Sleepwalking Guy

A few years ago, I knew this one guy who used to wander around his apartment asleep. It was a sleep walking case. Sometimes he would take a walk in his apartment complex as well and without causing any trouble, he would always come back to his house and sleep on his bed. One day, I got a call from him at 5 am. He wasn’t someone I would call a friend. We had briefly worked together in my previous office before I changed my job. Our conversations were limited and he seemed just like any other guy. So, it was a little shocking to get his call at 5 am. I wanted to let the phone ring and go back to sleep but it would have haunted my conscience, so I decided to pick it up.

“What’s up man, everything good?”, I asked. He sounded worried. He asked me to come and pick him up from Lodhi Road. He sent me the picture of the address, which was on a plaque outside a house. Manak Jagdeesh Gupta, C-26, Lodhi Road. The way the picture was clicked, and because of the light of his mobile’s flash on the plaque, it felt like he was standing outside that house. “Will be there in 15 minutes”, I said. I took my car out of the parking, put the location on the map and was off to pick this guy up. A guy I barely knew.

In my previous office, his sleepwalking stories became a thing of gossip during lunch hours. I still don’t know if he willingly told them or if somebody leaked them. However he didn’t seem to mind and would often laugh at the absurdity of it all. I, on the other hand, felt quite uncomfortable with such stories. During one such group lunch, I remember asking “What if he kills someone in his sleep and doesn’t mention it to anyone, what happens then?” The group fell silent before somebody cracked a bad joke. The sleepwalking guy stared at me throughout lunch. I don’t remember if we ever talked after that.

As I was thinking all this, I reached the location. And sure enough, he was standing there. I’d describe his face to you but it has slipped out of my memory. “Come inside”, I said while rolling down the passenger side’s window. He looked at me and thanked me for coming. “Actually I sleepwalked from my house to this house and I got worried and decided to call you”, he said. “It’s okay. Breathe easy. Where do you live? I will drop you there”, I said. For a moment he looked at me as if he didn’t understand the question. I repeated it several times but he stood still, staring at my face and frankly it became a little awkward. So I decided to come out of the car and approach him to see if he was alright. As soon as I got out, he started running away from the car. I called his name a few times, but nothing seemed to stop him. I chased him but he was too fast. He ran through multiple parks and soon enough, I lost sight of him. I went back to my car, stood there for a minute to understand what just happened, and then drove back home.

Next day I called him but the number was unavailable. This incident didn’t leave my mind for many years. But like most memories, this too was forgotten. Until recently. I was on a business trip to Delhi and decided to catch up with my friends. We were in a bar in Hauz Khas and I was a few pints down. “I’ll be back in a minute. Washroom”, I said to the group and headed towards the washroom. Suddenly there was a hand on my shoulder. I got scared. I turned around to see that it was my ex boss- MJ Sir. I wouldn’t have recognised him if not for his strange goatee that he kept. “Hello sir, long time”, I said. “Long time, indeed”, he replied.

“You must have become the CEO of that office by now”, I said cheekily.

“Arey kahan yaar, I quit one month after you.”

“Why, what happened?”

“You remember that sleep walking guy?”

I suddenly remembered him very clearly.

“Yes, I remember him. Why do you ask?”

“Actually, he got killed in a car accident a few years ago”

“What?”

“Yeah, he was on his morning run around Lodhi Garden and apparently some guy chased him and a car crashed into him. You didn’t know about this? Hello?”

I come back to my senses.

“No, I didn’t. Are you sure he is dead? And was he jogging or sleep walking?”

“Yeah yeah, he is definitely dead. And why would he sleep walk around Lodhi Garden. He used to live in Green Park no?”

“That’s strange, but why did YOU quit?”

“Arey nothing yaar. I anyway wanted to quit and after that incident the whole office had bad vibes. Anyway, I shouldn’t say this but whatever happened was good for me. I have opened my own consulting firm.”

He handed me his visiting card. I was still in shock.

“Chalo, see you”

“Bye, Sir”

I snapped back to reality, put the card in my pocket. I had to pee really badly. In the cab ride back home, I tried to remember the events of that night. Was I the one chasing him? Did he die because of me? If he was sleep walking how did he remember to take his phone? Why did he call me, I wasn’t even his friend?

In the next few days, my anxiety worsened. My ex-boss clearly said someone chased him and that’s why he crashed into a car. Was it me? I had to talk to someone. But who do I talk to? I suddenly remembered. I took out my ex-boss’s visiting card. I started dialing his number. Just before pressing the call button, I read his name: Manak Jagdeesh Gupta. MJ.

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