The Curse

By Varsha Mudlapur

It all started when I entered that cursed cave. It changed the course of my life and was the reason for its end. I was just 30 for God’s sake. But what devastated me more was that because of my blunder, my loved ones lost theirs too. Everything I cared for just vanished in a matter of 2 days.

I had always been an adventure junkie and so were my 2 friends Viraj and Rahul. We regularly planned trips, where we trekked, hiked, paraglided, bungee jumped and did basically anything that got our adrenaline going. So, when I saw the video on social media about the Simhara mountains, I immediately sent it to my friends, and we planned our trip for the following weekend. We reached there at around 10 AM. A local guide by the name of Lakshmi Prasad aka Lakshmi offered to accompany us so that we don’t miss out on some amazing viewpoints. He grew up in this place and knew every nook and cranny of these mountains, covered with lush greens and several caves.

He said some of these caves had traces of primitive men like their handprints and drawings of flora and fauna. This got us excited. Thus began our long trek along a scenic route. We took a lot of pictures on the way. The views were breathtaking, and the weather was perfect. But soon the perfect weather bid us adieu and it started raining, the kind where you cannot see even a few feet ahead of you. Lakshmi suggested that there was a cave nearby and that we could take shelter there.

We walked as fast as we could and came upon the cave’s entrance. It was pitch dark inside but there was no time to hesitate as we were getting drenched out there, so we went in. We got some hand towels out of our backpacks to dry ourselves. We had some snacks and started the long wait for the rain to subside. I glanced around our surroundings and saw that the cave continued further. There was a narrow path, and I was curious to know where it went.

I suggested we explore the cave instead of sitting around doing nothing. I got a resounding no from my mates. I knew Viraj was claustrophobic so he would never dare enter a closed space. Rahul got a call from his fiancée and got busy on the phone. I knew all about the new love and he would trade anything to talk to her. Lakshmi got his ankle twisted when we were walking on the slippery path toward the cave and said he needed time to rest, before starting our trek down.

So, I decided to go for it solo. Lakshmi warned me to follow a straight path and not deviate as there is a possibility of getting lost in these caves. I wore my backpack, turned my torch on, and began my exploration. The path was so narrow that I had to walk sideways. After what felt like an eternity, I came upon a clearing. I inspected the walls in the hopes of finding some primitive drawings, but to my disappointment, they were all bare. By that time, I was too tired to continue, so I decided to go back.

Suddenly the air inside the room became super chilly. It felt like I had entered a freezer. I felt a presence behind me but somehow, I couldn’t make myself turn around because I knew whatever I would see would be unpleasant. But there was nothing behind me. I started feeling like a million worms were crawling all over my body, my stomach churned, and I vomited. I felt dizzy and had a feeling of foreboding. My gut told me to just run away from there and I did just that. I felt like something, or someone was following me, I could feel its breath on my neck.

I finally saw light and reached the cave’s entrance. My friends took one look at me and knew that something was wrong. But I couldn’t answer any of their questions because I didn’t understand what happened to me there. They just narrowed it down to exhaustion and dehydration. The rain had stopped, and we went back to the city.

This is when it started. I tried calling Viraj the next day for a drink, but I couldn’t reach his number, so I went to his home, only to find another family living in his apartment. They had been staying there from the time the apartment was constructed. I was dumbfounded and started questioning my own sanity, I called up Rahul and he said he doesn’t know any Viraj. I asked him to show me the photos from our trip to Simhara and I was shocked to see that all the photos had only Rahul and me in them. I thought I was going insane. I called Viraj’s workplace only to hear that no one with that name was working there. He worked at a small non-profit organization with a maximum of 20 employees, so it cannot be a mistake.

I had this feeling that something was not right with me from the time I entered those cursed caves. I opened my laptop and searched “Simahara mountain mysteries”. A few stories came up which said that hundreds of years ago a coven of witches lived in those mountains, and they practiced occult arts. They gained so much power from black magic that they could kill a man with a wave of their hand and make a person vanish from the face of the earth without a trace.

Fear gripped my soul, and my vision began to blur. This cannot be happening; I am a man who believed in science and never followed any superstition in my life. How can this be true? Was I cursed by a witch in those caves? I tried calling up Lakshmi in hopes of getting some idea of what was happening to me. His phone too was unreachable. I decided to drive up to Simahara and talk to him. I reached there and enquired around, and all the other local guides said that they had never heard of a Lakshmi Prasad and that they had been working there for several years now.

I didn’t know what to make of this situation so I called up Rahul again but there was a feeling of foreboding and fear in the pit of my stomach. His number was not reachable. I, fortunately, had his work phone number as well. I called it to find that a stranger answered the call, and he didn’t know of any Rahul working there. I knew that he too had vanished but somehow my mind refused to believe it. The realization dawned on me that whoever had accompanied me in that cave had disappeared without a trace. Their existence had been wiped out.

I went inside the cave and screamed. I dared whatever was residing in there, which had made my life miserable in a matter of 2 days to just show itself. A new terrible thought began to rear its head. I got a call from my parents when I was inside the cave. Could it be…? No..no it cannot happen. I could not lose my parents too. I called their mobile numbers and strangers answered the calls. I called our landline and again was picked up by strangers. I called my uncle, my dad’s brother and he failed to recognize me or my father. At this point, I knew that I had lost my parents as well.

If my parents didn’t exist, then I should not as well. It was then that I knew my fate. But I didn’t want to give this entity any more power over me. From here on I would decide my own destiny. It cannot make me disappear if I kill myself first. So, I went to the edge of the mountain and jumped. While I was falling, I could see the grotesque face of the witch surrounded by a black haze, trying to follow me.

By Varsha Mudlapur