The white light calling - 8

Hi readers,

Sorry for the delay, just had family come over from India. I know leaving the story in halfway without excuse was too bad on my part. But let me make it up to you.
How about three episodes at a stretch???

Thank you for the continuous support from you guys.
i love you all.
ok. come on.. lets go...
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Episode 8:

Part 1:



"Vikki.. vikki.."

"Vikram…."

Voices reverberated on the rocky surfaces in all directions.

Chemba closed her eyes for a moment and when she opened her eyes she looked all set for action. Looking at her from a distance Madhan came towards her.

“What is it ?”

“We have very little time. We need to move faster and smarter. How many sat phones do you have?”She carelessly scooped up her hair and twisted it up into a tight bun.

“Two. One is with Vikki which is not reachable right now for some reason.”

“Ok.. So. We split. Madhan you, I and Smitha will go down, in that rocky path. Shekar and Vangs will go up and let them take the one remaining sat phone with them.”

“Wait..wait..Chemba. On what basis are you deciding this? That path is too sharp and it looks dangerous” Madhan asked her in a concerned voice. He was keen in not taking a rash action.


“Path? Which path?” smitha looked in the direction Chemba showed. She didn’t see anything but a rocky texture with a tree or two dangling here and there. Which one is she calling a path?

“Yes Chemba. I cannot see a single flat surface in that for almost a ten minute stretch. You girls cannot climb down that thing. You are not professional climbers you know” Shekar too was skeptical in her decision.

“At least I am not.” smitha added in her objection, She was still searching or a path there .

“We need to find them before sunset or it is very dangerous. Something tells me that Oviya must have gone down the path leading to that stream” She pointed at a thin white line in some distance. “And vikki, though whatever happens to his mind, he will still take pictures. I can say that for sure because he had left everything else here except his camera. So you guys go up and find other scenic places. He might be there, if nothing had stopped him in the middle” she said that in a blurred voice.

She thought of her beloved cousin. Though he always fought with her most of the days, he had been her best friend from her childhood, from the very first day when she stepped into his house. That day, when the little girl chemba walked into their house. The, then ten year old vikki came to the crying girl and gave her his car to play with and he pulled her by her shoulders and wiped off her tears with his little fingers and said ‘ don’t cry we will play together. I will share everything with you’- that day came to her memory so vividly. She couldn’t stop her sobs.

But she had to. She didn’t have time for her silly sobs and she didn’t have time even for her weird dream. She had time only for her beloved friend and an affectionate brother.

She stood up and looked at the others. Madhan had been talking to others.

Vangs was totally against the decision of splitting. “why do you always listen to her? It’s true that she saved us from those tigers but that could have been plain luck. Just from that once, you want us to think that she will be right all the time? That’s so incredibly silly especially for you Maddy.

“No. Vangs. It’s not like that. I think her way of thinking is correct and I believe that we should do as she says, at least for now. We are still not un reachable ok? You know me guys. I won't let you down.”

"So you say her stupid logic is going to get us all out safe?"

"No I am just hoping and feel that it will work out fine. I feel posotive vibes on her. I know I sound weird"

“Oh weird? you call that weird. Sorry for saying but you suddenly seemed to have jumped into your great ancestors shoes. So when did you get into ‘pagan’ worshiping man?”Vangs spat back.

“Cut the crap Vangs. It’s nothing to do with the sex. If I had felt that on you, I would have said the same thing about you. Besides it’s just my suggestion. You can take it or leave it. And one more thing, I don’t agree to her just because ‘she’ said that, but because the plan itself is quite sensible.” he continued.

“Sensible? You call that sensible? Playing with two of the remaining lives on one girl’s ‘intuition’?”

“Fine he got a point there. Smitha you and Madhan take another route. I will go down that route.” Chemba who had come in just then declared.

“Don’t be foolish. This is not a contest on who wins who. Stop that ok?” Madhan chided her.

“whatever path you choose I choose to join you than let you go alone chemba", Smitha announced. Chemba looked at her friend and smiled thankfully. She came close to her and took her chilly hand in hers. ‘I am there, do not worry’ she said with her eyes and Smitha rested her head on her shoulder.

“Ok, now that is fixed. What next ?”

“What about the phones? I don’t get it?”

“Think Vangs! Chemba is having her normal mobile phone which will get signal as we go down. But the sat (satellite) phone can be used anywhere regardless of signal. So you can go up with that safely. We will call the forest base camp office from both phones and get a common and sort of backup link for ourselves. So that we can always have a backup contact even if we lose a contact in the middle. If I cannot contact you, I will call the base camp and leave message. And her theory of Vikki going up is quite a plausible one. I myself was thinking the same.”

“What about Oviya?” Shekar chirped in.

“You have better idea on that? She is her best friend and seriously she will have her best interests in mind. Come on guys!”Madhan was exasperated.

“Everything is Ok. But we haven’t thought about the external factors in this” Shekar said.

“Like what?”

“Tigers, landslides, poison ivy, anything like that?”

“Yeah I Thought of that. Vangs vikki’s bag is still here right? Get that mini tranquilizer guns. It was for some good reason we got them with us.”

Chemba looked wide eyed.” You brought tranquilizer guns with you? Why on earth would you bring something like that on a trekking trip? And how did the forest officers give permission for that?” She eyed him unbelieving.

“Just like how they gave the special permission for our satellite phones” he said looking at her.

Chemba took a step closer. Her eyes looked like burning coal when she asked him in a menacing voice “Just why did you come here Madhan?”

