Scary night episode

This was one scary night. We were vacationing in Goa. It was almost one in the morning , we were in our nice cosy little rooms. We (a bunch of four friends) were sitting joking , chatting, when suddenly we hear noises from somewhere over our heads. We ignore it ,as it is just a 2 second thing . We continue with our chatter. Then 10 mins pass & there is something outside our door walking along the entire stretch while scratching on the wall & wooden door, it sounded terrible ( something like what we hear when we use our nail against a blackboard)

This is when things start to get all creepy. We hold a small conference as to what our next plan of action should be. I, being the usual skeptic, suggested it was just our ears ringing & that we should not make a big deal of it. Then we heard noises of someone pounding on our roof. That is it, we are scared out of our wits, we call the reception. A helpful but timid guy named ‘Hillary’ is up almost in an instant , though our room is quite at a distance(hmmm) from the reception. He is standing with (what I have a vague memory of) a lantern , after hearing us out, he with a small unbelieving laugh suggests it was nothing but an active squirrel. He left 2 of our roommates to their room. we try to put the episode behind us & get some sleep. That is when we hear the noises again, this time as though someone with a heavy foot was walking all over the roof. My friend turns all white as I try to convince her with a ‘big squirrel theory’ ,not with much success. By this time even I start getting doubts & all images of vampires, ghosts, aliens,( not that I believe in them!!) are flashing in my mind. The pounding noises continue with periodic silences. We lie on our beds quietly, though both wide awake , just waiting for the sunrise.( somehow the day & light it brings ,is associated with hope). That’s when my roommate picks this opportune moment to tell the story about how in her village , a remote place in Goa itself , there was a serial killer who jumped from one roof to another, entered the house through the roof, murdered people & she wasn’t sure if he was ever caught.

This brought to my find a fresh series of images of murderers with knives, with long legs & athletic abilities. After every half-n-hour or so we discussed what we should do? with no conclusion.At what may have been around 5.00 , we hear talking -our next door neighbors have arrived. Their voices give us some consolation . The noise above our heads also seems to have stopped. Finally we get the elusive sleep, that our exhausted body was craving for.

Next morning we talk to the caretaker , who tells us it was a wildcat(!!!) who could have strayed from the nearby forest area & had slipped in through a loose tile on our roof. We are astonished & thank our stars that we are safe. Whew….close brush!