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View Full Version : The White Light Calling - 9



iniyamalar
29th May 2011, 04:58 PM
Episode: 9

Part 1:

The sun himself didn’t want to see them get separated, for he hurried behind a huge fluff of a cloud.

“Oh Chemba please be safe” Madhan muttered to himself and focused his eyes on the fast fading white spot- that was chemba running.

He knew he had to move fast and he did just that. He could see her form now, whether she was closer now or just slowing down he didn’t know. In a flash she was gone. She seemed to have vanished into thin air. Madhan stopped and looked in all directions. She really was gone.

Madhan’s heart was beating wildly and it threatened that it would stop beating any time sooner. This was new. This feeling was totally new to him.

He was born in a barn of a Native American farm, his granny’s farm. He was brought up as a rugged kid, doing all chores at the farm and learning the traditional values by practice and in the hard way, from both Indian origins.

He was a good sports man (even a swords man in his Cambridge days) a hunts man and an adventure lover. He had seen more dangerous situations than this one.

Didn’t he even escape from a wild boar once, when he was in the woods alone?- and oh! that was when he was fifteen or so. This trip was just a piece of cake for him, at least that was what he had thought until a moment ago.

He was quite sure that all was going to end well or he will find a way to do so.

But, when the moment he lost Chemba, he felt total emptiness coming back at him. Everything stood still, even his heart. A vacuum slowly developed inside him as though he had lost his soul itself.



“Oh! Granny! You must have been a pathetically romantic person. How could one fall in love in just a day?”

“It was not a love at first sight my dear. It was a love that was predetermined. When I saw him first, I felt like I had seen him for years in my life. I felt already like his wife. May be we were a couple in our previous lives and didn’t get enough of it” she let out a warm laugh.

“Love from last birth? Oh please! Gimme a break! But grandpa must have been a real lucky guy or a really hot guy” he winked at her.

His granny laughed at it and said, “Both my dear, he was both. The moment I saw him in his loose pants and stuffy shirt and a very cozy smile, looking hot and soft at the same time, I fell head over heels in love with him and felt as if I had known him forever.”

“you guys dated?”

“Oh that was not called like that back in those days. But we did meet on several occasions, secretly.”

“Cool.. what would you both do? Sing songs like in Indian movies?”

“We just sat there, looking at each other. That was enough for both of us.”

“Oh come on, I am old enough to know stuff. You didn’t keep staring at each other all those years. Well, at least some fights? Didn’t you guys ever have fights and misunderstandings?, I mean you both belonged to very different lifestyles.”

“Surprisingly not, my boy. Though my Mom was English, my dad had wanted to raise me as a true Indian and so the east Indian ways were not so different as one might imagine, although there were few. But those were negligible in front of our love.”

“So how did you both communicate? Who learned language first?”

“It was him. But we never needed language to communicate. A look and a smile was more than enough for us. Take it from me my dear boy. One day you will understand how it is to love someone, and to wake up every day with a feeling that you have found a place in this big earth to call it your home and a soul to call it your love.”

“mm.. yeah I might. Did you feel bad when you left him first?”

“Oh! yeah! That was when I felt the power of the love I had for him. It was like, my heart was being torn into two little pieces. It pained me miserably and I couldn’t bear the thought that I was gonna live without him. I was like “what the hell am I doing leaving him?”. I just wanted to jump out of the train and run into his hands.”

“So, what did you do?”

“I just did that” she laughed. He had laughed that day disbelievingly.

When he first saw Chemba he somewhat understood what his granny must have felt the very first day. But his scientist brain objected to it and asked him to know more and talk more. It argued that it was just a chemistry, a hormonal effect.

But right at this moment, even if it was for a very short time, he understood perfectly well what his granny must have felt that day in the train, may be worse than her.

“What what? Where has she gone?” Smitha asked breathlessly.

“In a moment. We will find her in a moment (or I will die).” He said and scrutinized the scene in front of him. His heart pounded like a hundred mustangs running at the same time. He sharpened his vision and screened the view in front.

“There..” he started running with smitha tagging behind. “where?”she asked doubtfully, but soon shut her mouth.

In a distance they could see a sudden fall in the ground. A very shallow trough filled with murky water and huge tree stood near it. Chemba was kneeling down, looking into something. She was bending down showing her back to them. When they neared her, she heard the sound of rustling leaves and turned towards them.

