Loop Stories 1

In Rohith’s voice

At 11 in the night we decided to visit our good old place – Crocodile Lake. The real name for crocodile lake is mallammanahalli kere. When you take left deviation from Kanakapura road at thalagatta pura and ride 6 km, you’ll find this vast lake. It is believed to be haunted or at least jinxed. First time when we went there it was too blood tingling. Only a while after, we got so used to it that we even knew the pits and humps on the mud road.

We left at the midnight collecting our quota of booze and stuff from Krishna bar and when we hit the mud road on the left deviation, it was around 1 AM. We reached the spot and drank and smoked up. It was a beautiful night. Sitting in the cold night by the side of the lake, watching the waters evaporate, Sky full of stars, girl friend, friends, booze and stuff- All made it worth living life for. It made perfect sense that we live to see the miracles happen and I had seen one that night.

As usual- we were high and we decided to return at 3:00 AM. We were 8 men and 3 girls on 3 bikes and a car. Me and my girl friend left late from the lake. The mud road is all bushy. In between there is a thick forest for 3 km and its really scary with tall trees in pin drop silence. Once you enter the forest, it’s totally dark and you would not get to see the sky. That night mild rustling of the leaves was the only sound heard in the whole world. I was riding by my instincts and I happened to hear a new sound. It was like a bell on the cow’s neck. My girl friend also heard it next moment and we turned left to see what it was. To our bewilderment, we saw a small girl-like creature toddling on the hard ground. I saw my girlfriend’s face and she was all scarlet. We both froze that moment. She gestured to hurry. When we reached the main road, we told what we saw to our friends and by then my girl was calm and she started to speak. “Guys Dontya worry. Weh are al high and expected to see things like thyat. Place’s jinxed man…” She was drunk but had not smoked up. She wasn’t really high.

On the main road, all girls got into the car and all guys on the bikes. I always make sure the girls come by car because the cops won’t get them if they are in the car. When guys meet there is automatically a rally. I clutched down the bike and de-geared. The bike hopped once and I led the rally. After racing for 10 km. there is a steep left turn and there are a no. of hoardings on both sides of the curve ranging from ground level- stone size to crane size. Involuntarily I read a few boards and crossed them.

At a small village, I stopped at our usual Lakshmi garage for a smoke and to wait for the others to join. Unusually they joined late and they said they saw a real ghost (?) somewhere.

“Dude, Dude.. didntya see? I saw one man.. man he was like.. like.. wearing all white shirt… like they show in the ujala add dude.. and khaki pants.. He was on the left…dude.. Behind that SVIT board.. His face was… fuck.. fuck.... whatdya say..? Like some weird. Fuck man he was… His tongue was outside his mouth and havinga big knife in his hand… and he looked scary man…He ran to the middle of the road…. As if he wants ta hold us…fuck dude..”

“Watda fuck? Where did ya him dude?”

“Near that ashram cross man… he was real fuck… like the real ghost…ah”

“hey…. lets go and see him man? I want to see him too...comah…?”

“Yo crazy???”

“Lets go dude…”

We started back from there and in two minutes we encountered the car in which my other friends were coming. Even before they could ask why we were heading back, they had a story to tell us. Neha spoke first.

“Guys guys.. Ya know wat uh…? We saw a ghost there near the hoardings…”

“It was like a man….he.. he was holding a big knife.”

“raellyy…??” Guys in my gang were trying to hide their laugh.

“ya man.. He was like all fucked up…Like as if he was trying to get hold of someone”

“how did he look like?”

“He was like…. Like his face was all black. Hmmm…. He wore white shirt.. hmm ya. That shirt was like too bright…. Hmm like its some kinda having tube lights inside”

“and no pants..?”

“I didn’t see… hmmm we didn’t see..”

“and his teeth, tongue hairs… were all creepy.. He looked too ghost like.. fuck that fellow”

“hey but you said he was standing on the right side” I turned to my old guys.

“Ya man he was on the right side.. I saw him first.”

“But these people say he was standing on the left behind the SVIT board.”

“that’s what I told ya dude. Seee.. he is real. I told ya. When we saw him, he was behind the board and he tried to kill us. But he cad not get us. He must’ve crossed the road and waited on the left side.. you are thinking we are high and’ve mistaken some object on the road right ah…??”

“No dude.. I didn’t think that way… okie comah.. lets go and check out?”

We went back to the curve. There was nothing. Nothing at all. We searched for the knife. There was none. We shouted for him. He didn’t return. We begged him to come out. No response.. We pelt stones to the boards. Nothing happened. I felt disappointed. We went home and slept for the next day.

I met my friends in the evening at barista. I had not remembered anything for the whole of last night. They recited the entire story to me. I wondered how naturally we were group-hypnotized: for some of my friends had seen the man with the white shirt on the right side and rest had seen him – the same man with the white shirt and the knife on the left side of the road.

Can this happen to anyone??