SCARY MORNINGS

A Story by Tia

Tia is visiting her grandparents house. One fine day she and her grandfather decide to embark on a journey in an attempt to see the Chambal, A river in northern India which turns to be a horror trip.

Scary Mornings

i was at my grand fathers house. The only place in the whole wild world where the 15 year old me had an advantage of acting like a little 10 year old. it was good subtracting my mother's bickering over how i should act mature and lady like. but my grandfather always stood by my generally more idiotic and childish arguments with my elders which he neither the less enjoyed. Also, considering i was in natures heaven, i decided to live to my fullest that week and enjoy. but what was a week of enjoyment without a bit of adventure? so on the 2nd day of my trip i decided to go visit the chambal(a river in northern india) with my grandfather which was a few kilometres from our house.

it was an early autumn morning and it felt enchanted, the air was cold and i had to wear a sweater to keep myself warm. my grandfather was up. he was always up for an adventure, especially with his only granddaughter. he packed a Tiffin of pancakes and i decided to take along a packet of orange juice. everything was covered in a heavy mist outside. it was like the clouds had come down to greet the earth. it 4:30 am and it was still dark. the mist outside made everything undoubtedly invisible. i clutched my grandfathers hand as we walked down a narrow path. I was logically scared. it was dark and cold outside but the view of the chambal during sunrise was worth it. But then we came upon a forest. it was terrifying. "we can't go in there..." i murmured. my grandfather said "it's nothing" and dismissed my protest. I wanted to say something but we were already inside. the trees looked like horrendous devils. with all leaves withered there naked branches looked like they would come to life any moment and attack us. but i kept reminding myself of the wondrous view we would see if i stopped complaining. nothing was going to happen. to engage myself and to stop thinking about life's surprising horrors i decided to talk to my grandfather instead. "how long will this be?" i asked. "not much." he replied. i could not see whether he was lying or not. i could barely see his face. He looked like a Ghost. "have you ever been through this path before?" i asked impatiently. "yes! many times when i was a child. was your age then." he said with a sudden enthusiasm. "when will we reach?" i said in despair. i just could not embrace the cold winds and the darkness around "there might be wild animals around" i added in an attempt to go back home. "Oh yes! how could have i forgotten about the leopard? a leopard has been sighted." he said with a certain humour. "What Leopard?" i demanded frightened. "but it won't be any harm to us. two is better than one." he looked down at me. i could still not figure out his expressions. "no grandpa, the more of us the better for his kind. he'll have a feast!" i said remembering the episodes of animal planet where four African natives had been killed by one lion alone. Horrifying. "don't worry Kiddo! every thing's gonna be all right!" he said merrily. i hope he could see my face. i only hope. i clutched his hand tighter.

we had already walked a kilometre now, the silence was dreadful. even the faintest voice of anything other than the wind seemed to be a quick relief for my ears. But the voices never came too often. But that's when i heard a rustle of leaves. it was very faint. i pulled my grandfather's shirt. "did you hear that?" i murmured. "yes. must be a bird..." he said sounding uncertain. but then the rustling got louder. "a bird...really grandpa?" i said looking straight into the mist. suddenly, i felt something furry touch my leg. i grabbed it but then i heard a growl and let go. it was a tail, a tail of a leopard. my grandfather suddenly turned his face towards me. i could clearly judge looks through the heavy mist now. he grabbed me and we made a run for the nearest tree. Even after years of retirement from tree climbing my grandfather could easily do it better than me. when we were settled on the cold branches i shrieked at him "you knew there was a leopard then why did you bring me here in the first place. do you want to get us killed?". "there was no leopard! i made that up. i never really knew there was a leopard." he said panting. "what will grandma do if she hears this?" i said. he looked at me and threw at me a pitiful smirk and replied "either ways we are going to Die, here we'll be eaten directly and there she'll steam and fry us first. we'll be tandoori humans. ". Just great. god, kill me now.