Part 2:


“Chemba! Please! It’s nothing to worry about. It is really simple and I will explain all that later, now let us get on with what’s in our hand.”he said and continued on.

“I see another ‘kani kudiyiruppu’ (native colony) in the wiki map which should probably be beyond that stream which you just showed. We will meet there if possible when the sun sets. Hope fully we will be able to find them before that.”Madhan finished his talk and looked at everyone.
Each one showed one emotion.

They took few minutes to get ready and to check on things.

When all was over, the sun had risen up in the sky in all its glory. It was noon and no one had touched food since morning. Madhan reluctantly picked up the ragi malt which vikki had prepared earlier.

“Anybody?”

“No..” everybody said in chorus. He shrugged, threw out the contents and put the collapsible jar in his back pack.

Shekar and Madhan talked to themselves for a while before Vangs and shekar left them to go up.

Madhan, a very scared Smitha and chemba turned back and moved down.

The passing scenic beauty was not even a thing of botheration anymore for anybody. They moved along in a single row without a word to each other.

Madhan was more vigilant. His eyes darted in all directions for signs of movement among the sleepy looking bushes.

They had decided that it was unsafe to shout out names. They had been using the binoculars in all possible angles until they reached that dangerous rocky surface.

The girls had thankfully changed to hiking boots from those thick boots meant for warding off leeches. But still it was slippery. Madhan lead the way and chemba ended the short line . Smitha felt a little safe like this, sandwiched between the two bold hearts. An hour of sweaty climbing had passed and they had only climbed down a mere five meters.
.
Smitha was tired and took a hand out shortly for swiping off the sweat and she slipped.

She went down two feet shouting her friend’s name but her hand was gripped from above by a very strong hand and she looked up at her friend’s smiling face.

Down below her she could feel the support for her hips.
Madhan stood there(dangled there) like a smiling cameleon, who had reached her from beneath.

She let out a relieved sigh and continued down. She was not scared anymore. She had two professionals with her and most importantly, neither of them looked scared right now.

Finally and miraculously they had passed the hard terrain without ant further mishap.

They sat down near a stream. They were all quite tired. The stream reminded them of their hunger and thirst.

The trio filled up their stomach with clean and cold stream water and rested beneath a huge tree. Chemba looked at the flowing water turning into sparkling diamonds under the afternoon sun, across her.

A clear picture of oviya wading in the pool and how she once pretended to pick up those light diamonds and put them in her ears, came to her mind clearly now. She shut her eyes as though that would shut down the image in her mind.

She fought with her mind for a while and then opened her eyes warily. Suddenly she saw him.

Across the stream deeper in the woods, she first glimpsed the clean streak of orange. Chemba rubbed her eyes and looked. Now she could see him clearly.

The short, rotund man clad in orange ‘vasthram’ (cloth- dress).

From this distance, she could not see his facial features clearly but the wheat complexion of the face in an acorn shaped head was seen sparsely hidden beneath a bush of mustache and long shiny black beard. He had a ‘thadi’ and ‘kamandalam’ in his hands. He was short and strong and looked almost cylindrical except for the top knot, he had as a hairdo. In a weird way he reminded her of that big five feet grain container in her house.

He used his ‘thadi’ held hand to motion her towards him.

He was calling her! Was he calling her?

She looked at him with full eyes. Yes he was calling her. Not only was he calling her, he was also showing her something.

“Madhan..Madhan”

“what?what Chemba?”

“Do you see him? That orange clad guy. There behind that bush.

Do you see him?”

“Where ? I don’t see anybody”he looked anxiously at where she pointed.

“Smitha do you see him?”

“No.. Chemba, I don’t see anyone. Do you see someone?”Smitha was totally shaken now.

Smitha was a perfect city girl when she first met Chemba. Chemba was a city girl too but since she had tagged along with her aunt’s family for the most part of her life to all parts of India, she had developed an immunity towards all that silly fears which generally a proper city girl would get. Chemba had teased Smitha on that on several occasions.

Smitha and Oviya learnt a lot of rugged ways to get on with harder situations from Chemba and that had helped in bonding them well. That and the natural match of their thinking frequency.

Smitha always felt safe with Cemba who was good in decision making and she had always been this bold and courageous, just like now. So Smitha was alright until Chemba was beside her along with another strong personality Madhan. But now Smitha was shaken to the core.

“Chemba.. Please don’t do this. Where do you see who? We don’t see anyone, really. Are you sure?”

“Oh god. Please open your eyes and see. He is very clear now. See that clean orange Panchakachcham (a style of tying the Doti), I can even see those frills fluttering in the breeze.” She said excitedly.

“Chemba, please .. stop it. Close your eyes and hold my hands, Don’t ever let it go. Smitha you have any scarf that I may tie her hand upon mine.?”

“You fools you think I am hallucinating? I am not. He is there and he is calling me. See he is waving his hand.”

“Chemba just walk on” Madhan barked.

“You.. I…”Chemba looked furious and then she laughed and laughed hysterically.

Suddenly she started running.

“Chemba. Stop it. Chemba. Please. “Madhan ran behind her.

“Oh my god..Oh my god..”Smitha was sobbing and ran blindly behind Madhan who was crossing the stream to catch her.

But she was too fast. Smitha knew they both cannot m(c)atch her speed especially when Madhan had to look back at Smitha every now and then. He probably thought he can catch her, but how would he know that she was a champion in cross country running?

will call...

Agasthiyar!!!!!!!!!!!!