Skip to main content

The Ghost Footballer

The Ghost Footballer

  written by Priyanka Banerjee, West Bengal (India)


    When Rajiyappa died he was ‘only’ ninety-five. His wife was remorseful and she said that it was too early to go.

Rajiyappa loved to play football from his childhood; but unfortunately he was not a good player and no one wanted to take him in the team. He wanted to be a footballer of “Gajendra”, which was the name of the village as well as the local football team and also wanted to win many trophies. His dream remained intangible. Consequently Rajiyappa stopped going to the football ground. He used to climb a tree which was far from the football ground and from there he watched football matches. 

Days passed. Rajiyappa grew up and he tried to get chance in the college football team; but again he failed. Rajiyappa lost all his hope. After a few years Rajiyappa got married.

Days passed. Rajiyappa never missed a single football match of his locality. His love for football remained unimpaired. 

After Rajiyappa’s death some incidents happened in the village, people called those eerie. That day a little boy called Hari, whose age might be around ten, was playing football in the field with the other boys. He was the youngest member of the football team. Suddenly a commotion was there and people saw that all the other boys were running here and there while Hari was throwing his hands and legs haphazardly. Later it was heard that some elder boys of that football team was trying to beat Hari for not playing properly. At first Hari was pleading to them so that they would not beat him, then suddenly he started to beat those boys fiercely. Out of fear all those boys fled away and they claimed that Hari’s body must be taken over by a ghost. After that day many odd incidents happened in the ground. People 
used to say, “The insatiate soul of Rajiyappa is still there.”

It was a big day for all the villagers. A big football match was there between two 
neighbouring villages – Gajendra and Haoli. People were highly excited and there was a big crowd around the football ground. The match started. Out of excitement everyone was shouting.

The score board showed that team Haoli had scored two goals whereas team Gajendra had scored only one. Only ten minutes were left. All the supporters of Gajendra were seeing the match with sad faces while the supporters of the opponent team were shouting like anything. Suddenly a miracle happened. A player of team Gajendra, named Mahesh, started to run with the football in such a speed that no one could stop him and there was a goal. Everybody was stunned for some seconds and then there was a huge shout , “Raaaajiiiyaaapppaaa”. Yes, 
everybody was quite sure that it was not Mahesh, it was Rajiyappa’s ghost who was playing. Only two minutes were there and the villagers were still shouting, “Rajiyappa, Rajiyappa, another goal Rajiyappa” and it happened. Mahesh alias Rajiyappa’s soul scored another goal. “Phruuuuuuuuuuu” the whistle was blown and all the villagers came running into the ground. They lifted Mahesh up but only one name was reverberating- “RAJIYAPPA”.

Rajiyappa’s wife, who was eighty eight years old, listened to the whole story which was narrated to her by her grandson. She smiled and said, “He has fulfilled his wish. Now his soul may rest in peace.”

Label : Inflame Story

Writer : Priyanka Banerjee, West Bengal (India) 
Location: United States

Comments

  1. ShayanSeptember 2, 2020 at 2:55 PM

    Very well plotted. Keep it up dear.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Priyanka BanerjeeSeptember 2, 2020 at 4:40 PM

    Thank you 😊

    ReplyDelete
  3. UnknownSeptember 12, 2020 at 2:15 PM

    I am Sri Valli , nice story mam I liked it

    ReplyDelete
  4. UnknownSeptember 14, 2020 at 2:21 PM

    Nice story mam

    ReplyDelete
  5. UnknownSeptember 14, 2020 at 2:21 PM

    I am Santhosh grade 7

    ReplyDelete
  6. UnknownDecember 5, 2020 at 3:28 PM

    I am abhignan karthikeya mam very nice story mam

    ReplyDelete
  7. goalgazettJanuary 5, 2021 at 1:40 PM

    Usually I never comment on blogs but your article is so convincing that I never stop myself to say something about it. You’re doing a great job. Please Keep it up.Latest Football News Online In UK

    ReplyDelete
  8. UnknownJanuary 18, 2021 at 1:57 PM

    Nice story mam iam pragna ❤❤❤

    ReplyDelete
  9. ROCKYMarch 2, 2021 at 1:16 PM

    Football CV Wow, cool post. I'd like to write like this too - taking time and real hard work to make a great article... but I put things off too much and never seem to get started. Thanks though.

