Haifaa Obaid

The last train at 11 pm

it's getting late three of us are returning after attending a wedding ceremony of an office colleague three of us mean me Ratan and Su shovin on the one hand were such great friends on the other hand there are many differences of opinion between us whenever we three sit together we start to argue on various topics especially Ratan and Su shovin Ratan is an atheist he wants to verify every inch of the world with rationalism and Su shovin is a very pious man we got up in the empty compartment su shovin said look this is called luck do you understand now rafen that was the beginning of the debate good luck bad luck then the discussion went to astrology Ratan is dismissing everything as a hoax and a superstition and Su Chauvin is making a counter statement such witch astrologer made predictions in which country and in which year etc Ratan is trying to refute all the details with all the sharp arguments and me I'm trying to support them both sometimes I'm shaking my head for Rothen and sometimes for su shovin in today's debate Rathlin is in a win-win situation he said listen to this day no one has been able to speak accurately about the future everything that seems to have matched is a loose assumption the whole thing is cleverly wrapped up it could be X or it could be Y that's the technique of explaining everything people who have faith in astrologers are impressed by those rules that's how it works so you're saying the future cannot be predicted just then a man speaks up from the other side of the compartment the three of us looked back wrath and measured the man from head to toe the man is sitting with his body covered with a gray black sheet his face is filled with a white beard the age is not definite but it must be around 60 he has a dirty bag with him at first glance it's not strange to think that he's a bag bond or crazy the man put the sheet aside and came towards us Rothen said in a slightly diagonal manner what do you think in the future be predicted yes Shakespeare said many things happen in this universe that are beyond our comprehension we know all these things I want to hear from you what's your opinion the man stared at rather than for a moment then he smiled a little to be honest there is one thing in this bag that I can show you and after you see that you might change your mind sooo Chauvin seemed very excited are you an astrologer no I'm just an ordinary guy I can show you something that I learned by the grace of my guru if you wish to see oh okay so now you'll bring out a skull and tell us the future using that skull right uh uh-huh no it's not like that I can only draw I can draw a little bit I don't get it what to draw the future I can draw the future I can draw any man's future portrait I can show you the picture of the age you want to see everyone is silent then su Chauvin said very interesting huh interesting this is a new kind of cunning all bogus I stopped rapping and looked at the man he picked up his bag he said there was something in the bag you have drawing tools in that bag the tools are nothing more than a drawing pad and a pencil my guru gave me that as a gift who is your guru by the way the man who could give such a powerful gift he must be a world-famous guy and you also this learning is not for money or fame but it's allowed to show the disbelievers and speaking of my guru you will not recognize him he lived a solitary life away from the locality the train was crossing a bridge cold wind was blowing in the soft light there's a creepy atmosphere in the train compartment and the words coming out of that man gave me a shiver he is saying that he can draw a portrait of the future how is that possible how do you draw these portraits and you see those images the man shook his head means yes the picture floats when I closed my eyes and touch the pencil on the pad I can draw it immediately then draw a portrait of one of us okay draw mine now would I look like at the age of 60 to 70 doesn't work like that you have to ride on this pad any future time year date even hours and minutes eternity is eternal specify a point the man took out a pad and a pencil and proceeds towards the shovin but the calculation in his mind he wrote on top of the pad 20th of August which means he will be 76 years old then write more such hours and minutes sue Shelvin looked at us and smiled a little then wrote at 9:15 p.m. he will just draw up a random picture I was looking at the man from the beginning the man gently touches the pencil on the pad and stares at Sue shovin and then slowly the two eyelids are coming down ice if he's hypnotizing and falling asleep surprisingly the man starts to draw on the pad with his eyes closed how long did it take not even a minute the man opens his eyes he extends the pat towards su shovin the three of us leaned over there's a picture of an old man he's bald wrinkles all over the face like a spider's web it glasses on the eyes I don't know much about painting but I have to say that the man is very good at it only a few strokes of the strong line I brought the picture to life but the question is is this really soo Chauvin how can you prove that he would look like that in the future there are no signs of tooth decay yet and there's no guarantee that the face would be like such a dried fruit he might get fat at that time I also have the same suspicion but it's not possible to prove the accuracy of this picture at this moment well I have to wait 40 years to prove whether it really matches or not no we don't have to wait 40 years what he draws is 100% accurate oh I see you have a vision of the future now listen I saw my grandfather he died seven years ago everyone says I look exactly like him I saw a picture of his young age he looks exactly the same as me he also had dense hair on his head he died at the age of 78 I don't believe it you want to put me down that's why you're making up such stories no no not at all believe me I I can take you to my uncle's house and show you the picture no I want to decide it now rathas John tighten he turned to me and said let him draw your portrait I know you'll be honest about it me I mean the way Rathbun said I had no choice but to hesitate and write the same date on a white page of the pad sushi oven and I are the same age so I'll sit would look like him at the age of 75 to 76 let's see how the picture looks like the man closes his eyes but this time the pencil did not move there was not a single stain on the white paper I looked at the man with questioning eyes the man looked at me for two to three seconds and slowly shook his head left and right what what's wrong it's blank no picture of that age can be seen why can't the picture be seen the man bowed his head no answer Ratan said with a poisonous smile that means you don't dare to face it anymore No hold on a second do you mean I will not live to that age that's why you didn't see the picture yes Wow excellent now we're talking alright let's reduce the date to two or five years you'll definitely see a picture for sure also we can find out when he will die draw five to seven times and you'll get an accurate result am i right the man raised his head and looked at ratha then said no you're wrong I can only draw a picture of a man once I can't do it a second time really and draw a portrait of mine give me the pad I'm writing down the time month and date the man pushed the pad forward wrath and wrote on the pad on 26th of June 2020 Rothen Hey you have to write a time in the future this is today's date wait brother Ratan smiled then he looked at his watch 10:45 p.m. eleven o'clock at night now let's see what I would look like after 15 minutes no more guessing before we get off the train it'll prove that you're lying or not the man looked at Rafa then he closes his eyes and almost immediately opened his eyes the pencil did not move a bit my heart was pounding so Chauvin made a faint scream and Ravan stood up he's shaking what do you mean I I couldn't see the picture what I mean I didn't get to see the picture what do you want to say I'll die after 15 minutes I'm not saying anything but if the picture does not appear on the paper that it means yes alright I'll get off to the next station I'm sorry for bothering you all know you'll have to resolve it you have to admit that you're a fraud you were trying to deceive us by telling lies wratten's fist tightening and his forehead veins swelled the man went to the door and stood there the train is crossing another bridge the compartment is shaking lights are fading wrath and gritted his teeth see how the thief is trying to escape the man looked up in the rumble we heard him say 15 minutes is not over yet oh so you're not done wait I'll teach you a good lesson Ratan made angry roars and went towards the man he was about to punch that guy but the man moved away from the door and Ratan we saw him stumble on an iron that was high on the floor and bailed through the door and just then the Train shook violently and at the same time the lights went out a scream for a second process and slowly blew into the air we sat motionless the bridge ends the train is running on the hard ground lights come back there's no one at the door neither Rathod nor the man it's just the wind the train is running fast I looked into my watch it's 11 o'clock at night.