The Crocodile Game

He was Boo. Or that's was what he was called by his wife of a little over a year now. It was hot summery dawn when they set out to their village, the entire family of 5; Boo , his wife, parents and kid sister. The journey was long but he had his father to share the driving so it was all set. Boo was skeptical about the trip partly because he knew the trip would be marred by silly fights but more so because he was dreading the heat there! But what had to be done had to be done. He had to take his relatively newish wife and introduce her around and most importantly visit all the temples there as is the tradition for newlyweds.

The radio played all sorts of recent songs and all was going ok. He glanced at his wife who sat shotgun beside him. Beautiful, strong headed but a real softy at heart. He was happy to have her as life partner. He loved her that was plain yet being vocal about it was never his thing. She was a romantic and went all out to show it. Funny how life does that to you right. His parents were a funny couple,bound by an arranged marriage they would be at each others throats one day and next day they would gang up on you united as one. He loved them just the same along with his kid sister who was a spitting image of her mother both in looks and personality. Feisty and fierce but a good hearted kid. His wife came from a relatively quiet family background and sometimes it bamboozled him how she put up with the utter madness that comprised his household.

The journey was long and tiring and with sore muscles and tired spirits they finally reached their destination. Just as boo was trying to adapt to the heat there was a clap of thunder and a miracle, Rain! Boo was ecstatic but apparently this was just not his night as rains were immediately followed by a Power Cut! He had stayed in his village long enough to know that they will not have power until morning yet he hoped that just maybe years must have done some good to his village but that turned out to be futile.

With the open windows in came the mosquitoes and all other beings that wet rainy night brings and that did not go well with his already tired mind and body. With his wife and kid sister in tow they drove around some more in the area hoping to see with some good luck a wild animal or maybe even something of the paranormal sort. Boo wasn't too keen on the latter but how was he to say that to his wife or sister without being jeered at. Finally after a long time awake his tired body just gave way and he slept power or not. It was late morning when he woke up. The rest of the day went by meeting relatives and working in their garden. How he adored the garden with huge coconut, mango, garcinia trees all laden with fruits now. He had helped in planting most of them and took immense pride at how big and strong they were now. 

The day after was the day of the temple visit after which he and his wife took off alone to go clubbing and have some sneaky time alone. They had craved this moment so long and now that they were done with all their "religious duties" it was time to party! Like all good things this time also came to an end sooner than expected. But Boo was still elated as now he was going to do what he wanted to do ever since he came to the village; bathe in the river! He would go there as kid with his uncles to frolick in the water and later with his friends as a teenager sneaking beer tins.

Off they set to the river with his wife, kid sister and another younger cousin who had a similar name as his own sister, how he despised her parents for that. It was a sunny morning when they got to the river with just a handful of women washing clothes on one side. As a kid he had had a near drowning experience right in this river but on a different bank that still intimidated him sometimes but he was a man grown now and that was the last thing he wanted to think about now on this bright beautiful day!

"We have to bathe here!!! These women are washing clothes here!!!"exclaimed his snooty wife. Typical of her, she never had any such experiences and boo wanted to change that about her because he knew she would love it no matter what she said. "We won't bathe where they are washing clothes love but on this side here" he pointed. This seemed to pacify her a bit and they all tip toed in the cool water trying to find footing in the pebbles. When they did they sat down and needless to say the splashing game started surprisingly by his uppity wife. How he loved the quirkiness of this woman! They were having a ball of time splashing around, playing silly games, clicking pictures and getting their feet tickled by the fishes. It was peaceful here the river surrounded by lush mountains, the sound of the flowing river filling the ears and the greenery truly refreshing all the senses. How he wished a for a tin of beer to be able to appreciate all this better!

They had a game called crocodile where they would lie stomach down and dip themselves completely in the water and see who stayed the longest. Boo won most of them and the rest ended up with him being sat on by his wife and sister. They just loved to gang up on him like that. This river was infested with crocodiles in some areas where it ran shallow and stagnant but this part was free off them and that was confirmed by the washerwomen. Soon they were left all alone, just the four of them and the beauty of nature surrounding them. Their frolicking had made boo ravenous and he was dying to get a bite, besides it was already nearing lunch time so Boo called it quits but before they went they all decided to have one last game of crocodile. 

