It was a moonless night, and the rain came down in sheets.
Jay’s BMW tore through Bombay Road as if skimming the surface of water, the headlights slicing blindly into the dark. Even with the wipers thrashing at full speed, the windshield refused to stay clear. Dense forest pressed in on both sides of the highway, and every flash of lightning made the trees look like the gaping jaws of some prehistoric beast, frozen mid-roar.
Then suddenly—
Something white.
Jay’s chest lurched.
Right in the middle of the road stood a figure in a white sari.
He slammed the brakes with all his strength. The tires screamed against the wet asphalt, skidding forward in protest. When the car finally stopped, the hood was inches from the figure’s body.
Jay rolled down the window, trying to shout—but no sound came out.
The woman had already stepped closer.
Rain drenched her completely. Her clothes clung to her thin frame, her hair plastered against her pale cheeks. And yet, despite narrowly escaping death, there was no fear on her face. Only exhaustion. And desperation.
In a trembling voice she said,
“Please… can you help me? I went to the blood bank, but there’s no transport back. My husband is in the hospital. He’s critical. If this blood doesn’t reach him tonight… he won’t survive.”
She held up an insulated blood bag.
Jay’s irritation dissolved instantly. He unlocked the back door.
“Get in. I’ll take you.”
She slid into the rear seat.
“City Hospital. Near the bypass.”
The car surged forward again.
The AC was on. The night air was cold. Still, beads of sweat formed on Jay’s forehead. He glanced at the rear-view mirror. The woman stared silently out the window.
Trying to break the tension, Jay asked,
“You’re out alone at this hour? No one else at home?”
Without turning her head, she replied,
“No. I have no one. After my father died, my brothers took all the property. I married into a wealthy family, but happiness never followed me. My husband’s kidneys failed. Alcohol ruined him. Tonight… he’s at the end.”
Something about the story felt familiar.
“Fate,” Jay murmured. “Everything is fate. I once had nothing too. This car, this money—none of it came from happiness. It came from humiliation.”
She turned toward him.
“Humiliation?”
Jay tightened his grip on the steering wheel. The old wound still burned.
“In college, I loved a girl named Rhea. Her father summoned me one day and insulted me like dirt. Said he wouldn’t marry his daughter to a farmer’s son. That day I swore I’d become richer than him. I did. But—”
“But you didn’t get Rhea,” the woman said softly.
Her voice had changed. Deeper. Almost heavy.
Jay exhaled.
“No. I heard she married a billionaire’s son. Must be happy. Money buys everything, doesn’t it?”
The air inside the car suddenly felt dense.
“You’re wrong, Mr. Sen,” the woman said quietly.
Jay jerked. His foot hovered over the brake.
“How do you know my name? I never told you.”
She smiled—a smile soaked in sorrow.
“I knew Rhea. Her home was in Chandrakona. Mr. Sinha’s daughter.”
Jay’s blood ran cold.
“Yes—but who are you?”
She continued, as if he hadn’t spoken.
“Rhea never married. She refused the match her father chose. On the wedding night, she ran away. She was coming to you. She knew you lived in a city hostel then. But—”
“But what?” Jay whispered.
“She never reached you. A night like this. Storm, rain, highway. A speeding truck crushed her and drove on. She lay on the road for two hours. No one stopped. Everyone thought it was trouble. She bled to death.”
Jay slammed the brakes.
The car swerved to the shoulder and stopped.
“Who are you?” he gasped, spinning around.
The back seat was empty.
Dry. Spotless.
No wet marks. No creases on the seat cover. As if no one had ever sat there at all.
His limbs went numb. His mouth turned to dust. A cold current crawled down his spine.
Then—from within the sealed air of the car—came a voice.
A voice he had last heard many years ago.
“I know all this because I am Rhea. Since the night I died, I have waited on this road for you. Every night. I believed one day you would pass this way. I needed to tell you everything… to be free. It took you so long, Jay. I waited for so long.”
The voice dissolved into the hiss of the wind.
Silence swallowed everything.
“Rhea!” Jay cried, clawing at the empty air. “Rhea, where are you?”
Only his own voice echoed inside the hollow car.
No one was there.
Outside, the storm had stopped. The highway lay still and dark. In the distance, the lights of City Hospital flickered faintly—steady, indifferent.
Waiting.
