Echo

One day at a local concert, I saw a man with big hair singing with 3-4 others, while a few people listened to their song. The man seemed a bit crazy, with his big hair, beard, mustache, and large frame. It looked like he hadn’t showered in at least a month.

A few moments later, I noticed the man started singing in English. I was very surprised and curious to talk to him, as English is not a common language in the region where I live. I wondered how he had learned to sing in this language. But I needed to go to the office; I was already late, and if I were late, I might be fired. So, I left that day.

A long time later, I was sitting in my garden, thinking about that strange man. I wondered if he was a magician or something else. Meanwhile, Hera called me from the door of the house. I don’t know why she’s always angry with me. Now she’s angry because I said I would quit my job.

At first, she was quite surprised and asked, “Why would you leave your job? And if you quit, how will the family manage? Writing a novel is fine, but why do you have to quit your job?”

I had no answer to Hera’s question.

A few days ago, I took her to a place surrounded by mountains and the sea. The purpose was to reduce her anger and create a plot for writing a novel. The house was quite strange. There were trees and jungle all around. Everything seemed normal, and we were having great days. Although we expected some horror situations like those in movies, we were disappointed when nothing of the sort happened.

I was a little disappointed; I couldn’t focus on my writing. But one day, I saw that strange man near this house. I was so surprised—how was this possible? After talking to him, I learned that he travels to different places in search of mystery and sings out of passion. He told me that this house was one of the most mysterious.

The house suddenly caught fire. No one knows how, but even in the middle of the drought, the fire suddenly flared up. So, everyone thinks it’s the work of a ghost. I wondered how that could be possible. What benefit would a ghost have in setting fires?

The strange man said in an angry voice, “I don’t know much, I just told you what I know.”

I didn’t believe him. I had been in this house for several days, and I hadn’t seen anything like that. I hadn’t seen any fire anywhere.

The next day, before we left, the strange man came to visit and said to me, “People who come here later often have fires in their houses.”

I was very angry to hear that. I called him mad and told him to get away from me.

It’s been a few days since we returned home. I’m not working. I’m just thinking all day. Suddenly, today I remembered that strange man and the whole incident. Hera called me again, “What are you thinking about? Come quickly. Our daughter has a fever. What should we do?”

I replied, “Let’s go to the doctor.”

Hera said, “Okay.”

It smelled like something was burning. I came out of the room and saw that my flower garden was on fire. Hera and I looked at each other. A shiver of fear ran down my spine.

How?