The Corridor on the 6th Floor

by Vishal Thapar

“Nooooooooooooooo...”

A shrill scream
heard every other day
comes from the corridor on the 6th floor.

All still rememeber the day it was first heard.
It was St. Valentine’s day,
love was in the air,
couples could be seen all around
walking hand in hand,
exchanging sweet nothings.

They were both standing near the railing,
they were so much in love,
the best couple of the school.
She loved him so much,
but I loved her,
didn’t know if she knew how much.

Students were strolling by.
They were smiling,
and waiting for the corridor to be empty.
As the last group turned the corner,
a girl looked back.
She saw him leaning over her,
about to kiss her.
The girl giggled and turned to tell others,
but before she could,

“Nooooooooooooooo...”

a blood-chilling scream was heard,
and since that day,
the corridor on the 6th floor is said to be haunted.

Even when the sun is shining,
you can feel a chill.
Students go all around the building
just to get to the library,
just to avoid walking the corridor.
And the point where railing gave away,
has never been fixed,
still hangs from the edge.
No one dare go there.

That day changed my life,
her life, our lives.

She has been stunned into silence since then.
I haven’t seen her smile again.
Her eyes look glazed,
devoid of light,
life, joy, sadness, tears,
nothing in them,
just beads of glass.
She notices no one,
and no one notices her.
She sits in the corner during class,
the teacher no longer asks her anything,
the students no longer give her the time of day,
no one offers her a seat to sit in,
no one notices her.
No one but me.

I always open doors for her,
move aside for her to sit,
ask her to have lunch with me.
And all that others do
is look at us
and laugh and giggle,
talk in hushed tones.
But it doesn’t matter to me,
the only thing that matters is
her.

I want to tell her
that I love her
and will love her forever,
that I can give her
all that was taken from her,
that I see her,
feel her, notice her,
love her.
But she doesn’t.

Today is Halloween.
The whole school is decorated
except for the corridor on 6th floor.
As I see her going towards the corridor,
it isn’t for first time
I follow her,
not for first time,
as she walks dreamily along the corridor,
and stops at the point where the railing gave way.

I see her standing there,
white as light,
hair flowing in the wind.
My heart drops to my stomach,
I get strange sensation.
I run up to her.
She is still there.
I try to pull her back,
but as my hand reaches for her shoulder,
it just goes through,
like groping a shadow.
A sudden chill fills the air,
fear grips my heart,
mist and fog surround the corridor,
as she turns,
and our eyes meet...

“Nooooooooooooooo...”

hands to her ears
she screams,
and I
feel blown away by her scream.
I find myself merging into fog
and drifting away from her
not for the first time.
She is screaming,
and her scream is blowing me away
like a cloud blown by the wind,
as I once again find myself
drifting away from her,
as I did
on that Valentine’s Day,
as she is once again left standing down there,
screaming,
in the corridor on the 6th floor.