“The pond! The pond!” We shouted as we hurried to a tall and shady tree; an excellent spot to rest and fish. Even Ravi had a wide grin on his face. The tranquility and peace of the surrounding was similar to the graveyard.
Due to the excitement and the expectation of getting to fish, all else was forgotten. Hurriedly we took out the long wriggily worms and attached them to the hooks. As I inserted the sharp end of the hook into the worm, it wriggled and squirmed; probably due to the pain. Sorry, but worm, you are bait for the fish.
Eagerly we dropped the lines into the pond. Plop! Plop! Plop! Plop! Plop! Five lines were dropped into the pond instantly. We then waited for the float to move. We waited and waited.
It was at this time that some of us looked around and noticed that we could still see some of the tombstones not far away. They were not clear though because of the bushes and the trees but we could make out the distinctive shapes.
It was also at this time that we felt a little queer about the surrounding. The trees around the pond were mostly wild cherry trees and there were plenty of little ripe and red cherries hanging from the branches. Usually the birds; mostly mynahs and sparrows would be feasting on them. There was an unusual silence surrounding the area. It was as if the birds feared coming to this place. There was only a rare twitting of birds quite far away.
The fear crept into us as if someone had cast a spell. We kept totally silent expecting at any moment some great beast or spirit to spring from the pond or drop from the tall trees around us.
Suddenly a meek voice broke the awful silence and it made goose pimples appear on our skin. It was Ravi.
He asked, “Are there any ghosts here? I’m afraid.”
Trying to be brave Gopal replied, “What ghosts? This is a pond, not a graveyard, ha, ha.”
“Gopal, is there another way to go home? I mean can we go home without having to use the same way that we came through?" I asked.
Gopal hesitated and replied, "Yes, but it is longer and we need twice the time. That was the shortest. Anyway, why? Are you afraid?"
"No, it's just that we Chinese are advised not to trespass such a place especially at night. That place belongs to the dead." I said.
Gopal with a smile said, "Don't worry. If we do not disturb them or harm them, we should not be afraid. Let's talk about fishing for now, okay?"
Due to the excitement and the expectation of getting to fish, all else was forgotten. Hurriedly we took out the long wriggily worms and attached them to the hooks. As I inserted the sharp end of the hook into the worm, it wriggled and squirmed; probably due to the pain. Sorry, but worm, you are bait for the fish.
Eagerly we dropped the lines into the pond. Plop! Plop! Plop! Plop! Plop! Five lines were dropped into the pond instantly. We then waited for the float to move. We waited and waited.
It was at this time that some of us looked around and noticed that we could still see some of the tombstones not far away. They were not clear though because of the bushes and the trees but we could make out the distinctive shapes.
It was also at this time that we felt a little queer about the surrounding. The trees around the pond were mostly wild cherry trees and there were plenty of little ripe and red cherries hanging from the branches. Usually the birds; mostly mynahs and sparrows would be feasting on them. There was an unusual silence surrounding the area. It was as if the birds feared coming to this place. There was only a rare twitting of birds quite far away.
The fear crept into us as if someone had cast a spell. We kept totally silent expecting at any moment some great beast or spirit to spring from the pond or drop from the tall trees around us.
Suddenly a meek voice broke the awful silence and it made goose pimples appear on our skin. It was Ravi.
He asked, “Are there any ghosts here? I’m afraid.”
Trying to be brave Gopal replied, “What ghosts? This is a pond, not a graveyard, ha, ha.”
“Gopal, is there another way to go home? I mean can we go home without having to use the same way that we came through?" I asked.
Gopal hesitated and replied, "Yes, but it is longer and we need twice the time. That was the shortest. Anyway, why? Are you afraid?"
"No, it's just that we Chinese are advised not to trespass such a place especially at night. That place belongs to the dead." I said.
Gopal with a smile said, "Don't worry. If we do not disturb them or harm them, we should not be afraid. Let's talk about fishing for now, okay?"
No comments:
Post a Comment