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Spooky restaurant
Miraal was sitting alone in her favourite restaurant waiting for the waiter to come so that she could place her order. Fifteen minutes passed but no sign of the waiter. She anxiously looked at her wristwatch and was about to get up when the waiter appeared saying, “At your service, Ma’am.” Before Miraal could open her mouth to place her order, the waiter started laying the meal on her table. Miraal was taken aback. “Wo wo wo, I haven’t placed the order. How come you are serving me without me placing an order?”
“Ma’am, you placed your order long ago. Sorry for being a little late. You must be feeling hungry. Enjoy your meal.” the waiter left Miraal thunderstruck.
Gaining back her senses, she started inspecting the meal. She was amazed to see that the meal was exactly according to her taste. In fact it was bit by bit the same what she planned to order. She shook her head twice to see whether it was happening for real. Her mind started to inquire how come the waiter knew her taste. Was he capable of reading minds? She started suspecting the waiter as if he was some kind of a spirit or a wizard or was he playing tricks on her. She was in the depth of her confusing thoughts when a voice struck her ears,
“Ma’am, anything else you need?” It was the waiter again.
“No, Thanks” she refused him.
Miraal noticed a meaningful smile on the waiter’s face as if he was hiding a deep secret or was she imagining all that. All sorts of thoughts started to haunt her mind. All of a sudden, the restaurant looked deserted to her. All the people having their meals turned out to be some sort of beasts satisfying their hunger. Everything seemed spooky to her. Suddenly she realized that she was feeling extremely hungry and that after nourishing her stomach, she would be able to think sensibly so she started eating. But a haunted thought entered her mind and she quickly refrained from eating.
“Oh Miraal! How stupid you are? What if this meal is poisoned? What do they want from me? Why didn’t he take my order?” Miraal felt as if the waiter’s act was psychologically disturbing her. She stood up to leave the place but then remembered that she had to pay for the meal. That meant that she had to wait for the waiter to come and hand her the bill.
“Oh no! Not again! I have to face that mysterious waiter again.” The thought of the waiter made her uneasy.
Out of the blue, Miraal’s favourite music started to play in the restaurant. She was astounded indeed. She hadn’t quite recovered from that shock that the waiter came to her and said:
“Ma’am, this is for you.” He presented her a bouquet of red roses.
“Are you insane? Who told you to bring me flowers?” She shouted in astonishment.
“Ma’am you needed them. You are a special guest” Uttering these words, the waiter just vanished from her sight.
“What does he mean by special guest? Why am I their special guest? What is happening?” She felt so helpless. She had come to the restaurant to soothe her mind, to recall the good times she had spent with her lost soul mate. She wanted to relieve her mind a little bit of the sweet reminiscences of the past but the present circumstances were driving her crazy.
“Please sir! Where is the bill?” Miraal caught her waiter.
“Not to worry ma’am. Your bill is being paid,” replied the waiter.
“What? Who paid the bill?” She inquired.
“Your secret admirer, Ma’am.” The waiter answered in a jovial mood.
Hearing that Miraal froze but regained her strength and courage, asked the waiter who was her secret admirer. But to add to her shock, the electricity went out. All was dark! Miraal could hear sounds of children crying, elder’s chatting and from within these strange sounds, she heard a familiar voice saying, “Miraal, I love you so much” Miraal was spell bound. She couldn’t believe what she just heard. She knew that voice very well. She was about to faint when the electricity came back and she caught sight of a person she was longing to see.
All that mystery started to make sense in Miraal’s small head. It was a pleasant and memorable prank played on her by her husband. He was back in her life and asking Miraal for a new beginning. That restaurant where Miraal was sitting right now was the first place they had visited soon after their marriage. They had the same meal, which Miraal was being served, they had listened to the same music.
Her husband had presented her a similar bouquet and the first words that he had spoken were the same that he said to her now. Miraal smiled and they both left the restaurant with their hearts full of joy and happiness. But one question was still haunting Miraal’s mind, “How did her husband know that she would be visiting that restaurant today?”
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