The 20 West Street

(Image credits to the rightful owner)

“It was 7.00 in the evening. I was driving back home from work. But today something seemed odd. The twighlight seemed more bewitching than usual. I didn’t want to go home. I just wanted to enjoy the serene environment instead. I wanted to explore the area as I had recently shifted here. My eyes were drawn towards the 20 West Street. I had never been there before. I decided that to be the starting point of my expedition.

As soon as I took the turn leading to the street, it was as if I was present in the Renaissance. The street was full of magnificent buildings and beautiful lamp posts. There was something very intriguing about this place. It wasn’t like the rest of the locality.

I realised that it was getting cloudy and, as expected, it started raining. The windshield and the windows of my car started to fog up. With that hazy view, I could see a man standing on the other side of the road. He was standing under an umbrella, so I could not see his face clearly. I thought about offering him a ride as it was raining heavily. I pulled down the window and called out to him.

“Excuse me sir, can I offer you a ride home. It is raining quite heavily.”

But he did not reply. I called out once again.

“Sir, sir. Excuse me sir.”

Still, no reply. I decided to approach him as I thought he could not hear me. So I grabbed my umbrella and walked towards him. I patted on his shoulder to gain his attention. He turned around and just said two words which scared the daylights out of me.

“Hello Anna.”

I was rattled. I replied in a shivering voice.

“D.. D.. Derek? But how? ”

A white light flashed upon me and then everything went dark. I woke up in my car which was standing on the turning of 20 West Street.

Without any questions, I headed home.

The next day, I went to my neighbour, Mrs Smith’s house for some tea. She was a sixty year old lady who had lived there her entire life. During our conversation, I brought up the street and asked her if she had been there before. Her reply was enough to snatch away my sleep for many days.

“Anna, there is no 20 West Street in this locality.”

I was really bothered by this. But I still wasn’t convinced that there was no such street as I had seen that turning. I went back to that very place where I had woken up, but there was no street ahead of the turning. It was a dead end. That road sign indicating the street was also missing.

“Was it all just a dream? It seemed so real.”

Then I remembered that it had rained yesterday. I asked my friends if it had rained and they all were towards affirmative. I was so confused.

I came back home and put on some peaceful music cassettes. I was just getting into the relaxed zone when suddenly a video started playing on the television.

“Derek, hold on. Don’t walk so fast. It is hard for me to record.”

“You gotta walk fast, Anna. C’mon. Here we are. The Renaissance. It is the best part of the museum. Aren’t these paintings and sculptures exceptional. You know back in the Middle Ages…”

“We get it. You love the Renaissance. Now can we just get some coffee like normal people.”

“Okay fine. Let’s go to that Café on the 20 West Street. I have something special planned for you.”

And the screen went dark. I was stunned. I had deleted all those tapes a month ago. Then how were those playing on the screen. I was really disturbed by all this. So I decided to call Sean. He was my only good friend. He knew all of my dark secrets including Derek’s murder. It was actually due to the same incident that I had shifted to this locality. And so did Sean, to support me.”

“So another murder, huh. Then what happened?”

“I tried calling him multiple times. But he answered none of my calls. So I decided to visit his home. In the parking lot, I tried calling him once again. That is when I heard a sound from my car’s trunk. When I opened it, there was Sean, lying cold dead.”

“Is that it, Ms Anna?”

“Yes Officer. The next thing I know, I was here. I have lied about something. I didn’t go to the 20 West Street just to explore. I had gone there because I had gotten an anonymous call asking me to come there. The person’s voice was a little familiar. Assuming it to be Sean’s, I went there. I don’t remember the exact details from that day, but I know one thing for sure, it had all started from the 20 West Street.”

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Hey guys! I apologize for not posting for a long time. I have been facing some technical issues. I tried writing another short story. Enjoy!