1,2,3 and GO!!

There was light splash all around him before deathly silence customary to being underwater. The silence was peaceful at first but became nerve wracking in a few seconds due to lack of air. Boo held on letting air out of his mouth to sustain, he wasn't going to lose this time. But he was getting weary due to lack of air and food and was in no mood to get sat or pounced upon again so he raised his head out of the water and saw black. He rubbed his eyes to get all the water out and yet he saw darkness all around him. He reached out to feel his wife beside him but his hands grasped nothing but pebbles. The water had risen and was a little above mid chest now. There was a nip in the air or maybe that  was just because he was wet. He waited for his eyes to adjust and they did.He looked around him to see nothing but flowing waters and the surrounding mountains. Panic started rising through him, “Hello” he called out but his voice got drowned in the wind. “Helloooooo” he tried again but still nothing “Guys this is enough we need to go home, come out right now!” Nothing.

He waited with baited breath for something trying to control to panic inside him. He felt a small tickle on his toe and immediately thought of the crocodiles known to inhabit this water. In his panic and haste to get up he failed to find footing and fell back on his arse on the pebbles. “Arrrghhh!!” This time he took a minute, took a deep breath pushing his fear away and stood up and tried to walk back to the bank one step at a time, maneuvering on these pebbles was impossible at night let alone in the day times.

He reached the bank shaking now more out of fear than the cold. He looked around and found a wet lump which turned out to be his T-shirt which he had placed when he first got into the river. He wore it and looked around hoping to find someone or something. He had no watch to tell the time and his phone was in the car, “The car” he yelled to no one in particular and quickly started in the direction of the car. The car which they had got was parked near the stairs leading to the river. He took the stairs one at a time avoiding any further mishap in the dark. His foot accidentally stepped on something jagged and sharp which made him cry out in pain and remember he forgot to look for his footwear near where he had placed his wet t-shirt but did he want to go back there to look for them? Well nope! Barefoot was going to have to do. He reached the top of the stairs and looked for the car, nothing here he walked a bit further until that road branched into two ways; he knew they had come from the left and to the right was well where they had performed his grandmothers last rites only a few months back.

He turned around paralyzed now with fear to go any further and nimbly went to sit on the topmost stair. He called out again to his sisters and wife getting a little pissed off now at the stupid game they were playing, cursing them in the dark. His frustration soon hit a high-point and the tears started flowing despite himself. He was confused, tired, wet, cold, hungry, and he hated what was happening to him. He had no idea what was going on and why he, out of everyone else , was stuck here all alone. Where was everyone? What was happening? How was it night already when he could swear it was daylight just an odd hour ago? Did he fall asleep in the river and everyone left him there, no that was impossible, they loved to play tricks on him but they would never do something so cruel as they all knew he was the biggest “scaredy-cat “ amongst them all. Was he dead? Was this his afterlife? Was this how it was going to be? Was he going to be stuck here for the rest of what eternity? No that couldn’t be it! This river was said to be haunted by ghosts of a man, his wife and their child who had died here mercilessly after a fire broke out in their home near the river. Was this their doing? No No best not dwell upon that!

Somewhere between all the crying,fatigue and all the endless possibilities buzzing in his brain he dozed off in a fitful sleep only to be awoken by a distant sound, like someone calling out! He woke up surprised he had even dozed off in the first place. He sat up and listened again waiting to hear more of that sound and where it was coming from. “They have come looking for me” hoping it was his father or anyone else he just wanted to be found and go home. He heard it again and it sounded familiar, maybe it was his father after all! He imagined all his wife, parents and relatives and others from his village looking for him, this gave him a little boost of confidence and with all the strength he could muster he yelled back “ MoooooM Daaaaad I’m hereeeee Moooomm”

