The Supernatural

I was to speak on my project no. 4 speech for my Toastmasters club today. I wasn't able to think of a topic that suited project 4 objectives. Finally I picked up a topic just the night before. The objectives of speech no. 4 were:

• Select the right words and sentence structure to communicate your ideas clearly, accurately and vividly.


• Use rhetorical devices to enhance and emphasize ideas.


• Eliminate jargon and unnecessary words. Use correct grammar.

Time: 5 to 7 minutes.

THE SUPERNATURAL

Have you ever been forced to believe that there is a world beyond which our eyes cant distinguish, that there is a world beyond which our mind cant perceive. That there is a world beyond which our senses couldnt sense. Yes, I am talking about the supernatural.

Fellow Toastmasters and esteemed guests, today in the presence of this august gathering, I will share with you certain experiences that I encountered in my life that came like a blot from the blue. Experiences that baffled me, confounded me and forced me to look into life in a new light altogether. A world which always looked rosy with the pink tinted glasses in my eyes. A world that was all about sunshine and shimmering stars. I realised that beneath what meets the eye, was a darker truth, a sordid world, a world that questions what is normal. The world of the supernatural.

It was a balmy summer afternoon at my maternal native place called Bilaspur, a sleepy town in the state of Chattisgarh. I was a small boy of eight. So were my cousins. And it was an annual family gathering. Since we kids started making a ruckus, the elders forced all kids into an outhouse to sleep. The outhouse bore an eerie look. The room was ill maintained and was infested with cobwebs. And soon the chuckles dimmed to murmurs and then ebbed to deep silence. The children were in deep slumber. The only sound that prevailed was from the leaves rustling from the banyan tree outside the window, the curtains swaying with the afternoon breeze. And then there was another sound. An old pendulum across the wall was ticking. Tick..tock..tick.. tock... Soon seconds gave way to minutes...minutes to hours... In couple of hours each one of us got up one after another. And proceeded towards the house. Soon everyone had left excpet me. I was still sleepimg long after everyone had left. Suddenly a chill passed down my spine. i woke up and sat on my bed. Dreamily I rubbed my eyes and opened them. What I saw in front of me froze me in horror. I saw a wizened old man completely in white near my feet staring at me. I went pale and cold at the sight. In the next instant the image in front of me moved away and dissapeared. I gathered my guts and scampered my way out shouting ans wailing.Tripping and falling in the process I reached my parents.
I was howling and shaken with words hardly being decipherable. But soon they were able to make out what had happened. They knew who the apparition was. They explained to me that it was my grandfather who had come to see me. They said he loved me a lot and wanted to see me before passing away buy couldnt.
Years passed after that inexplicable incident. With passing years the incident faded from my memory. But as if to reinforce my faith on it, one fine day I met him again. I will share this story some other time.

I do not want you to believe my story. Neither do I want to state something here. Some things are best left unexplained. Since they do not have any rationale for explanation. They are supernatural.