This is the compo from Wan Lin.
The boat was buffeted by the waves which were getting stronger and stronger by the minute. For a typical innocent child, I was starting to feel nauseous and seasick.
I was on my way to Malaysia to visit my grandmother for the first time, and we decided to go by boat. Time crawled past at a sloth’s speed. After what seemed like an eternity, the boat gave a small bump, signaling that we had already reached our destination. I practically leaped out of the boat despite feeling weary. I was ecstatic to be on land after the hellish boat ride. I held my parents’ hands as we plodded up the sundrenched sand. It was then my grandmother phoned mom and told her that she would be two hours late as she was at her cousin’s grandson’s wedding, so my parents decided that we should have a quick rest on the beach either cycling or renting the inline skates at the booth. I wasn’t in the mood to do either of the activities despite the sun’s inviting golden light. So when my parents weren’t looking, I sneaked off into the woods. Ah! Finally a cooling place to be during such a blistering hot weather. As I squinted my eyes at the hot glaring rays of the sun, it slowly disappeared. Instead, the cooling wind caressed my cheeks as I took a stroll down the narrow stone pathway. Fallen leaves and twigs aligned the stone pathway. A butterfly flittered past. Suddenly, I realized that I was lost. Sheer panic bubbled in me. Where was I? Where were my parents? Frowning nervously at the new environment that I was in, I took a step backwards and almost knocked into a stone. I gave a double take and almost screamed out of shock. It was a tombstone! I felt the stiff hair on my back standing up and found myself traumatized and gulping huge mouthfuls of air. What a shock!
If only I had stayed back at the beach.
Then, I realized that there were a few other tombstones. Gingerly, I walked past then in dead silence, not even attempting to breathe. When I saw a small hut at the end of the pathway, I ran towards it, huffing and puffing. To my amazement, I found out that it was supported by four strong beams. It was actually a kampong house, called a kelong in Malay. I entered the house after waling to it on a bridge. I knocked nervously, “Anyone home?” .
There was a deep uncomfortable silence that had hung densely in the air.
Since there was no answer, I opened the door.
“Oh my goodness!” , I gasped, as I took a look at my hand.
My hands were covered with inches of dust. I compressed a scream at the back of my throat as I opened the door and it squeaked. I peered around, heart thudding ever so fast. A grey beanbag laid on the floor, it was the first thing I spotted, followed by a big old couch and a few rooms. I inched towards the beanbag , unable to resist the temptation to take a short nap. Once I laid down, which was surprisingly not dusty, my eyelids began to flutter and droop, as heavy as lead. But before I drift off, I saw shadows slithering out of doors, behind the couch, behind the walls, all coming out of nowhere. Hush whispers, pointing of fingers, giggles. They were circling me. I couldn’t be bothered by the tiny voice at the back of my head, and drifted off to sleep.
“Trudy! Has she woken up yet?”
“Maybe she is taking a nap. Don’t worry.”
“Trudy?”
I began to stir from my sleep.
“She has woken up.”
“TRUDY!”
Mom came to view, followed by dad.
I finally woke up and told my parents from A to Z, and that I was safe in the hut, as there were shadows, ‘people’ protecting me. My parents told me that they were dead worried about me when they realized that I was gone.
Then, I saw my grandmother. After we exchanged hugs and greetings, she told me she had been very worried. After our dinner, she told me that those were not “people”. They were actually spirits. Once, a fire had broken out in the hut, and killed all the people in it, and from that day onwards, sometimes, the badly burnt hut will appear as a new and ordinary hut at the same location. Grandmother had also experienced this before.
As for me, I was shocked, and my stomach was queasy with shock. I would never walk that pathway anymore. This incident will be etched in my mind forever.
