“Are you sure that he loves you and was not just having a good time with you?” Rajiv asked softly.
Her eyes flashed fire, “Now you sound just like my parents. But let me tell you ours is true love. And my parents just don't understand that!"
“That is tough. Is there anything I can do to help?” Rajiv offered, wondering why a stranger was sharing her personal life with him.
“No, it is too late. I have decided that if I cannot live with him then I'll not live at all,” Poonam turned and ran outside.
Rajiv was flummoxed for a second and then started running after her. “Poonam, stop. Listen to me. I'll help you. I'll talk to your parents. Stop, please stop!” he shouted.
From a distance, he saw Poonam reach the well. She whirled around to face him and said, “Too late, I told you it is too late!” And then she jumped in.
Rajiv ran towards the well, leaned against its crumbling walls and shone his torch inside. He expected to see the girl thrashing around in the well but there was nothing. He directed the beam at the black moss infected water and moved it around. Nothing. The reflected beam of the torch shone back at him as if mocking his thought process.
“Poonam,” he shouted and his voice echoed back from the well.
Somebody touched him on the back, making him leap out of his skin. He whirred around to see the pharmacist and Ramu standing there. The pharmacist was reeking of cheap alcohol and Ramu blinked in the light of his torch.
“Sir, what are you doing here? This is not a good place to be at night. Please come back to the duty room,” Ramu said.
“A girl just jumped into this well. Get some ropes. We have to help her,” Rajiv shouted.
“There is no girl. Come back, please!” And the duo literally hauled him back to the duty room.
Next morning, he heard the story from the nurse. “Poonam was the schoolmaster's daughter, beautiful and sharp. She committed suicide by jumping into the PHC well last year. Her body was fished out the next day. The shocking thing was that no birds ever visit the campus after that incident, nor do any flowers bloom on trees here. This is not a good place to stay after dark. That is why I told you not to stay here but you would not listen.”
Rajiv was stunned when he heard the story. He had not come across such an extraordinary tale all his life. It is a bit difficult to believe in ghosts when you have spent the better part of your life among the dead and the dying. The first part of medical training is spent in the dissection hall where the students dissect dead bodies to learn about anatomy. The middle half is spent in pathology where one encounters all kind of diseased parts and portions of human remains preserved in formaldehyde. The last part is spent in hospital wards where death is a frequent visitor and by the time one becomes a doctor, he or she loses all fear of encountering death and disease.
“Now if humans become ghosts after dying, I would have encountered many of them in and around my medical College,” he reasoned. “There has to be a rational explanation for yesterday's events. Either I went to sleep in the lawn and had a vivid dream or I must have imagined the entire episode. The environment and the solitude got to me. There are no ghosts.” The PHC appeared to be perfectly normal in broad daylight and events of the previous night appeared to be far away.
“I am not going to listen to any rubbish,” Rajiv announced to his staff. “I am going to stay here and work. I will talk to the CMO and get the quarters repaired. From today we start regular OPD and from next month onwards, I'll start the indoor. Now I want all staff members to work diligently. No excuses will be entertained.”
Rajiv immersed himself in work and the day flew away. The PHC became deserted as night descended. Rajiv felt a bit uneasy but admonished himself on his weakness. He again pulled out his chair and placed it in the lawn after dinner. He put on some ghazals and waited for something to happen. The CD ran out but nothing happened. No one came. He looked around but saw no one. He even walked to the well a few times and shone his torch inside. At last he got tired of his vigil and went to the duty room to sleep.
A week passed and after waiting fruitlessly for Poonam to appear, Rajiv convinced himself that he had imagined the entire episode. He stopped waiting in the lawn. He got the quarter repaired and settled down. The attendance of patients in the PHC increased as word got around about the new doctor. The staff grudgingly accepted his authority and their performance improved. But they refused to stay in the PHC at night. Rajiv was not entirely happy but thought that he would be able to bring them around eventually.
A month passed and by then Rajiv had pushed Poonam to the back of his mind. He had to go to Muzaffarnagar the next day for the monthly meeting with the CMO and was busy collating his data. He was happy to note that the PHC had started achieving the vaccination and other targets since his joining. He was hoping to convince the CMO to post additional staff in his PHC so that the