Mystery ‘Hayman’

This incident dates back to the time when I was a little kid. I might have been in the third or fourth standard.

Me and my family were visiting our grandmother (maternal). I remember we were there to take part in our relative’s funeral.

Since times immemorial our families have been practising farming. Mostly rice but sometimes some vegetables too. So we still have small amounts of land back in our native town.

After a good harvest our people usually collect their beautiful ‘golden’ paddy and arrange them in a tall, broad and roughly triangular shape near their houses. Some people however housed them in a food storage room which is known as ‘bhońral‘ .

We reached the aforesaid relative’s home. The shaman was starting the rituals and all elders were busy talking rather say gossiping about this and that. Blah! Blah! Blah!

Me and my elder brother got very bored. A funeral is no place for a kid. Lucky for us we were joined by our cousin. My elder brother + my cousin = Mischief and headaches.

It was a full moon night. No stars in the sky. Just the moon and his loneliness. The light was immensely bright that night. Everything around my relatives house was clearly visible. So we kids decided to get out of that house and play children games in the huge courtyard.

We literally jumped out the door laughing, giggling and joking like as if we were in a fair. We decided to play hide and seek as it was a bright night. Before we started we were deciding who will hide and who will seek.

We then decided to have a good look around as the area was pretty huge and we didn’t want to trot far away from the main door. After all we were kids.

It was then that we saw something strange, rather say scary, a picture that will forever stay in our minds and hearts. Near the ‘bhońral’ there was a huge structure moving. I swear in the name of God it was walking, striding. A huge man, straw man? No a man covered all over with hay, the Hayman.

We could even hear the hay rustle.

Rustle, rustle, swish…. Rustle, swish… As he walked.

We three stood like stones near the main door of the house, holding each others hands in fear like as if we had seen a ghost. Well this time it was really a ghost, or so.

Then slowly as if he was alarmed of our presence he turned around to look at us. Three little kids shivering in fear. He locked eyes with us. Fiery red like the fire of hell,shining bright.

Thank goodness none of us fainted there. We jumped back inside the house like we had jumped outside the house previously. We hadn’t even moved a bit but we were breathing heavily of course because of the fear.

We stared at each other blankly. Then suddenly all three of us stooped to look outside the door in the direction of the ‘bhońral’, but there was nothing. That huge Hayman disappeared into thin air. This was the most probable explanation.

Till date we look back at that night getting goosebumps and with no explanation at all for that incident, that picture, that Hayman.

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