Imagine you are in a village in North Kerala. You are returning home after the second show. The time is around 12.30 AM. You had your friend’s company till the banyan tree near the temple. Now you are on your own. The only light guiding you along the winding and treacherous road is from the moon side. The temple is closed for a week after the annual festival, and the legends advise people not to go near the temple for the next seven days for the fear of ghosts. (According to the history of the temple, Devi has gone to visit lord Shiva, and will be back only after seven days. So, the village is unprotected for these seven days.)
You pass the temple pond (ambalakkulam) and you could hear the sound of water gushing. You are slightly scared, still you look into the pond, and you see an old man in white dhoti washing his face with the cold water. You could feel the cold breeze on your face, and suddenly a chill runs through your spine.
The moment you open your eyes after a blink, the man is gone! You are startled, and the next thing you hear is someone following you.
Will you run for your life, or look back, or look for the old man?
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November 10, 2007 at 6:27 am
mahalakshmi
i would run, looking for my man
November 10, 2007 at 11:18 am
Dasan
Definitely trip on the image till I meet my demons.
November 12, 2007 at 10:06 pm
iamthewriter
I would definitely run; what if the old man wants a change of clothes! Or better still, I would look back to verify if the old man is following me, and if he is, I would still run, coz he being an old man, wouldn’t be able to run. If he is a ghost, he need not wash his face na. *Thinking, blinking
November 13, 2007 at 1:54 pm
comingbacktolife
@ Mahalakshmi: what if your man is a bigger scarecrow, who rushed from the scene and reached miles far before you even thought about absconding?
@dasan: If you happen to come across such a situation, best of luck dude!
@iamthewriter: Even if he is a ghost, you still would have done nothing but run, right?
November 13, 2007 at 6:41 pm
mahalakshmi
@comingbacktolife: i said i would look for my man, which means that even if my man isn’t around, i would go hunting him down for my rescue, for he would be my darker lord
November 15, 2007 at 2:34 pm
iamthewriter
@maha… ROTCL. Good one. True true.