    ReplyDelete
  10. davidJune 16, 2021 at 9:47 PM

    Wow, cool post. I'd like to write like this too - taking time and real hard work to make a great article... but I put things off too much and never seem to get started. Thanks though. Horror Novels

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

"A BIRD IN A CAGE" An English Story in Short

"A BIRD IN A CAGE" An English Story in Short learning English by story One day, when I was a young bird, my life completely changed. I do not know how long ago it was, but I still remember flying through the sky looking down at the green forest below.  All of a sudden, while I was looking for food, everything went black.  I crashed into something soft and was unable to move. I struggled to get loose, but I was not able to get free. I was put into a box. The walls were very hard, and I did not have much room to move. I hit the walls with my wings and yelled for help. After a while, since no one came to help me, I just gave up.  Inside the box, I found some water and food to eat. I do not know how long I was in the box.  Suddenly, the box opened and a bright light blinded me. I dropped to the ground. I felt the warmth of the sun on my back. It took a minute for my eyes to adjust to the light. When I was able to see, I looked around. I was FREE!  I stretched my win...
Post a Comment
Read more

"The Four Smart Students" An English motivational short story with moral

​​🍂 "The Four Smart Students" An English motivational short story with moral learning English by story One night four college students were out partying late night and didn’t study for the test which was scheduled for the next day. In the morning, they thought of a plan. They made themselves look dirty with grease and dirt. Then they went to the Dean and said they had gone out to a wedding last night and on their way back the tire of their car burst and they had to push the car all the way back. So they were in no condition to take the test. The Dean thought for a minute and said they can have the re-test after 3 days. They thanked him and said they will be ready by that time. On the third day, they appeared before the Dean. The Dean said that as this was a Special Condition Test, all four were required to sit in separate classrooms for the test. They all agreed as they had prepared well in the last 3 days. The Test consisted of only 2 questions with the tota...
2 comments
Read more

"AS YOU SOW, SO SHALL YOU REAP" Short Story in English

AS YOU SOW, SO SHALL YOU REAP One night, three thieves stole a lot of money from a rich man’s house. They put the money in a bag and went to the forest. They felt very hungry. So, one of them went to a nearby village to buy food. The other two remained in the forest to take care of the bag of money. The thief that went for food had an evil idea. He ate his food at a hotel. Then he bought food for his two mates in the forest. He mixed a strong poison with the food. He thought, “Those two will eat this poisoned food and die. Then I will get all the money for myself.” Meanwhile, the two wicked men in the forest decided to kill their mate on return. They thought that they would divide the money between the two of them. All the three wicked men carried out their cruel plans. The thief who wanted all the money for himself came to the forest with the poisoned food. The two men in the forest hit him and killed him. Then they ate the poisoned food and died. Thus, these evil people met with an e...
2 comments
Read more

​​"Helping Others" An English motivational short story with moral

​​"Helping Others" An English motivational short story with moral short story Once there was a small boy named Shankar. He belonged to a poor family.  One day, he was crossing through the forest carrying some woods. He saw an old man who was very hungry.  Shankar wanted to give him some food, but he did not have food for his own.  So he continued on his way.  On his way, he saw a deer who was very thirsty.  He wanted to give him some water, but he did not have water for himself.  So he went on his way ahead. Then he saw a man who wanted to make a camp but he did not have woods.  Shankar asked his problem and gave some woods to him.  In return, he gave him some food and water.  Now he went back to the old man and gave him some food and gave some water to the deer. The old man and the deer were very happy.   Shankar then happily went on his way. However, one day Shankar fell down the hill.  He was in pain but he couldn’...
Post a Comment
Read more

"The Crow and The Necklace" An English Story in Short

"The Crow and The Necklace" An English Story in Short learning English by story Once a crow and his wife built their nest atop a huge banyan tree beside a river. They were very happy there. But when the female crow laid her eggs, they were in for an unpleasant shock. A huge snake who lived in a hole at the bottom of the tree came up and ate all their beautiful eggs. The crows were helpless with anger and pain. “You can’t let this wicked snake eat our children anymore," cried the female crow bitterly. “You have to find a way to save them from him,’ she said. “Let us go to our friend the jackal. He is very clever. He will surely be able to help us with a solution," said the male crow. They both flew to the cave in the forest where their friend the jackal lived. The jackal saw them coming. “Hello my friends. Why do you look so sad and worried? Can I help you in any way?"he asked. “Every time my wife lays eggs in our nest, a wicked snake living at the foot of the t...
1 comment
Read more

