"Excuse Me, Can I Have A Lift?" The Ghost Asked.

A month has passed by. A lot of things had happened around me and made me unable to post a new story earlier than today. Sorry for the wait. I know some of you have been waiting for more scary stuffs, so today please accept this story as a gift especially from my heart to all of you readers out there.

Today I am going to tell you a story about a man who had the scariest and weirdest experience in his life. The story goes like this:

There was a man (let me call him Peter) who had just bought a new car. He was so fond of his car and never forgot to wash it every evening after he got home from work. Nobody was allowed to touch it, and to drive it... well... never in a million years. That's how stingy he became. Everything that evolved around him, he would associate it with his car. Friends started to get bored hearing this same old story about his car. Nevertheless, because he's a good friend, they learnt how to shut down their ears while pretended to listen.

One evening, as usual Peter was driving his car. Immediately after punching his card, he quickly drove home. The main purpose was obvious. He couldn't wait to reach home to wash and pamper his cutie new car. The washing thing had turned out to be an obsession, and it had been a routine ever since. And he never failed to do it no matter how tired he was.

The route to Peter's home was quiet. It was mainly because only a small number of residents lived at Peter's community place. It was situated at the far end of the city, almost rural-like with zero entertainment hub within 20 minutes drive from the place. So mostly only the elderlies lived there. Peter chose to rent a house there because the price was much cheaper. He was able to save a lot more for petrol and his car's maintenance. He lived with another housemate, who shared paying the rent. The quietness of the journey home didn't bother Peter at all because he was so used to it. In fact some of the time he even enjoyed the peaceful scenario. No traffic jam, and no hassle. After all, nothing had happened to him during his journey all that while.

Peter was listening to his favorite song from the CD player when he saw a figure of a woman standing beside the road in front of him. The woman lifted her hand as soon as Peter's car approached her. Usually Peter would never stop to give a lift to anybody. But that time it was different. The woman really caught Peter's attention. Naturally, Peter stopped his car.

"Please, sir. I need a lift," said the woman with a pleading voice. Her face was radiant, and she had a very sweet smile. Her skin was clear, and when she smiled for the second time her cheeks turned rosy pink. Peter was fascinated for a while. Only his lips parted like the opening of a cave, but no sounds managed to escape.

"Errr... okay. But... where to?" asked Peter in a stuttering manner after gasping for a few seconds. He had never stuttered before, but that day he became the clumsiest person on earth. Everything seemed awkward. Peter turned shy and speechless, as if he had just seen an angel from heaven. He became speechless for the woman's beauty really made him mesmerized.

"My home is at Mill's Street." The woman replied, and smiled again as soon as she got into the car. Peter didn't regret it at all when he allowed her to enter his car. It was indeed an exceptional case. Actually it was the first time somebody had really entered and sat on his brand new car. Peter could smell the perfume she wore, it was the fragrant of rose. So sweet and tantalizing. He gave the woman a returning smile, and at the same time hit the accelerator. The car started to move again, slow at first but gradually gained speed.

"Why... I live there too! How come we've never met before?" Peter got excited, and he was beginning to think about dating her. He figured out that he would give her a dozen roses, and a box of chocolates on their first date. It was not his usual way, but somehow Peter felt he was obliged to treat the woman like a gentleman would. She was perfect for him, he thought quietly while driving. A cheeky smile curved on his face while thinking about it. Strange feeling, Peter thought again, but a wonderful one indeed. It felt something like being under a charmed spell.

"Yeah... it seems that we meet today for a reason. God had really planned this to happen, and I am dead sure of it." The woman said as a reply. She gave Peter a quick glance, threw a captivating smile and later reverted her eyes to her little purse. Nonchalantly, she took out a piece of silk from it. The cloth was so fragrant, and the woman handed it to Peter.

"Is this for me?" Peter asked with a hoarse voice. With trembling hands, he took the piece of silk from the woman's grip and brought it to his nostrils to inhale the sweet smell of heavenly fragrance. He was almost sure that the woman would say yes if he asked her out for a date. He could even picture how they would look like, walking the isle in a church to get married. A silly thought, but that was what he thought right then. He felt so helpless, and he thought he was madly in love.

"I want you to keep it in your car. No matter what happens, you must keep it. Don't throw it away, even if you don't like it. I would be very sad if you take it out of your car." The woman answered with several nods, assuring that she really meant what she said. Her gaze was sharp and somewhat demanding.

Peter nodded without thinking, agreed to do as what the woman had requested. He was thinking that maybe he would say something really impressive so that the woman would agree to have a date with him. He must think of something, he thought desperately. Something intelligent, he thought again.

Peter was still thinking when suddenly the woman asked him to stop. In a puzzlement, Peter braked his car to an abrupt stop. He looked around, but saw nothing outside. No houses, no nothing. Peter frowned, and he thought it was weird.

"This is not Mill's Street yet. Why do you want me to stop?" asked Peter. Suddenly a naughty thought occurred in his mind, and he got excited. He waited impatiently for the woman to reply. And he half-expected what the woman was going to say. His trembling hands began to shake more feverishly. He guessed something romantic would happen right then.

"I know. But I want to get down here. Thanks for the ride though." The woman quickly got out of the car and left Peter just like that.

Peter blinked several times, confused with what was happening. Gradually, his romantic feeling started to flush away out of his body. As if out of a trance, suddenly Peter felt very strange. Immediately after the woman got out of his car, Peter felt very scared and both his knees trembled and shook when he looked at the woman who walked straight into the bushes. From where Peter was sitting, he could see the woman's figure slowly turned invisible from her waist downwards. Feeling so scared, Peter hit hard on the accelerator and rushed home. On his way home, he threw out the piece of silk out of his car window.

As soon as the piece of silk was out of the car, a terrible smell appeared from within. The smell was so terrible that Peter almost choked, and he vomitted in the car. What a mess he made! As soon as he reached home, he called his house-mate and together they washed the car thoroughly until it was perfectly clean and odourless. Peter was satisfied even though he received a massive lecture from his friend about his stingy attitude and not allowing his room-mate to use his car. After the great lecture, in a huge grin Peter parked it at the usual place, the front garage. Later, he went inside and that night he had a deep sleep. He wasn't disturbed at all about what had happened.

The next morning, as soon as Peter opened the car door, the odour was there again. It was the faulty smell of dead, decaying, rotting corpse. And it was even worse than the day before. Peter was unable to use the car and after pleading his room-mate, he managed to car-pool with his friend. Another gigantic lecture was given, and Peter had to accept it all with a swollen heart and a lavish regret for being so stingy about his car before.

The terrible smell never vanished after that morning. Eventually Peter was forced to advertise the car for sale with a very low price because nobody was interested to buy it with the terrible smell intact. Nevertheless, even after lowering the price below marginal cost, still nobody wanted to buy the car and until now it is still parked in the car-sale garage. Poor Peter, he only used the car for several months, and he ended up paying for nothing to the bank. The car was useless now, and Peter regretted endlessly.

That's my story for today. I'll leave it to all of you whether to believe it or not. Have a nice and productive day ahead, and enjoy your reading! If you want to leave comments, please do so. I appreciate all comments from everybody. Adios for now...