Gaslight

It was a cold Monday evening; the wind was howling, and there was an eerie silence outside when Rahul woke up from his nap, tired as ever. There was an ache in his neck and back. He got out of bed and went to the bathroom to freshen up when he saw his reflection in the mirror. There was a black mole on his neck. Not thinking much of it, he dried himself and went to the kitchen to prepare dinner for the night until—

 

Ding Dong!

The doorbell rang. Rahul opened the door, and in front of him was the Swiggy delivery guy holding out a food package.

“Oh! I didn’t order any food,” Rahul exclaimed.

“But sir, the order was in your name and already paid for.” “Paid for?” Rahul responded.

“Ah! Okay, I’ll take it then,” said Rahul as he took the food package. With a grin, he thanked the delivery guy and closed the door.

Rahul took the pot of water off the stove, got a plate, and began serving himself food. He ate it… well, most of it, leaving some leftovers for “breakfast.”

Now, with his stomach full, he pushed the plate aside and began scrolling on his phone until, a few moments later, he felt a weird sensation in his stomach and throat. He immediately ran to the bathroom, only to puke everything up. Afterward, he washed up and rinsed his mouth, when he felt it again—but this time, it was a tingling sensation around his throat. It felt as though something was trying to crawl out.

Unable to control the sensation, he picked up a blade from his razor and cut open the mole he had seen earlier open—and his stomach dropped.

Maggots.

Maggots were crawling out of the mole.

Terrified, Rahul ran to the kitchen to call someone—anyone—an ambulance, even. He reached the kitchen, his vision blurred, unable to breathe. He fainted.

“Sir! Sir, he’s conscious!”

The concerned man yelled to the others.

“Who… who are you? What are you doing here? What happened to me?” Rahul asked, scared.

“Calm down, sir, everything is fine. You’re fine,” responded the man. “I’m from the fire department, and your neighbor called us concerned. She said she smelled a gas leak,” he continued. “And upon arrival, we found you on the floor, knocked out unconscious, and your stove was not turned off.” 

“Oh!” Rahul exclaimed. “So I was hallucinating?” he said to himself. “Sir, are you okay?” asked the fireman.

“Huh… yeah, thank you very much,” Rahul said as he saw the fireman go out the door. He then looked at the plate of food, chuckled, turned off the lights, and went to bed. And while he slept, he still felt a slight itch by his mole… but then he fell asleep.

 Author - Pynshailang Lyngkhoi

1st year student of B.A. Journalism and Mass Communication