S02E48 The Reluctant Bride by Iqbal Hussain

Classic Ghost Stories

Tony Walker

Fiction, Drama, Science Fiction

4.9 • 686 Ratings

🗓️ 11 September 2021

⏱️ 54 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In rural Pakistan, a rickshaw driver stops by a Peepal Tree and a beautiful bride steps out from the shadows. Of course, at first he thinks she must be a churail, but despite his mother's warnings, he knows he must help this distressed woman. How will his kindness be rewarded?A story by modern British author Iqbal Hussain. After the story I had the great pleasure of interviewing Iqbal and talking about this story and his writing in general.Iqbal HussainIqbal is one of seven writers chosen for the 2021/22 Megaphone scheme for YA/children’s writers. He is one of fifteen emerging writers to feature in the Mainstream anthology by Inkandescent, with his short story “The Reluctant Bride”, publication date mid-2021. His short story “A Home from Home” won gold prize in the Creative Future Writers’ Awards 2019. He is a recipient of the inaugural London Writers’ Awards 2018 and was shortlisted for the Penguin Random House WriteNow scheme 2017. Iqbal is working on his first novel, Northern Boy, about being a “butterfly among the bricks”. https://www.ihussainwriter.comIqbal's Twitter @ihussainwriter Mainstream by Ikandescent This collection brings thirty authors in from the margins to occupy centre-page. Queer storytellers. Working class wordsmiths. Chroniclers of colour. Writers whose life experiences give unique perspectives on universal challenges, whose voices must be heard. And read.Mainstream by Inkandescent is here: https://amzn.to/2XURiKZ (https://amzn.to/2XURiKZ) (my affiliate link)If You Appreciate The Work I’ve Put In Here https://www.patreon.com/barcud (Become A Patreon) For Bonus StoriesOr https://ko-fi.com/tonywalker (buy me a coffee) , if you’d like to keep me working. https://bit.ly/somecomeback (Music) by The Heartwood InstituteSupport the showVisit us here: www.ghostpod.orgBuy me a coffee if you're glad I do this: https://ko-fi.com/tonywalkerIf you really want to help me, become a Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/barcudMusic by The Heartwood Institute: https://bit.ly/somecomeback Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Everybody dies, don't they?
0:09.0	Everybody come back.
0:12.0	Isn't that so?
0:14.0	You tried to get into the locked drawer today, didn't you?
0:17.0	How do the dead come back, mother?
0:20.0	What's the secret?
0:22.3	The reluctant bride by Iqbal Hussein.
0:27.9	As he drives past the Haveli, his mother's warnings flit through his head.
0:33.4	Don't relieve yourself under a tree at night.
0:36.3	You might disturb a gin. Never bathe after
0:39.3	sunset. Who knows what spirits you'll attract? The feet of a Juryl point backwards.
0:47.5	The burnt-out mansion has lain empty for decades, unloved by buyers and shunned by locals.
0:57.0	The crumbling towers and minarets loom like pitchforks against the near full moon, while bats wheel in and out of the shutteless windows.
1:04.0	He detects movement through the gates, and his hand clutches the tawees around his neck before remembering he lost it years ago.
1:13.6	Devoid of its protection, he touches his earlobes instead.
1:19.6	As he navigates the country roads, he drums the dashboard and launches into an old film song,
1:26.6	his nasal tones cutting through the
1:29.1	foot, foot, foot of the engine. Having plied his trade at night for so long, he would
1:35.2	struggle with the madness of the day. Even in these small hours, he finds passengers, a broken-down
1:41.6	car, a party-goer missing the last bus, an urgent dash to the hospital.
1:48.0	The money may not be much, but he lives simply.
1:53.0	Something large darts across his path.
	...

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