after 30 minutes of restless waiting for the leopard to devour us, my grandfather and i decided to descend from the close heavens. it seemed Death had decided not to bestow upon us its killer charms. but we were still alert and looked around for any threats as we touched ground. but then we heard another growl, a very faint one though. I really did not want to die or climb the tree again so i started running in the opposite direction with my grandfather running behind and doing his best to keep along with his granddaughters pace. My heart was pounding so hard it seemed that at any moment it would fall out of my rib cage straight into the ground. after a lot of running i stopped at some kind of ruins. i Guess it was a tomb. it was a colossal wreckage. i looked behind but i could not see my grandfather. i got scared and the horrifying ambience started sending chills down my spine. i looked around for shelter but saw none. the mist was so thick that several times i bumped into things i could not guess the true nature of and nor could i see them. I don't know why but i was praying to god neither the less. My life was dear to me. suddenly i felt a hand grab my shoulder. i was sure it would be my grandfathers. Only it was not. I turned to see the face of a beautiful lady wearing a sari. my first reaction was surprise. what was a lady doing out here in the middle of the freaking night wearing a sari? "hello" she said. i could not see her face properly. "hello" i replied. the sight of another human was blissful. "what are you doing here?" i asked politely. "enjoying the weather." she replied. i looked at her trying to examine the gravity of her expressions. "enjoying.....?" i murmured "there's a leopard around..". "I know" she said with a sense of delight. i looked at her confused but i wonder if she could even see me properly. "alright" i said "i am Tinkle. what is your name?". "i am Vasundhara. you have a funny name." she said in a squeaky voice. "Yeah, i know. i hear that a lot." i said bitterly. "Why do you come here?" she asked. "my grandfather wanted me to see the chambal during sunrise." i replied quickly. "don't you recognise me?" she asked suddenly and pulled me towards her. "No I don't" i said and pulled away "why would you do that?". her hands had suddenly become an overwhelming supernatural force which won't let go of my hand. "you are mine." she said and her voice became sore and demonic. "leave me" I wailed. she suddenly smiled. even through all that mist i could see her razor sharp teeth. i could analyze the situation. i was being held by a Ghoul. "Grandpa ! Grandpa !" i started shouting "help!". "You are going to die." she said the wind blew the mist and i could finally see her blood red eyes. In an attempt for freedom i started kicking my legs and she suddenly let go. "Tia! where are you?" i could finally hear my grandfathers voice. he was here. My wonderful, most awesome and heroic grandfather was here to save me. I doubt that though. "here Grandpa!" i moaned. He helped me up. "Do you know what place this is?" he said. "how am i supposed to know. i dont live here." i replied "but i have to tell you a ghoul nearly killed me. She must be here somewhere. we have to flee. Now.". "OH! Vasundhara? the princess who drowned in the Chambal. They say her ghost haunts this area of her forest." he said. the mist was slowly going away. i could see his face. he was astonishingly full of enthusiasm. he could not sense the apathy in me. "to think about it we are standing on her tomb. used to be a beautiful place until that construction company decided to put a high rise here. maybe that's what angered her." he added. "Let's get out of here." i said and clutched onto his hand tightly. "don't let go this time rookie and i can promise no ghost aint hurting you!" he said looking into my eyes kindly. "Won't let go grandpa" i said smiling and clutching his hand even tighter until he moaned "not that tight kiddo!" . "WHERE ARE YOU GOING?" said a voice suddenly. i could see Vasundhara. she had taken her beautiful form again. "who is that gorgeous lady?" my grandfather questioned me. he let go of my hand and moved towards her. "how can we help you?" he said trying to sound like a gentle man. "grandpa Don't" i said in despair to see what was about to happen. But then the wind blew suddenly. the smiling Vasundhara's razor sharp teeth were put to display once again. My grandfather automatically stepped back. he clenched my arm. "run" he whispered.

after a lot of running and panting we finally reached our destination. the Banks of the Chambal. "we're here" he said. "yeah i know." i answered. "we made it on time" he said tilting my head upwards. "Magnificent." i murmured. The view was extremely beautiful. the sun was crimson orange and the waters of the river were like a mirror to the surroundings. the sky was pinkish blue and a dear was drinking water nearby. the mist had lifted. when the first rays of the sun hit my cold skin they felt like magic. it all seemed so surreal.

"Why are you being so incredulous to what we say?" i asked my grandmother. "it is unbelievable." she replied mainly focused on the utensils she was washing. the narration of what happened previously this morning didn't seem to interest her very much. "it is True." i said valorously "you can ask grandpa if you want to.". my grandmother turned her face towards my grandfather. he nodded in response. then she narrowed her eyes and looked at both of us "Don't disturb me with your petty little stories. I barely have time for myself. go get some milk from the shop or just do something productive at least." she went back to washing utensils. my grandfather sighed. we took off for the milk shop. "we'll go there sometime again" i said cheerfully. "Now that's my kiddo." he replied smiling.