A couple years back, I had a very strange experience, the memory of which is placed in that part of my brain where the lines of reality and imagination blur out. I remember roaming around the city market with a friend. I was not looking for anything particular. After checking out a couple of shops we entered a narrow lane lined with several small shops. Most of them were either garment shops catering to the ladies or selling accessories. My friend and I entered one such shop. As she was busy trying out some accessories, I came out to take a call.
After taking the call, I looked up and saw another shop just Infront of it. I instantly had the urge to walk into it and of course did just that while shouting and informing my friend. The shop looked a little old and shabby from the outside, but most of the shops in the market did too, so I did not put much thought into it. There was a single salesman and another man sitting at the far end. The shop was long and narrow and there was space for only one or two persons to walk or stand. I looked around; everything looked a bit strange to me. All the clothes seemed to be very old. They were not kept properly. Many of them were strewn across the counter. My eyes went to one black dress that had a very colorful embroidery on it. Had it looked new I would have probably tried it on.
Unimpressed at the unkempt old shop, I was about to come out when the salesman called me. He asked what I wanted, and I just nodded my head and tried to walk away. The man quickly pulled out 2 dresses and said loudly “Please try these, Mam. They will look very good on you”
I turned back to see a black and yellow off shoulder dress and another exquisite dress in cobalt blue. I just could not take my eyes off it. It was a beautiful flowy dress with a slim gold line running around its waist.
It occurred to me for a short while though, how the dress was so different from the other dresses in the shop. It looked so new and shiny. I took it without saying a word and went inside the trial room.
The trial room was surprisingly not very small. It had a mirror on the door and one that covered the side wall. As many of us girls are warned to test the mirrors specially in these small shops, I checked the room thoroughly. There was an undercurrent of uneasiness in the room, but I ignored it owing it to the confined space. I did not have the patience to decide if it is the right or wrong kind of mirror. I just wanted to try on the dress as soon as possible and get out of the room.
I remember putting on the dress but as soon as I did that, the dress did not look shiny anymore. It looked very dull and old and so did I. My skin looked withered, and my eyes looked sunken deep into their sockets.
It was as if I had aged 100 years in just few minutes. The trial room appeared darker than before. I looked up to my reflection again and saw another reflection of me standing right behind me just little to the right.
The reflection was wearing the same dress that I came in. I could not see its face. I felt my self-shouting in my head to turn the knob and get out of the room, but my reflexes were numbed, and a dizziness had set in. I could hear a voice saying my name from afar and loud footsteps inching close to me. The footsteps grew clearer and louder with time. I felt intoxicated and lured by the voice calling out to me. I was about to give in when the loud bangs on the trial room door woke me up. Slowly I recognized my friends voice calling out to me.
I don’t remember how I got into my earlier dress. All I can think of now is that I was trying to reach the knob. She looked worried and kept asking what I was doing for so long in the trial room.
I was shivering all over when I handed over the blue dress to the salesman and ran out of the shop.
I grabbed my friend took an auto and went home, told her that I am not feeling very well. While leaving the shop I caught the salesman looking at the trial room and mumbling something to himself.
Many years have gone by. The waves of time have washed the shore of my memories thin. They come back to me in bits and pieces now.
I cannot fully explain what happened that day, but I still get shivers when I enter the trial room of any shop.
