Take Me Home...

Sameer had always been a solo traveler. He was a passionate trekker, and especially enjoyed the hikes across the luxuriant mountain forests. In the last five years, he had utilized all his weekends and holidays to cover most of the famous treks of south, east, and western India. Now it was time he toured around the picturesque valleys and mountains of the northern part of his country.

In the third week of October, he reached Shimla at night. He had heard it from his friends earlier that the Queen of Hills offered some of the best trekking routes as it was dotted with several mountains and passes connecting valleys.

Next day, early in the morning, Sameer began his journey. He had decided to trek all the way through to Chakrata. He hiked through the misty surroundings along the dew-laden grasses and reached a hilltop. The place was deserted which he found odd, because if he was on the right track then there should have been people around. Although an offbeat, the early morning trekkers loved to gather here to witness the rising sun. Gradually, the place had attracted a lot of local vendors. But neither there was a single soul in the vicinity nor anyone selling cups of steaming coffee or hot bowls of maggi. Was he lost? Could he? Last night before going to bed he had checked the trail map, and in overconfidence he hadn’t reviewed it before leaving his room in the morning.

By now, the arduous walk uphill had already taken its toll on him, and he just needed to plop somewhere to catch his breath. Panting, and with hands on his hips, Sameer looked around. A little farther, a boulder with a flat top grabbed his attention. He strode towards it and unshouldered his backpack. The moment he did that his shoulders drooped. It was a much-needed relief after a hike of around two hours. He tossed his bag on the rock and lifted himself up to sit on its edge. The cool breeze, and the breathtaking view of the rising sun injected him with instant energy. “Phew! Indeed, a beauty.”

He unzipped his backpack and pulled out his DSLR. After quickly adjusting it to appropriate settings he pointed the lens towards the ruler of the solar system. He clicked the fireball in all its glory surrounded in an aura of orange hues. With every snap taken, he checked the image in the small LCD screen of his camera. When satisfied with the photographs clicked, he put the DSLR down and rummaged his bag for the map.

Sameer unfolded the paper and trailed his finger along the lines printed on it. He reached a point and tapped before rolling his eyes. That’s where he had taken the wrong turn. If he headed back now, he could reach the road junction in about half an hour. He should better hurry up now.

Just when Sameer was about to fold the map, he noticed someone standing nearby in his peripheral vision. He glanced over his shoulder and jerked his head back, gasping. “Whoa!”

“Did I startle you badly?” A girl, probably in her late twenties, with long, dark billowing hair was standing behind him.

With hand on his chest, he laughed to hide his embarrassment. “No, no… not at all.” He hopped off the boulder.

While he continued smiling, the girl’s face was expressionless. She just kept staring at him with her dead eyes. 

Awkward. Sameer glanced sideways. He had always felt nervous around the opposite gender and earlier had avoided being in their presence. But now when one was standing just in front of him, it was getting difficult for him to avoid her gaze. To ease the situation, he spoke. “Did you take the wrong turn just like me?”

With the same dead expression in her eyes the girl said. “Take me home.”

“Huh?”

“Take me home.” She repeated.

A confused Sameer approached her. “Mam, are you alright?” He assumed the girl must have wandered off the right track and now she was traumatized after realizing she was lost.

“Please, take me home.”

“Okay, I will.” He assured her. “Where are you staying? In Shimla?”

“Please, take me home.”

“Mam, I got it. But you need to tell me where I should take you.” He retrieved his backpack. “Your hotel name? Do you remember it?”

Regardless of any change in her expression the girl said. “Delhi.”

“Your home is in Delhi?”

The girl gave a slow nod.

“Okay, mam, first we have to reach Shimla and from there I can arrange for you to return back home.”

The girl turned without replying and started walking downhill.

Before he could react or say anything, she stopped midway and turned back. “Follow me.”

“Where?”

“She shifted her stare to his backpack.”

He followed her gaze. “You want to collect your stuff before leaving this place?”

Again, she nodded slowly and resumed her walk.

He followed her downhill to a thicket of trees. The ground was covered in lush bushes.

What on earth had she brought him here for? He couldn’t see anything apart from thick undergrowth around.

Before he could ask her anything, she ventured into the thicket, stopped a little farther, then turned back.

Sameer understood she wanted him to come near. He trudged through the bushes. Just a few feet away from where she was standing, he thought he heard a loud buzzing. A few steps closer and a strong odor of rotting flesh hit his nostrils and he retched hard.

This time when he glanced at her, she was pointing at something amidst the bushes.

Sameer’s intuition kicked in and begged him to run away as fast as he could. But the pain and helplessness he saw in her eyes forced him to take a look.

Covering his nose with an elbow as he inched forward, an expression of horror clouded his face and he staggered backward until he lost his balance and fell down. He couldn’t believe what he just witnessed. There was a dead body, with buzzing insects swarming over, maggots feeding off the wounds. It was her’s. His heart started thumping. All this while was he talking to a ghost? It was getting difficult for him to process what just happened. He was on the verge of crying when the girl slowly levitated up a few feet and with a lightning-fast speed glided towards him. Sameer screamed his lungs out.

The girl hovered above him. “Take me home.”

He fainted.