“There. I told you. You people didn’t believe me. See?”she motioned them towards her.

Smitha and Madhan were shocked at what lay in front of them..

Oviya was lying motionless in front of the dark pit. Chemba sat there wiping off her friend’s face with her hand and was looking for wounds she might have got while running here.

“How did you ..how did you know she was here?”Smitha was still shaken.

“I didn’t know. I really didn’t except that.. I told you about that man in orange. He called me here right? From the beginning, Something like a strong force was pulling me here. First to the stream and from there that man who called me here. When I got here I couldn't find him anywhere, but instead I saw her. “

“She is unconscious. Madhan, can you see what happened to her?”

“what man?” Smitha still looked at Chemba doubtfully. But Madhan had returned to his world.

“Oh I would happily” he said and squatted near her. He really was happy.

Seeing Chemba made him realize and question himself how he had lived without her until this date. He smiled unknowingly.

“What are you smiling for?” Chemba frowned.

“I will tell you some other time, not now.” he said and continued to inspect Oviya.

“And while you are at it, please tell me what could have caused this hallucinations in these people.” she said and pulled out the water bottle from his bag and was about to drink when he snatched it from her.

“What? I am thirsty. You don’t want to share even your bottle with me?” She was furious.

“Oh ! I am ready to share my entire life with you my dear, but not this. If you are not already hallucinating, you will if you drink from this.”

“What?”

“Yeah. It’s the water from that pond.”

“How did..you..was that pond poisoned? And how did you know that? Why didn’t you tell us earlier.?”

“I would have if I had known it earlier. I am not sure even now. But I guess it’s the water that caused the hallucinations. Remember Oviya fell into the pond and when I asked you about it later, you said that she drank that water. Then I remembered vikki drinking from that pond too. When Vikki too started to act weird I suspected that something could have been wrong with the water. I knew Vangs and shekar didn’t drink and I didn’t either. But I didn’t know about you.” he turned towards Smitha.

“No. I didn’t. Even Chemba didn’t drink the pond water” she was still doubtful.

“yeah. I didn’t. So what?” Chemba asked.

“Oh but you did Chemba. You did drink” he said.

“No I didn’t.”

“You drank from vikki’s bottle when we were searching for oviya, because you didn’t have water in yours. I saw it. And vikki took water from the pond. “

“oh lord” smitha cupped her mouth and cried.

“please, stop it smiths. I am not hallucinating right now. If that’s what you are worried about . And even if I did, it was for good that at least I found Oviya.”

Smitha still looked fearful.

iniyamalar
29th May 2011, 04:58 PM
“That’s why I readily accepted when you wanted to go down. We needed someone to go up and look for vikki, and all the same I wanted to get you down safely. I also wanted to look out for oviya, so when you told your plan, it looked quite good. If we really make it fast we can reach the base camp earlier, I have checked it already in Shekar’s sat phone. At least you three will be on safe hands. I also saw in the wiki map about a location up there. I have instructed shekar to go there if they ran late. It is that Ainthalai Pothigai and it seems to be a bare cliff for any tiger activities. So they must be safe there.”

“What about snakes? "

" it got that name because the rock formation looks like a five headed serpent not because there are lot of snakes, but even if there are many, the guys can take care.”

“Believe me. Shekar can take care of snakes. He is quite trained.” Chemba stopped walking and looked at him.

“Just what are you guys?”

“Please Chemba, we are just normal guys. He learned about snakes and how to stay safe from them when he came to Aberdeen with me. All these guys stayed with me for more than a month and they are quite capable of taking care of themselves. Don’t get deceived by their sophisticated looks. Vangs loves to trap a snake. They are quite alright believe me.”

Still Chemba looked warily at him.

“I have showed him a few herbs to ward off snakes. There. are you alright now?"

"I knew it.."she said menacingly. "You know a lot more than you speak, and you say that you speak your mind. bull ..." she was angry.

"Chemba i am not hiding anything. I just thought i would say all these to you later. Remember once i told you that i need to say about a lot of things. It was about this. And please believe it is not so bad what we are doing here. It is just so simple. If i tell you now you will also join us but I don't want that to happen. I cannot risk another heart attack."

"A what?"

"nothing. Believe me we will have a long chat about this once we get down ok?"

she looked a little convinced at that and so he continued.

“OK. One more advantage about that place is, it is also quite reachable from up through the tiger reserve. If we reach down faster, you can send message through the camp to the tiger reserve people to send help for us there.”

