Of Cigarettes, Ghosts, Whisperings and the Jinn

The old rusty chair stands solitary on the wide grassy lawn in front of our farmhouse. The melancholic wail of the night bird echoing in the distance like a haunting lullaby shatters the silence of this secluded tranquil setting. A cool gentle breeze caresses my weary face. I light a stick of L&M Blue, deeply inhaling the surging smoke inside me and puffing a lungful of contentment. The full moon is finally rising. The empty chair offers a perfect welcome to rest my tired and hurting limbs.

I flick the ash off the tip of my cigarette. I take a deep puff and gently blow out a smoke. The past days have been very exhausting. There is no way to avoid pain when you lose someone you dearly love. All of a sudden, life takes a different turn. It changes your world. It is already the third night since my mother was laid to rest. My aunt used to tell me stories of departed souls coming back at this time to bid farewell to loved ones. A whiff of a perfume, a flitting shadow or a sigh, usually imply their presence. I wait desperately for the signs as I gaze at the moon coming out behind the old trees casting eerie silhouettes of knurled limbs and outstretched arms. I take another puff haphazardly and flick the stub away. I lean on the chair and close my eyes. It seems like eternity…

As the swirling noxious smoke drifts away into thin air, I hear a faint whisper. So faint, like a light breath passing through my ear. I look around. The stillness of the night overpowers me. My heart starts to quiver. A few feet away from me stood a motionless gauzy outline of a tall slender figure in long black clothing. I squint my eyes to grasp a clear view of the mysterious entity. It looks human but pale and bald with ram like horns curled back inwards. A feeling of wonder strikes me. Who is it? Is it the enchanted spirit of the woods our farmhands tell us about? What does it want from me? Then slowly, it turns toward me and starts talking in garbled speech, not a single word I understand. It reaches into my ears like a faint whisper. And then again. I open my mouth to talk. But no words come out of my lips. I struggle to reach out. I want to shout. Just when I am about to sit up and stretch out my hand, it vanished.

The moon is now in its full glory. Bright but pale. I stand up and walk straight to the spot where the spirit entity appears. Nothing. Is it a dream? So I walk back towards the house. I pull another stick from the flip-top box and look for my lighter inside my pocket. It’s gone. I look back at the old chair and take a deep breath.

Probably the spirit wants me to quit smoking…