Will-o'-the-wisp

When I came back from cricket practice my mother handed me the
letter. It was a message from Loan Bank asking me to attend an
interview. Loan Bank is the biggest commercial bank in the country. The
letter had been sent from the Regional Office of the bank situated on
Russel Street. It was a little strange that the letter had been typed
in red ink. Also, the interview was scheduled for five pm. But these
were only minor details. I had been looking for a job for the last six
months with little success. I sent applications nearly every day. So
much so the people at the post office kept some stamps aside for me all
the time. But I simply could not recall when I had sought employment as
accountant with Loan Bank. Now that I had been summoned by the bank it
really did not matter. I began to prepare for the test.
The interview was scheduled for 1st of December. On that day I got up
at five am. I purchased all the English newspapers and read the
important news. I watched television to brush up on current affairs. I
simply could not wait for five pm. I had a late lunch at two pm. After
an hour's rest I was out of the house. I rang up my girlfriend from a
public booth. She is in art college and was busy with an exhibition.
She advised me to remain calm. I walked into the subway of the
underground railway at four pm. At quarter to five I was standing
before Ian House where my interview was to be held. It was already
dark. Strangely, there was no security at the gate. It appeared no one
had entered the building that day before me. The Regional Office was on
the third floor.
I decided to take the stairs. As I stepped into the area I was amazed.
It was a wonderful office. The entire place seemed to be covered in a
haze. As I walked in through the glass door an ethereally beautiful
lady stopped me. In a voice that seemed to come from distant lands she
said, 'Are you here to see someone?' I explained that I was here for an
interview. The lady gazed at the fearful-looking bearer standing
nearby. They both nodded their heads in unison, knowingly. The bearer
took me through the entire working area to the manager's room. The
whole place seemed enveloped in smoke that was nowhere to be seen. The
manager's room was brightly-lit and spacious. Through its glass walls
you could see the whole office. The manager asked me to sit down. His
voice was too friendly, almost sing-song. He asked three questions and
none of them about book-keeping. He seemed eager about availability of
fresh human blood in the city. I was then informed that I had been
selected. I was taken on a tour of the office. There were four
departments. The planning department took care of budgeting and human
resources. The operations department handled advances, deposits and
general administration. The services department was involved in
automation of operations. There also existed a public relations
department. As I moved through the office I found everyone busy with
work. Strange, since it was well past closing time. People seemed happy
if not delirious. I was curious about the work they were doing. I was
shocked to find everyone doing the same thing-drawing pictures of
headless corpses of various sizes. I leaned on a wall and found the
paint peeling off. I was now beginning to get all kinds of ideas. It
suddenly seemed that people were involved in a swordfight somewhere.
There it was near the pantry. Two people dressed like bearers were in
the midst of a fight with long swords. But?but neither had heads.
Suddenly the whole office was shaken by heart-wrenching laughter. Now
it appeared that everyone except me was headless. The laughter occurred
again with inconsolable wails. I ran into the toilet and put my head
under the tap. To my horror what flowed out of the tap was warm,
pungent blood. I ran out. The manager then appeared with the rest of
his staff. 'Young man.', he said in a sunken voice, 'this office was
destroyed in a horrible fire ten years ago on this date. All 250 of us
have been dead for that long. The burning cigarette of a young
interviewee like you had started the blaze.' And just as he stopped
talking the whole office disappeared before my incredulous eyes. No
people, no desks nothing at all. What I saw before me was a charred,
damp-looking place with rats running all over the floor. There were
bats flying all over the huge hall. What a cruel joke had been played
on me by forces that were both unknown and beyond understanding.