“Us?”

“Yeah, once we reach down safely, you both go to hospital and get yourself checked; I will run up again and join the guys.”

“what? You alone?’

“come on chemba, we don’t have time for this chit chat, we can do that later, now if we don’t hurry she may even fall into a coma.”

“Oh my god.”

“ I don’t know how far this deliriant will work. ”

“You said hallucination?”

“Deliriants are the drugs which might cause the hallucination. It could be that or any other variant of hallucinogen."

They rushed up, Madhan scooping up the limp body of Oviya and the two girls following him they started to walk. Madhan eyed at smitha and smitha nodded knowingly. She went near chemba and gripped her hand tightly. Chemba thought she was scared and she just smiled at her.

“what is that?”

“What?”

“Deliriant?”

“A drug, used to.. you ask all that to the doctor.”

Suddeny remembering something he asked chemba “How did you think that oviya could have come in this dangerous path?”

“Oh I knew that she didn’t come this way. Something told me that she must be somewhere here near the stream . But she could have easily come here by foot if she came through the woods quite a distant though but possible. That is what she must have done. Just as I thought. But I still don’t know who that man was. ”

“Then why the hell did we come that way like lizards?”Smitha asked angrily.

“Because we came here faster. It would not have taken even quarter of the time she took to come here”

“But still it was quite dangerous”

“yeah, But you did great. Didn’t you city girl?” chemba smiled at her friend and squeezed her hand said “Sorry for dragging you into this di”

“oh shut up ok. I know I am whining, but I am not just enjoying really either. Its ok with me, except for the hallucinations” smiths said with a disturbed smile and chemba kissed her soundly on her cheeks.

“Mmm. Some people are lucky even in this tragedy “Madhan said sadly from behind.
Chemba just ignored his comment but smitha laughed shakily happy to have got back both her friends.

She asked him whether Shekar and Vangs would find Vikki. Madhan assured her that they must have by now.

They still didn’t get signal in their phone. She asked him again whether oviya will be alright. He smiled at them and showed them forward. There they could see Maruthan looking wide eyed at them. They had reached the camp in a short cut.



“Ok. Chemba, just because you feel alright it doesn’t mean you are alright. Ok? Get a doctor for yourself and do a proper check up.”

“Smitha please give this bottle to the lab and check what is with the water”

“What do you think must have happened? Something natural?”

“Could be anything. Like a datura plant . It is a deadly poisonous flower which is known for it’s hallucinatory effects, before turning fatal. But I think this one is a mild form deliriant . “

“A what again?”

“Ask all that to the doctor now I must go. Smitha please take care of my princess”, he winked at Chemba and turned around. A cold palm fell on his hand.

He turned around to see a tear stricken chemba. “ I am not worried or anything, but you know? just try to be safe ok? And you better come back with my brother.”she said in a husky but otherwise strong voice.

Madhan just loved her for this. He loved her strength, he loved her simplicity. He loved her for just being herself and he just loved looking at her.

He looked at her for a long time and smiled and said “I will come back with your brother. I will definitely come back, at least to see that pretty smile in your face. Nothing will happen to me before that. You take care ok? Bye”
He was gone.

Chemba felt terrible. she fell on her friend’s shoulder and cried. She cried all the way to the jeep and sat in. Smitha kept consoling her and assuring her that everyone will be alright soon. It was weird for her to console Chemba.

Somehow she felt that she had to take care of the two girls at least until Madhan comes back. That gave her strength and she sat back straight.

Maruthan and the camp officers were questioning them but Chemba was too tired to answer.

Chemba felt angry on Madhan for not taking people back with him. He had told her that , that would only slow him down. But now the forest officers were furious on being so negligent on obeying the rules. When the girls told everything about what happened, they took immediate action and at once they were made to transport to the nearest good hospital.

Information was passed on to her parents. But certain things were hidden, which otherwise might get them into trouble like the issue of tranquilizers.

In that jumpy jeep ride, Chemba felt so much comfort that she slowly closed her eyes. Her last conscious thought was about vikki and how he would be found and then about madhan who had willingly gone in search into that dangerous forest.

Her heart ached for his 'straight from the heart' smile.

And the last thought that came to her mind was that bright and luminous white light.

She felt that the light was calling her now. And she fell asleep.

pavalamani pragasam
30th May 2011, 08:12 PM
Quite eerie and scary!!!!!