The Unwelcome Visitor

Something walked upto me. It took me a moment to realise that that something was actually a person. But you can’t blame me for taking time to figure it out. That someone was exceptionally thin and he looked so light in colour that he would’ve blended in the street easily if he had tried, though it looked like he hadn’t tried because I could see him alright. Well, I could see through him for he was almost transparent. What a queer sight!

He stopped walking when he was about 2 feet away from me. His form seemed to waver in the slight wind, and it was hard to make out anything much of his appearance. “Hello,” he said, politely.

I mean, it would’ve been rude not to reply, so I did.

“Hi,” I said, uncertainly.

“Can you tell me the name of your neighbours’ daughter?” he asked me, pointing to the house to my left.

“Yeah, Why?” I asked.

“I will be…. visiting her,” he smiled wickedly at his words as if he meant much more than that.

“Oh! Umm…,” I looked at him oddly, squinting to make out anything of his face, then sighed when I wasn’t able to come to a conclusion. “Her name is Alice,” I replied finally.

“Ok then, thanks. I’ll see you later.” And even though his eyes were barely visible, I could just make out a sparkle in them as he smiled that same lopsided grin of his, looking as though he was planning mischief. Then he turned to go. He had almost reached her house’s front door when I called, “Who are you?”

He turned around and looked at me in a way that suggested he thought I was mad.

“Don’t you know me? I am all over the news.” He smiled again, proudly this time. When I didn’t reply, he said slowly, with a hiss, “Why, I am Corona, of course.”

*Awkward silence for 60 seconds*

*60 seconds later*

“K…?” I said awkwardly. He smiled again and turned to leave but I called out hurriedly, “Wait!”

He turned to look at me again but I didn’t know what to say. I mean, you don’t often meet people like Corona and just know how to make small talk with them.

“You aren’t here to infect me, are you?” I asked after a lot of thought.

He raised his eyebrows. “You’re not complaining, are you?”

“No, of course not. Not at all. Not one bit. I was just…curious.” I gulped, suddenly regretting putting forth the question.

He sighed. “No, of course not. Not for now, at least. You’ve got your mask on. And I have already observed you. You will wash your hands and face after you go in. So it’s totally pointless to visit you for now.”

“Oh!” What he said didn’t make much sense to me. My eyes and ears weren’t covered. He could still affect me through them. But since he seemed too dumb to notice, I totally decided against mentioning it.

I saw him reaching her house’s door, he waved to me excitedly and I blinked, and then waved back, awkwardly. Then he touched her door handle lightly and said, “I’ll just stay here for a while.”

“For how long?” I asked grimly.

“As long as it takes for her to touch me,” he answered with a huge smile, that could only mean something evil. Then he vanished, mingling perfectly into the surroundings, leaving me staring blankly at the door handle.

*Weird silence for 60 seconds*

*60 seconds later*

I turned round and ran into my house, shutting the door behind me. I took my phone out, and with hurried urgency, dialled Alice’s number.

~Nehal

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