The Ghost of Diwali 👻

Diwali was right around the corner. You know what that means- buying clothes, preparing sweets and of course, Diwali cleaning. Kaira was helping her mother sort through heaps and mounds of clutter. They did not even know they had so much stuff, but most of the things were put back as it is, ‘just in case they turn out to be useful’.

That was all well and good. But the whole fiasco started when her mother sent her to the attic. You know what that means. Dust, spiders and more clutter. But did that bother Kaira? No, not at all. In the fourteen years of her life, Kaira had made more mischief than rest of the neighbourhood combined. Getting dirty, shabby and scolded was her daily routine.

So, whistling, she opened the creaky door to the dark attic. She switched on the light and saw something white and gas-like….with eyes. And a mouth, stretched in a wide smile.

Kaira rubbed her eyes. Yup, it was still there.

“Oh, come on, you could scream at least. Try looking scared, horrified, anxious- anything?”, the thing muttered, offended.

“Hey, are you a ghost? Why didn’t you make the windows shutter, or the door close without any wind or shriek? Don’t you watch horror movies?”, Karia countered.

“Don’t tell me you want me to do those cliché things,” it rolled its eyes and continued, “I’m the Ghost of Diwali Yet to Come. I’ve come to meet you, Kaira.”

“But the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come couldn’t speak!”

“A ghost has come to meet her, and that’s what she is worried about! These humans are unbelievable, really”, the Ghost of Diwali Yet to Come muttered, exasperated, “That was fiction. This is real life. There are bound to be some differences, right?”

That made sense to Kaira. She nodded and asked, “So, are you going to tell me what would happen in my future? Or warn me about something?”

“No. If I tell you you’re going to be run over by a car tomorrow, will you go out at all? No, right? And that would change the future. So, I can’t tell you anything. You create your own destiny, after all.”

“Wow, that’s one philosophical ghost”, Kaira mumbled to herself before saying out loud, “Then tell me why you are here. I’ve got better stuff to do than talk to a ghost all day.”

“Okay, okay. See, the thing is, I’m naughty and mischievous. I love to prank and scare people, and so do you, right?”

“Yeah”, she agreed.

“I can understand what you do and why you do it. But you need to be more empathetic and thoughtful. Enjoy, definitely, but not at the expense of others. Kaira, you'll suffer otherwise. Do you get what I mean?”

“Well, a ghost has come to tell me this. It must be important.”

“It is! Will you try? Promise me, you’ll not trouble people like that anymore.”

“I can’t promise. Promises are broken, efforts bear fruit. But I’ll try, okay? It’s going to be hard, but I’ll do it”, Kaira replied with a warm smile.

“That’s great! Woohoo!”, Ghost of Diwali Yet to Come exclaimed, “Okay, enjoy your festival, then. I might be the Ghost of Diwali, but I’m still not fond of bright lights. I’ll leave now. It was fun meeting you. Bye!”

“Thank you, Ghost of Diwali Yet to Come. Till we meet again, bye!”

And with that, the Ghost disappeared.

Kaira’s family was amazed at the sudden transformation they witnessed in her behaviour. Of course, she never told anyone the reason.

And even if she did, who would believe her?

You do believe her, don’t you?

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Wishing everyone a very #HappyDiwali 🪔🥳💃🏻(in advance) and a #HappyHalloween 🎃👻. May your life be full of health, hope and happiness, always! And may everyone keep learning and growing, preferably without visits from the Ghosts of Diwali 😉, because that is what festivals are truly about!

I hope you enjoyed reading this post. Do like, share and subscribe to never miss another update 🤗.

Love Goohika ✨

P.S. If you feel like reading (or rereading) the Christmas Carol, click here. Thank me later!