An odd incidentIt was very odd. potx

An odd incident

It was very odd. There were no people on the bus, but the
engine was running and their belongings were there. But
the bus stop was deserted.

I had just visited my aunt who lived in the countryside. The
bus that would take us back to town came only once every
hour. I thought I would miss it so I ran all the way from my
aunt’s house. But when I reached the bus stop, this
strange sight confronted me. Where were the driver and
the passengers?

There was a sandy field behind the bus stop and I went
there to investigate. I saw footprints on the sand which
were probably made by the passengers. The footprints
were all leading to one direction – towards the centre of
the field.

I plucked up my courage and ran towards it. As I was
about to reach it, an unusual sight caught my eyes. There
was a big crater in the sand, and a bright light, as though
from an explosion, shone upwards. People stood at the
edge of the crater, looking into it.

I continued to run towards it. Then I felt a hand grabbed
my arm and I screamed. “Hey, don’t be frightened. Don’t
run to the crater, or you will be like them,” said the
stranger. I turned to face him, and saw that it was an old
man whom I had seen in the village.

“Look at those people,” the old man continued. “If you look
carefully, you can see that they are not moving. They are
frozen like statues.” He told me that when the bus was
about to leave, a glowing, bright object crashed into the
field and formed the crater. The pull of the light was so
strong that everyone seemed drawn and rushed towards
it. Even the young children were not frightened by it. The
old man could not keep up with the rest of them because
of his weak leg. He noticed that whoever looked at the
object in the crater became immovable, as though
transfixed by it.

I asked the old man what we should do. I wanted to run
back to the village for help. “Wait,” he said. “I think
something is about to happen that will save them. The sky
is dark. I hope the gods will bless us with rain.

We waited for the rain to fall. I could not help stealing
looks at those immovable figures surrounding the bright
light. It was very eerie.

Then it rained, followed b a heavy downpour. The old man
and I watched an incredible sight. The bright light grew
weaker and disappeared, and at that moment, the people
started to come “alive” again. We approached them and
they seemed not to have any knowledge of what had
happened to them. They were all busily talking about the
crater, and had no memory that some minutes of their
lives had been frozen by an alien force.

I looked into the crater and saw that there was a smooth
globe inside it. But when the rain wiped out the light, it lost
its power. The old man looked at me, and I nodded at him.
We both understand that we would not tell the passengers
the truth about the incident. They were better off not
knowing, and besides they might not believe us, anyway.