no idea what is happening.” I said.

“What are you talking about madam? This street is never busy. It is always like this at this time,” She said in a very calm voice.

“What?” I looked at her, “What are you saying? Can’t you see that people have just disappeared?"

“Disappeared? Madam, are you feeling well?” Her tone had a hint of concern for me, not for what was happening around us.

I held her hand and pulled her to the balcony.

“Look. Not a single person on the street. Don’t you think this is strange?”

“What is strange madam. It is 12 O Clock now, by this time, everyone is home.”

“No, not in our busy city, not ever”

“What are you talking about madam, our city is always like that. It is never busy” She spoke as if the empty streets were normal and it was me who was overthinking. Was I? For a second, I started doubting myself.

“I think you should take some rest madam,” Said Nadiya and I agreed. I walked into my bedroom and lied down on the bed. I closed my eyes, tried to sleep but only kept tossing and turning as I was unable to take the man out of my mind. Nadiya switched on the AC and said, “Madam, I will be leaving in a few minutes. You take rest.”

“Hmm” I nodded, with my eyes still closed, and slowly, drifted to sleep. It was a long but peace less sleep for even in my dream, I was watching people disappear. A man wearing a huge hat would come riding on a horse, holding a gun. He would fire the gun at the people everywhere. People would run for their lives but no one was saved. Those who got hit by his bullet did not ooze out blood but green smoke and vanished in the thin air. I was scared and was running for my life, hiding behind the benches, sometimes behind trees, behind doors, and windows. I kept running all over the city. It did not look like a dream but a reality. I was not taken but I was unable to even escape or save anyone who was victimized. At last, I reached an old building that was already abandoned. And by that time, everyone on the street had disappeared. The man was now coming for me.

“Noooooooooooooooo!” I screamed and woke up, shivering.

I looked around. There was no one. I was alone, not in the abandoned building but in my own safe room. I wiped the drops of fear from my face again. And got up from the bed. I picked up a water bottle that was kept on the table at the bedside. And drank it thirstily.

That was the last day when I breathed peacefully. I was not aware that the dream was actually going to come true. On that day, as I walked out of my house, I saw only empty streets. Everyone had disappeared. I rushed to the parking lot and signaled my car to open. I jumped inside and drove straight towards the entry gate. The entry gate used to have two watchmen but that day, it was vacant. I drove the car, hoping to see someone on the road and to assure myself that things were not so bad as I was imagining, I took a long drive towards the highway. To my dismay, it was not just my street but all the roads in the city that were empty.

NI News building also looked free from people. Had he taken everyone? Even from the building, I wondered. I wanted to check so I dropped my car on the street, without worrying about parking, and rushed inside the building. The building looked normal and people were working as usual. Nothing was surprising inside as no one was even aware of what was happening outside. I sensed that the magic man could not enter the buildings. He was taking only those people who were on the streets.

“yes, madam,” asked the receptionist sitting at the counter, “How can I help you?”.

“I…I…I have news that must be announced,” I said and without worrying about any protocols or permissions, I ran inside.

I had come to the building earlier for an interview for I wanted to become a writer in the agency but was unable to crack the interview for they needed a person with a journalistic background which I did not have.

“Mam, wait, stop, You can’t…” her voice faded behind as I kept running. I banged into a few people who tried stopping me but I would not listen.

“Security, call security” I heard someone say but I ignored any plea and ran straight to the manager's cabin. Reynold, a senior manager at the newsroom had interviewed me earlier and he knew me. He was not the one to reject me and in fact, had appreciated my passion but since decisions are not taken at the managerial level but at the top management level, I never got the chance to make an entry except for today.

“Reynold, we need to talk. It’s the matter of life and death”, I said, panting my breath as I opened his cabin door. He was on phone and looked shocked to see me.

“Mam, you can’t go like this” came a female voice from behind. She pulled me.

“No, no, I can’t go. I have to talk to him” I said and rushed inside, “Please Reynold, I really need to talk”

“Mam, I will have to ask the security…” said the girl but was interrupted by Reynold who signaled her to stop and let me talk.

“What happened Trisha? Why are you so troubled?” he asked in his bold and caring voice. I had liked his voice the day we met and on this dreaded day, it sounded more calming. In the middle of the crazy day with a crazy man making people disappear, I was able to hear one friendly voice who was willing to listen to me.

“You have to make an urgent announcement. No one can go out of the building”

“What? Why? What happened?” He asked.

“If I tell you what happened, you would not believe. “ I said.

“relax! Just sit here”, He came to me and made me settle down on a couch, “And tell me everything”

“You won’t believe it. It is crazy”

“However crazy it is, you can tell me”, He said gracefully.

“There is a man outside who is making people disappear, anyone and everyone walking on the street is gone. Just look outside”

He pulled up the curtain on my insistence and saw that the roads were empty

“Ok, but what is so unusual? The streets are always empty at this time.”

“Not in our city,” She said. Just yesterday, You had covered this same street for a rally that was happening at this time, there were cars all over and today, all of a sudden, everything is empty.”

“You are making no sense. What are you trying to say? There was no rally yesterday” He said.

“Yes, there was and your reporter, Deepak Talreja, had covered it”, I explained.

“There is no Deepak in our office”, He said.

I realized that it was not as straightforward as people disappearing, the man was not just making people vanish from the roads but even from the memories of people. It sounded as if their existence was wiped out from the face of this earth. No one remembered them. But, how was I able to remember? And how would I ever make this guy believe me? I sounded like a total moron who was talking crazy telling everyone that people were disappearing. No one would believe me.

“Listen, I think you are not well. Just go home and take a rest. We can talk about his tomorrow”

“Tomorrow? By Tomorrow, you won’t be here. You will disappear as soon as you go out of this office” I said with a short breath.

“Bye guys” I heard a voice from behind. A lady was talking to her colleagues and was ready to leave with her bags packed and hanging on her shoulder.

“You do not believe me? Come with me” I said. I went to the window and pulled him towards me,, “Look outside” I said. As the girl walked outside the door, we watched her go. She waited near the gate. And a car came. The driver walked out from it and came to her side, opening the back door for her.

“What are you trying to do?” Said Reynold, still confused.

“Shhh! Just watch” I said. She was not yet seated when a man with a hat came to her. He said something to her and shook hands. In the next second, she disappeared. The driver left with his empty car and parked it nearby. He got out of it and the man followed him. They shook hands and the driver vanished.

“What the hell!” exclaimed Reynold, “How is that even possible?”

“See, I told you, do you believe me now?”

“What just happened?”

“I don’t know but I know that in a few minutes, you will forget that she ever existed so before this happens, you have to make this announcement. Please do it now. It’s the matter of life and death.”

“OK” He agreed and ran to the TV room.

“I have to make an urgent announcement,” he said and asked the crew to get the room ready for him. He then rushed. A girl went to him, with a coat “No need, Don’t have time” He refused to wear it and immediately went live. “There is an urgent announcement. It is the matter of life and death. There is an evil man on the street who is making everyone in sight disappear. He would not just make you vanish from the street but would wipe out your complete existence from this earth so no one would remember you. Please do not go out of your houses and buildings until we find out what is happening” He said and then took a deep breath. He looked around. The people had puzzled faces.

“Why would you say that?”, said a girl

“What did I say?” He looked at me and I smiled, feeling relieved.

“Why did I say that?” he wondered. He had forgotten about the girl and the vanishing man by then but the announcement did go to everyone. It was the most popular news channel and everyone would watch it. Despite my efforts, most people would not believe the story but some did and hid inside their homes.