(This post is part of the weekly Blogchatter Blog Hop. The prompt: A taxi driver picks up a ghostly passenger in a storm who leads them towards an unfinished business. This is a work of fiction.)
The impact was terrible. Streetlights were twisted into grotesque shapes, trees uprooted, low-lying areas flooded, and houses inundated.
The downpour and flooding had already claimed a few lives so far. This was not the sort of rain the city was used to at this time of year — a clear-cut and catastrophic reminder of the wrath of climate change.
MYSTERIOUS APPARITION
Caught in all this, quite unexpectedly, was Chris, a middle-aged taxi driver. Driving at night was not unusual for him, but the severity of the storm and the flooded roads certainly were. The sheets of rain splashing on the windscreen made driving a huge challenge, so much so that Chris was contemplating pulling over to a dry stretch until the storm passed and the rain abated. Just then, he saw someone apparently hailing him.
He couldn’t ignore what seemed like a mysterious apparition. In the low-beam of the car, the figure looked truly ghostly. Chris wasn’t someone who believed in ghosts. Pragmatic and realistic as he was, he thought this must be someone in utter distress needing help.
His professional instincts and genuine human kindness made him pull over. However, his heart was thumping, as he remembered someone once telling him, “Don’t be scared of ghosts; it’s people you need to be scared of.”
Chris cautiously rolled down the passenger window. The man stated his destination and asked if he could take him. Chris noticed that the man’s raincoat was not just soggy but had mud all over. He had a terrifying look about him, with a seemingly fresh scar on his face. Though Chris was scared, he gestured to the man to enter.
The stranger removed his raincoat and dumped it on the floor of the car before settling onto the passenger seat. Just then, Chris saw something more terrifying: there were what looked like blood stains on his trousers and shirt. Wondering what lay ahead, he began driving towards the destination.
RACING AGAINST TIME
“Thank you,” the stranger whispered gratefully. He introduced himself as Stephen, or ‘Steph,’ and Chris returned the introduction.
While still focussed on the road ahead, Chris, through the corner of his eye, saw something ominously metallic on the stranger, resembling a small knife. He hesitantly turned his head to get a better look, but it seemed to have slipped under his shirt.
“We should get to safety as soon as possible,” Chris muttered. But Steph corrected him. “Safe or not, we need to get to Ann’s house. I must meet her within the next hour,” Steph said, checking his watch with desperate urgency. “I must deliver a signed document for a crucial business deal. The deadline expires at midnight.”
Chris didn't press for details. The unsettling combination of the man’s panic, his appearance, and the presumed weapon kept him silent. His sole aim was simply to drop the unsettling passenger and get home.
THE DESTINATION, FINALLY
As they drove, the storm seemed to be behind them and the rain had eased. In about thirty minutes, they reached the destination: a modest but well-kept suburban house.
They rang the bell. The woman inside, Ann, peered through the window but clearly did not recognise the desperate figure of Steph. In fact, she was frightened, and, not surprisingly, she didn’t open the door.
Steph thought of calling Ann on his mobile, but the networks were down thanks to the storm. Maybe he could have just shouted out who he was, and that would have convinced Ann. But that thought simply didn’t occur to Steph, who was overcome with the frustration of the possibility of not being able to deliver the document in time, resulting in all his efforts being wasted.
FLICKER OF HOPE
Just then, Ann caught a glimpse of Chris standing slightly away from Steph. His face seemed familiar to her. But she couldn’t recollect when or where she had seen him. That prompted her to open the window slightly so she could speak to the two men.
“Who are you?” she asked. Steph identified himself. Ann understood who he was but remained deeply wary of his terrifying appearance.
After he provided necessary details about the business deal and the vital document, her fear was finally replaced by professional urgency. She opened the door, and the two men got inside.
But before getting into any business conversation, Ann, who noticed the red stains and the scar on his face, asked him, “What happened? Why on earth do you look like that?”
“I will explain it all later, Ann,” Steph replied, already ushering her towards a table to finalise the crucial business papers. They both settled down and began discussing the nitty-gritty of the deal.
It was not just Ann who thought Chris looked familiar. He, too, felt that he had seen Ann somewhere, but couldn’t place her.
UNFORESEEN OFFER
Once the business deal was done, Ann turned to Chris. “I am Chris Smith,” he said. As he introduced himself to her, the veil of mystery lifted slowly.
“Now, I remember,” said Ann. “A year ago, I was looking for a driver, and you had applied. But you were just a few hours too late, and I had already recruited someone else.”
“Exactly,” Chris nodded in agreement. He looked at his watch. “It’s already too late; I need to get home before the next round of rain starts pouring.”
But Ann gestured to him to remain seated. With a sombre expression on her face, she said, “That man, whom I had hired, was tragically among those who lost their lives in the heavy flooding here over the past couple of days.”
She looked at Chris straight in his eyes. “I am now looking for a replacement, Mr. Smith. It’s a respectable, well-paid position. Are you interested?”
Chris was taken totally unawares. It took a while for the whole thing to sink in. He knew it was a very prized opportunity, much better than running the taxi all across the town ferrying people — sometimes ghostly men like Steph!
After a brief contemplation, Chris muttered a yes, totally convinced by the potential of a stable and better future. It would have been downright discourteous if he left immediately. A grateful Chris decided to stay for a while longer. Over cups of warm tea, the three chatted away.
With two business deals sealed, the topic was obviously the weather, the destruction, and the grim future of those severely affected.
NEEDLESS SCARE
Now relaxed and relieved, Chris finally mustered the courage to address his fears. “Steph,” Chris asked, trying to sound casual, “You have a knife on you?”
Steph looked genuinely surprised. “A knife? I haven’t the foggiest idea what you’re talking about.”
Chris described the object he thought he saw. Steph said gently, smiling, “Yes, it was just that, a thought!”
Now, Chris pointed to the dried red marks on the clothes. “And these… are those blood stains?”
Steph laughed. “Oh, no! These are paint marks! I was at a client’s flat and was trying to get it all done before the weather turned rough so that I could be here well in time with the document. And in the hurry and carelessness, I got some of that on my clothes. The damp weather just gave them an ominous look. That’s all.”
Chris felt an absurd wave of relief. The terrifying look, the muddy raincoat, the blood, the knife, the fear, the worry; all were just needless! The ghostly passenger was merely a frazzled businessman who had nearly ruined a precious and major deal.
The catastrophic storm was unbelievably troublesome but had a serendipitous twist. A lucrative business deal for Steph and a life-changing job for Chris, who dared to pick up "the phantom of the night".
