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William had been Oscar's business partner. They had been
in the textile industry for nearly a decade. William had
been a good partner. He made all the right decisions at
the right time. He was also the one who obtained the big
contracts for their company. Without William, Oscar
would not have known what to do. Since William's death,
all his wealth from the business went to Oscar for
William had no living kin. After William's death,
Oscar ran the textile business alone. He had no wish for
a partner. Besides, he felt that no one could ever
replace his late partner. However, Oscar did not do a
good job of running the company. This was because he had
not been sleeping well since William's death and could
not concentrate on work. Whenever he did fall asleep, he
would have terrible nightmares. Pretty soon he dared not
go to sleep. He could tell no one of the torment he
felt. After several sleepless weeks, Oscar's eyes were
deeply sunken and his cheeks were almost hollow. He grew
very, very thin and haggard-looking.
Angeline, his wife, was very worried about her
husband. She urged him many times to see a doctor about
his problem but Oscar was as obstinate as a mule. As far
as he was concerned, no one, not even the best doctor in
the world, could cure him.
Oscar's nightmares and restlessness worsened by the
day. One night, unable to tolerate the torture any
longer, he went down to the jetty. He got into the boat
that had belonged to William and rowed out to sea. He
wanted to go to the place where William was reported to
have committed suicide.
When he reached that spot, he stopped rowing. He
stood up in the boat and looked at the calm sea. Lost in
his thoughts, he did not notice the apparition that was
slowly making its way towards him. A wave of shivers ran
down his spine when he became aware of the apparition.
Though afraid, he did not attempt to escape. As the
apparition moved closer, Oscar saw that its face was
obscured by seaweed.
Oscar strained his eyes to make out the facial
features of the apparition. He blanched when he
recognized William's face. As the blood drained from his
face, Oscar tried to scream. But no sound came from his
mouth.
The apparition pointed a bony finger at Oscar and
bellowed:
"Murderer! You killed me! You pushed me out of my
boat and let me drown. You deserve to die. After all, we
are partners, aren't we? Now, we'll remain partners
forever! Ha! Ha! Ha!"
William laughed menacingly. As his laughter shattered
the stillness of the night, Oscar covered his ears to
block out the fearful sound. All of a sudden, the boat
started rocking violently. Oscar was tipped out of the
boat and the dark turbulent waters claimed him. His body
was never found. |
