The Road That Leads To Nowhere – I

2002 summer vacation! I was so excited to go on a week-long trip that we had been planning for a while. It was a spiritual trip also intended for some family fun. I was travelling down the roads of Mangalore in an ambassador car with my parents, brother and a cousin. We were heading to the famous temples and beaches in Mangalore and Udipi. We had a great time at the beach and were tired from the day’s activity. We were going towards another destination. I was so excited to sit by the window seat! It was very breezy, so my mother had asked me to roll up the window glass. I tried to do so only to break the knob. Snap!. The glass had gone inside and we weren’t able to shut the window. I remember getting scolded a little (Puppy face 🥺 comes in handy in these situations, you can try) 🤣

We drove a long distance and darkness had begun to take over daylight. It was freezing cold when we drove by a lonely, desolated area. The area looked largely uninhabited. If I recall correctly, it was a ghat section. We kept going farther and farther but did not reach the destination yet. When my dad asked the driver if we were going in the right direction, The driver was certain that it was indeed the correct route. The fact that were all by ourselves, in a potentially risky area with an open car window had finally dawned on us. The silence in the area made the experience all the more scarier and reminded us of all the horror movies we’ve ever seen. What lied ahead of us was a mystery.

To be continued…

-Hariprriya