SPOOKY LAKE

Spooky lake

Muha and Ronit were 15year old inseparable twins.Muha was intelligent and elegant and being head girl of school she  had slipped into habit of domination and athletic Ronit teased her as “The spoil sport”

The two  always looked forward for their trips to their ancestral village of Uttar Pradesh where now their grandparents lived; in spite the fact that sleepy village was quite dull. And this holiday  trip was an extra special one as they were to be accompanied by Vidisha, Muha’s best friend and Tarang, Ronit’s best friend. Since Muha and Ronit were in same class they shared their friend circle.

The four best friends sat chatting in railway train. Pratling about school, sports, parents, friends, food and whatever they could think of. Vidisha was describing one of her strange experience with their Science teacher, Miss Simon. Whom they have just named ‘Nesty’ one Nesty came from Nest+ y standing for her curly hair and other because she was often rude and therefore nasty also. Mr. Oberoi declared, “Children get ready we have almost reached.”

The excited noisy 4ascended to railway platform and as always they were awestruck by village, partially because of beauty of village and partially because of the time it has preserved with it.

After a short drive in bullock along the countryside,they reached the grandparents place to get the usual hearty welcome in their ancestral bungalow, which looked a bit spooky as a witness of it’s years old heritage.

Muha and Vidisha were given the room on 1st floor, which annoyed short-tempered Muha a little because they both had to climb up and down for every little thing, but then she learned their old maid, Payal had her accommodation in next room as Muha was quite fond of her maid so she gave way. Tarang and Ronit’s room was adjacent to Mr. and Mrs. Oberoi’s room on ground floor. The bungalow was so big that the twins believed that it could accomadate almost 100 people.

One day as they sat in luxurious dinning hall for breakfast eating mouth watering traditional village breakfast Muha noticed, “Where are Granny and Payalji I can’t see any of them.” Grandpa and Sukhlal (Their another helper) exchanged rather dark looks; with a disturbed kindness of their gentle faces and Grandpa said, "They have gone to pay obligations to village lake"

Ronit puzzuled asked, "What do you mean Grandpa?" Grandpa narrated,“Look children village is not so simple as it looks. There have been thefts in our village, which was Village Lake’s anger because of our ungrateful attitude and not giving the due sacrifices. So to save the village from further disasters we the villagers give a part of our income to the Lake.”

Ronit wouldn’t swallow such rubbish he inquired, “From where you people learn such things? In which century do you think we are living? There has been a simple theft in your village and you labeled it with some pagan ritual.” Their grandpa looked a bit offended but he was rather patient, he explained, “We did search in one or two suspect’s houses but we found nothing, but the same day a villager got a part of loot in lake, now if someone will steal why on earth will he throw it in lake until…?” he left the sentence darkly incomplete and got up from table. They knew it was useless to debate with him so all kept a piercing silence.

After a while Muha plainly asked if they could go swimming. Grandpa told, “Yes you may. Many villagers don’t go to lake now. But since, we have offered enough sacrifices to lake it won’t be angry. Besides Oberio’s are brave enough to set an example, go but don’t ever defy our believes- you might be there in city but this land is our birthplace and it command respect by following the age old traditions”

After lunch the four friends went to lake to swim even in hot dry summer the breeze near lake was as always pleasant and refreshing. Muha stretched her arms to there full length and expressed aloud, “The tenderness of my village.” The naughty group then jumped into chilling water.

Ronit challenged, “Tarang let’s see who is a better swimmer.” Tarang exclaimed, “Only you and me. The girls will be starters and judges to see you don’t cheat.” The competition began the boys dived and splashed, gasped and swam desperately and agitatedly the two moved.

But girls knew as usual Ronit will win and Tarang will blame the two of them for his loosing. He would argue that they were partial.

  But as Tarang was in middle of lake he exclaimed, “Good heavens! Guys come here have a look at this!” Ronit excitedly stroked, “I won- I won” Other three annoyed gazed at him, Vidisha remarked, “Why do you think Tarang came out?” Ronit acted innocent, “Why?” Muha wished to fight with her brother the same moment but Ronit called out “come here quickly you lot.”

Once they reached the spot that Tarang was pointing. The four prepared for under water dives to see what Tarang desired to show them so desperately so as to leave the competition in middle.

Inside water they saw a cave with closed entry it wasn’t natural for the way rocks lay it wasn’t like nature’s way. They breached their entry inside after several times coming up for fresh air.

Once in they found themselves in an under water tunnel in a corner laid some blazing jewels Tarang whispered, “I bet this tunnel is used by thief to keep his  loot.” They quietly slipped into another narrow opening in tunnel to find a person standing at the corner of room facing other side of it leaned over something.

Tarang and Ronit didn’t give the thief a chance to turn but  flunked themselves hard on him. Muha and Vidisha frantically searched for a rope or so to tie the thief and found it wrapped over a carton.

They desperately struggled to untie it by the time Tarang and Ronit were now resting on thief who was growling under pain.  And while untying the harsh jute roped Muha and Vidisha couldn’t help laughing seeing them sitting on thief comfortably and controlling him, and finally they got the rope with terribly bleeding fingers because of the cuts they received from battling. They fastened rope tight on thief’s hands.

Tarang asked, “Now how to take him out?” Vidisha’s intelligence helped she observed, “His clothes are perfectly dry he didn’t use the lake passage look there is an opening it must be the way out.”

The four pushed the crook who was helplessly trapped between the four friends and found a long narrow path with loads of twists and turns they crossed it hearing the grumbling from thief, "YOU pests spooky little children you have ruined me” and so when the long passage ended and they came into a bright field of village.

The thief grumbled “What a way I  found! in no one’s but my field was the tunnel leading straight to lake. no one could have ever suspected there can be opening from my field  and that I hid stolen goods there if only you wouldn’t have poked your long noses. I even packed the opening firmly when a few jewels floated into river accidentally but it helped me a lot, to deceive these foolish country bumpkins”

There Muha and Vidisha had started shouting on top of their voice and ran about to gather a crowd around so that thief may not run Tarang and Ronit held him strong from both hands as they did all the way in tunnel. Soon cops took over.

Then the village chief told the crowd, “How foolish we were to think that the lake wanted sacrifices. We had forgotten, that it is the life-giver of our harvest. And the only worship it wants from us is our respect; for it's purity. If it hadn’t been these brave children we might have continued our silly sacrifices and this thief would have robbed us. We need it to understand the crucial balance between us and nature and maintain it too, to have our peaceful existence free from dark clouds of ignorance.”

                                                                              -Manika Jain