"Love is in the Air" An English Story in Short

"Love is in the Air" An English Story in Short learning English by story Every summer, Penny travels to a family reunion barbeque. Penny is never excited, and this year is no different. She dreads the drive.  She does not like talking to her relatives. And she does not like the smell of hamburgers. (Penny is a vegetarian.) When Penny arrives, she sees lots of familiar faces. It is July and Uncle Vernon is wearing a sweater. Uncle Vernon is always cold. It’s very mysterious.  She sees her cousin Polly. Polly has six children. The youngest one screams. Then the oldest one screams. Polly’s children are always screaming.  She sees many of her other cousins in the field playing softball. They play a softball game every year, and it always ends in a big argument.  Penny wonders, again, why they never solve it. Then Penny sees an incredibly handsome man. She stares at him. He catches her staring. He smiles and walks over to her. Penny is very nervous. She is nervous because...
Post a Comment
Read more

"Self Confidence" An English Story in Short

"Self Confidence" An English Story in Short learning English by story  There was a business executive who was deep in debt and could see no way out. Creditors were closing in on him. Suppliers were demanding payment. He sat on the park bench, head in hands, wondering if anything could save his company from bankruptcy.  Suddenly an old man appeared before him. “I can see that something is troubling you,” he said. After listening to the executive’s woes, the old man said, “I believe I can help you.” He asked the man his name, wrote out a check, and pushed it into his hand saying, “Take this money. Meet me here exactly one year from today, and you can pay me back at that time.” Then he turned and disappeared as quickly as he had come.  The business executive saw in his hand a check for $500,000, signed by John D. Rockefeller, then one of the richest men in the world! “I can erase my money worries in an instant!” he realized. But instead, the executive decided to put the unca...
Post a Comment
Read more

​​"Appreciation of Hard Work" An English motivational short story with moral

​​"Appreciation of Hard Work" An English motivational short story with moral short story One young academically excellent person went to apply for a managerial position in a big company. He passed the first interview, the director did the last interview, made the last decision. The director discovered from the CV that the youth’s academic achievements were excellent all the way, from the secondary school until the postgraduate research, Never had a year when he did not score. The director asked, “Did you obtain any scholarships in school?” The youth answered “none”. The director asked,  “Was it your father who paid for your school fees?” The youth answered, “My father passed away when I was one year old, it was my mother who paid for my school fees”. The director asked,  “Where did your mother work?” The youth answered, “My mother worked as clothes cleaner. The director requested the youth to show his hands. The youth showed a pair of hands that were smooth and p...
Post a Comment
Read more

"The Hospitality of The Pigeon" An English Story in Short

"The Hospitality of The Pigeon" An English Story in Short learning English by story Once upon a time, there lived two pigeons. They were husband and wife. They spend their day looking for food. In the evening they would come and rest on their favorite tree in the forest.  One evening, the wife returned home early. A usual she was waiting for her husband, when suddenly it started raining. She strated to worry. “Where are you, my dear? You never get so late," she whispered to herself.   Just then she saw a bird-catcher coming towards her. In a cage he had a pigeon. It was her husband. “OH no, what shall I do now" I wish I can help my husband," she said. She desperately tried to distract the bird-catcher by flapping her wings, but all in vain.  Soon, it stopped raining. “Brrr! It is so cold," said the bird-catcher. His clothes were wet. He decided to sit under the same tree where the two pigeons lived.  The poor wife sat by her husband’s cage. And she started...
8 comments
Read more

"Love and Time" Short Story with Moral

"Love and Time" Short Story with Moral Once upon a time, there was an island where all the feelings lived: Happiness, Sadness, Knowledge, and all of the others, including Love. One day it was announced to the feelings that the island would sink, so all constructed boats and left. Except for Love. Love was the only one who stayed. Love wanted to hold out until the last possible moment. When the island had almost sunk, Love decided to ask for help. Richness was passing by Love in a grand boat. Love said, "Richness, can you take me with you?" Richness answered, "No, I can't. There is a lot of gold and silver in my boat. There is no place here for you." Love decided to ask Vanity who was also passing by in a beautiful vessel. "Vanity, please help me!" "I can't help you, Love. You are all wet and might damage my boat," Vanity answered. Sadness was close by so Love asked, "Sadness, let me go with you." "Oh . . . Love, I...
Post a Comment
Read more