The Other Side(52)

“Hey dude, what's up? You look like you have seen a ghost,” Ajay said. “I believe I have. There was a guy up there. I have seen him earlier in my dreams. I believe he is one of those who perished in the hailstorm centuries back. He warned me. He wants us to get out of here immediately and take shelter in the cave beyond the ledge,” Ravi said in one-go.

Vikram regarded him for a moment. “The guy is hallucinating. Mountain sickness. Lack of oxygen has got to him.” Ravi grabbed Vikram and shook him by his jacket. “I am perfectly okay. Just listen to me if you want to get out of here alive. He said that history is about to repeat itself. Move!”

Vikram shook his head. “I am the team leader and I will not jeopardize this expedition by listening to your crazy ideas.” “But a storm is coming,” Ravi argued. “Cool down, dude. The weather is fine. We'll stay here for another thirty minutes and then start back. I am not climbing up that ledge again to look for some non-existent cave. We are tired and I believe you are imagining things,” Vikram maintained.

“Listen, Vikram. This is not my imagination. I dreamed about this place long before coming here. Throughout the trek, I kept feeling that I had seen all this before. I told you about the dreams I have been having. I told you my dream about the hailstorm this very morning. I saw the man from my dreams just minutes back. He told me about the cave and the imminent storm. There's something behind all this. Let's get out of here. I thought you trusted me,” Ravi said.

“Dude, don't you understand. I was just playing along. Your imagination is running riot.” Vikram said trying hard not to laugh. “Imagination! Do you think I dreamt up this as well?” Ravi fished the ruby out of his pocket.

“Ahh… wow, where did you find that? It seems to be priceless. Here, show it to me.” And he held out his hand.

Ravi thought for a moment, whirled around and rushed to the edge of the lake. Then he flung the ruby into the still waters and it disappeared into its mysterious depths with hardly a ripple.

“Why did you do that? That was probably worth a fortune!” Vikram gave an anguished cry.

“Don't talk about things you don't understand. We are all in danger. Will you listen to me and get out of here!”Ravi shouted in anger.

Vikram considered the request for a moment. “Okay dude, I'll listen to you this once. But I still think you are hallucinating. Guys, that is all. Let's scramble!”

They all followed Ravi as he led them up the steep slope. By the time they reached the rock where Ravi had seen the turbaned man, the weather turned treacherous. The sun vanished behind a thick bank of clouds. The clouds descended low and almost occluded the slope they were clambering on. The icy winds howled and screamed and almost blew them off the slope. They went down on all fours and scrambled towards the ledge. As they rounded the crest, the wind had assumed blizzard proportions with the snow coming down. They looked around wildly, trying to find some kind of shelter but there was none. Ravi could see the vague outline of the turbaned man through the falling snow. He shouted to others, “There he is! I think he is trying to show us the way.”

They all peered anxiously but could not see anyone. “I think we are all going to perish like the many before us who have trekked to this cursed place,”Vikram said in despair.

“I can see him. Follow me!” Ravi ignored him, assuming command and leading the others down the slope. They grabbed each other and half walked, half slipped down the ridge. Ravi could still see the vague outline of the turbaned man as he guided them to the place where the mountainside rose in a sheer cliff of snow. The man pointed to a concealed opening behind a rocky outcrop and Ravi led the others to it. They found a small cave opening three feet above the ground. It was just big enough for a man to crawl in. It had started to snow harder and Ravi climbed in, flashing his torch. The opening widened out to form a large cave and he slithered in, thankful to be out of the wind and the snow. Others followed. The temperature inside the cave was just a bit higher than that outside but minus the wind and the snow it seemed cozy and all of them tried to catch their breaths. As they made themselves comfortable, Ravi asked the others, “Didn't you see the man who led us here?”

Vikram shook his head adamantly. “There was nobody. But how the hell did you know about the existence of this cave?”

“I did not know about the cave. That person led us here. I am sure somebody besides me must have seen him,” Ravi said.

In response, everyone looked at him in a weird manner and then looked at each other feeling puzzled. They waited in the cave for the blizzard to cease and six hours later made their way back to Bhagwabasa, glad to be alive. This time no one made fun of Ravi.