“Helllooooooo” was all heard in return. This stopped him short of his yelling back at the voice. Something was not right here. This time the voice was closer but it wasn’t his father’s nor his mothers or anyone else’s but his own! He was hearing his own voice right after he had called out just after he had come out of the water. That was not possible! “Hellloooooooo” he heard it again much more closer this time as though someone was calling right from the other bank of the river! He closed his ears scared stiff to death. He closed his eyes and prayed hard for all this to end . ‘Thwack’ he felt jarring sensation on the nape of his neck like he got hit by a pillow ‘Thwack’ he felt it again. He sat up straight and felt it on his back this time. He was shaking violently now too scared to move and too scared to be sitting there either. He knew he had to do something and now. This was not at all natural. ‘Thwack’ he felt it again this time on his head. With all his remaining guts he turned around. Nothing! The wind stopped all of a sudden and it went pin drop silent. His breathing loud and ragged was the only thing he could hear and see rising up in vapors. It was the mid of summer for crying out loud! The temperature had indefinitely dropped and he was freezing and it wasn’t because of his wet clothes.

He stood up knowing he had to get out of there. There was a temple somewhere nearby from here he would go there and it would be all ok. Someone would find him there in the morning surely. He took off the way they had come in the morning , his bare footedness slowing down his pace more that he would have liked. He walked for what felt like ages and reached the turning where the temple was located. He walked in the direction of it hoping to see its dark shape but there was nothing there, the further he went the more deeper he got into the forest, so he retraced his steps adamant to find the temple the hope glowing like a beacon in his heart letting all fear out. He wasn’t utterly religious but right now that was all he had to hold on to. He walked some more thinking maybe it was further out, still nothing. He turned around now totally lost, hope fading and fear replacing it. It has to be here, it was always here, every time he came here as a kid. He was at his wits end and just wanted to go home now. “ENOUGHHHHH” he screamed out aloud. “STOPPP IT RIGHTTTT NOOOWWWW” “I’M GOING HOME”. He started walking ahead in the direction of his house determined that no matter what he would not fall for it. He walked and walked tripping sometimes due to the uneven roads but that did not deter him.

He heard footsteps behind him faraway in the distance slow at first but it picked up pace as he sped up. He tried very hard to not pay them any mind but that was a losing battle. Soon his fear returned in full force and it was only so much he could do to keep himself walking straight. He started chanting random prayers hoping, praying all this would stop. The footsteps continued to follow him. Out of the blue he heard a howl, a long low howl probably a dog or could it be a wolf! This area was prone to wild animal visits due to the flowing rivers. He ran for dear life now not caring where he was going but as the fear ebbed away a little he stopped and looked around for the correct direction home. He knew his village well and no matter what he had to keep it together. He wasn't going to let this get to him. The footsteps where still there as though keeping pace with him and so was the distant howling.

He ran-walked for what felt like hours as though he was walking in circles and like the time had just stopped. He was fatigued and just wanted to give up now. He hoped whatever it was would finish him off now if that was what it wanted. He just wanted sleep and had no desire to stay upright not even for a minute. The footsteps were still behind him so was the occasional howling and he was no where closer to his house yet. "THAT'S IT , I GIVE UP" he screamed with his last ounce of energy he had. He saw a big bush a few feet away and all he wanted was to crawl underneath and hide. Away from all this, ready to close his eyes, forever even! Nothing mattered now, this was goodbye he cried silent bitter tears for his beloved wife and family. He crawled under the thorny bush not caring where it cut him and closed his eyes crying, spiraling into a deep dark abyss. He heard the wind now blowing fiercely but he was away from all that, away from it all!

As the darkness took him he felt something reach for him in the bushes, he was beyond care now to stop it. "Goodbye baby", was his last thought, his wife's face before his eyes before the darkness engulfed him. 

He felt some one shake him forcefully, once twice again and again. He opened his eyes reluctantly seeing a blurred face in front of him. He was shaken again "Get Up Boo!" "Booooo". He opened his eyes again and saw clearly his concerned wife in front of him,looked around and saw he was in his bed. He was safe, it was a dream! He was safe for real. He caught her and hugged her tightly his entire body aching with that effort which clicked him as odd yet but he did not register it. After he let go his wife let out an "Ohhh" and said "What happened to you?You are covered in bruises, did you go somewhere last night?. He looked at his hands and legs now, she was right, so what happened last night was real? 

"Boo" she broke into his thoughts "Answer me" "Will you be able to come to river now?" The River.  "What day is it?" asked boo "It's Sunday love and we have to go bathe in the river remember". He nodded.