The Mumble

Our trip to Ladakh was impulsive and without any prior planning. John, Steve, Sara, Maria and me that is Mary, went on a bike-trip to Leh in Ladakh. We were hoping to have a lot of fun, but rather we came back with an uncanny experience. This incident is engraved on our hearts forever……

 

We all knew how to ride bikes. We were super excited about this trip and when it got late we would just stop for the day and resume the next morning. Due to the high altitude it was tough but we were stubborn and we didn’t want to stop. After a few days of biking prodigiously we wanted to stop and rest for a longer time. So we started searching for a resort and ended up reaching an eerie place, most abruptly.

We were jovial and we went inside. It was a two-storey resort. The most unusual thing was that there was no network coverage. When we enquired we found that the resort was handled by a couple ­­­­Amrita and Tanzing. We were enervated and ravenous. Amrita could tell that by just looking at us. She made delicious momos and the traditional butter tea to make us feel better.  After having the delicious meal we were gratified.

Snow started in the middle of the night. The next morning snow was three feet high. We realised it would be arduous so we all agreed to not to travel today and rest one more day in the resort. Countless days passed but it was snowing endlessly. We were getting uneasy as the days passed. Our destiny was hapless. It was like someone had cursed our trip.

One of those uneasy nights John heard a shuddering mumble, “Come to me, help me! Help me, Pleaseeeee!” First he thought that his uneasiness was becoming real. Then he woke up, drank some water and sat up on his bed. When he was wide awake he  heard the unnerving whisper again. He started looking around to see if someone was trying to take advantage of his immense uneasiness. Then he looked out of the windows and saw a faint silhouette of a woman. It was still snowing heavily. He went towards the road. He traversed the road sanguinely. The woman was on the other side of the road. Then he saw a lady wearing a traditional Ladakhi dress. Her face was covered with her hands. He could hear her sniveling. He asked with concern, “Excuse me, do you need help?” The lady then turned around timidly. She was a Ladakhi woman with scars all over her face. John was terrified. He ran back to the resort as fast as he could.

The next morning John told about his last night incident to all and sundry. But nobody believed him. Everybody kept questioning him in a sardonic manner. But, because of our negligence towards him we couldn’t perceive that he was getting sick day by day. One day he fainted while eating. We called a doctor immediately. He gave him some antibiotics. The medicines were not giving him any relief.

Amrita recommended, “We need a priest ma’am.” We were atheists. But one day the same incident happened with Sara. But Sara knew that no one would believe her. So she started the enquiry herself. She first asked the Ladakhi couple. They were not agreeing to answer. Then Sara had to bribe them. Then they revealed that around five years ago a girl was murdered callously by her own brother. After killing her he threw her in a well near their house. Since then her spirit had been wandering around seeking justice. After hearing this Sara was disturbed and depressed. She then went to the well and retrieved her body. We all together burnt it and hoped that she would get some peace now.

Strangely from the next day everything fell back on track. We decided to minimize our trip and go back home. One day I got a call from Sara. She was in a panic. She said, “The same, the same lady, from Ladhakh is standing at my door. Help.....”