It had been a very rainstorm and even now heavy rain and thunder continued to assail Kampung Sepang. In the midst of it, Halil chatted with his pal, Jabri, in the living room of his house. The doors and windows had all been shut to keep out the rain. Jabri had driven there for a visit sometime after maghrib, the hour of the dusk prayers, in response to Halil's invitation. They had been neighbours and good friends for years, until he moved out six months ago and they lost contact. 'Come over to my place after maghrib tonight. We can have dinner together and chat. It's been a long time since we got together,' Halil suggested to Jabri that day over the phone. They did not count on the bad weather. In fact, no sooner had Jabri arrived that the storm broke out. They had adjourned to the living room after dinner, for coffee and conversation, hoping to wait it out. But it was past eleven now and the downpour was showing no signs of relenting.
'Look like you'll have to spend the night here,' said Halil. 'No way. I've to be at work early tomorrow morning.' 'No problem. You can go to work straight from here. Look at the downpour. You want to go through that?' Jabri had no time to reply, for someone was knocking excitedly at the front door. The caller gave a salam, the Islamic greeting, as Halil went up to open the door. In front of him stood a middle aged man, his clothes soaked by the rain. He looked very anxious. 'I'm very sorry, but could you help me, please?' asked the man. Halil stood surprised for a moment. 'Yes? Any problem?' 'My car broke down about an hour ago in the rain. Can't get it to start,' the man replied. 'Where is it?' 'It's in a lane some distance from here. I left it there with my wife and young daughter inside, to look for help. We're on our way to visit my in laws in Kampung Deli. This is the first time I ever visited the village at night, and with that downpour and the darkness, I lost my way. And then, when we came to that lane, the engine just conked out. Could you please help me? I'm very worried now, because my wife and girl are out there all by themselves,' said the man.
'May I know your name and where you come from, Sir?' Halil asked. 'The name's Jabar and I come from Singapore.' 'Your car broke down along that lane going up the hill, right?' 'Right... how did you guess?' Halil was already feeling the palpitations in his heart. He knew that lane. It ran across the disused Chinese cemetery that spread over the sides of a hill about half a mile away. The lane was always deserted, because no one dared use it even at daytime, let alone at night. Years back, a villager from Kampung Sepang, cycling there at dusk, was chased by a long haired woman brandishing a vicious looking pair of fangs. In his rush to escape, he and his bicycle plunged headlong into the ditch along the road. He was found unconscious hours later by fellow villagers who went out looking for him. Several months later, two boys on a bird trapping trip saw a beautiful young woman seated on a gravestone, preening her long, flowing locks. She grinned , and revealed those fangs, before vanishing. The boys took to their heels, but survived to tell the story.
A Kampung Sepang farmer told of another frightening experience. Searching for a missing goat near the cemetery, he suddenly hear a chilling cry somewhere ahead of him. The cry made him think of demons. When he looked, he saw a young woman sitting on a stone monument, giving him a queer sort of gaze. The farmer fled as fast as he could back to the village, blacking out the moment he stepped into his house. For days afterwards, he lay sick in bed from the shock. Jabri, who had been listening attentively as Halil and Jabar talked, finally decided to join in. 'Look, Halil, I feel sorry for him. We've got to help. Come along. I'll drive and we'll send him to his car. Think you're brave enough?' Halil did not reply. There was a cloud in his brain. That creepy feeling was still on the back of his neck. Jabar pleaded. 'Please help me. In the name of God!' Despite his uncertainty, Halil had to agree finally.
The trio moved quickly. As Jabri dashed for his car with Jabar right behind, Halil hurried to his room, reappearing soon afterwards with a couple of torchlights in hand. He rushed into the car to join them, taking the front passenger's seat next to Jabri, and turned around to hand one of the torchlight to Jabar in the rear. It was still pouring and, with vision much reduced, Jabri was compelled to keep the speed down. Worse, water was almost a quarter way up the wheels in places along the road. 'Hey, Ri, can't you go any faster?' Halil urged. Jabri shook his head and explained that he was trying to avoid getting water in the engine, which would cause a breakdown.
For the rest of the journey, the three said nothing to each other. They stared ahead as the headlights on Jabri's car struggled to penetrate the heavy curtain of rain. Halil shivering all over, not from the cold but from the terror of recalling all the tales he had heard about the place they were now heading for. He thought he should warn Jabar of the possible dangers ahead, but realized he should not distress the man any more than he already was. 'Mr. Jabar, when we get there, please be very careful. Don't be hasty. There's a lot of hazzards in this kind of downpour,' Jabar said nothing, responding with just a nod. Soon, they were there.
As they turned into the lane and drove uphill, Halil saw a figure dashing across their path from the bushes to the left. In the beam of the headlights, a pair of purple eyes seemed to glow as they stared at them. Jabri was shocked and instinctively applied the brakes. 'You see that, Lil? What the hell is it?' There was a distinct tremble in his voice. Halil nodded. He followed the figure with his eyes as it plunged into the bushes on the right. He switched on the torchlight in his hand and pointed its beam there, but by then there was nothing left to see. 'Step on it, Ri!' Halil said. Jabri stepped on the accelerator and the car screeched up the hill. Moments later, jabar gestured towards the side of the lane. 'That's my car... Over there on the left. You see it?'
Jabri slowed down and pulled up a short distance behind Jabar's stalled car. In the beam of the headlights they noticed to their alarm that all the door were open. Alighting, they cautiously approached the car. But with just a few yards to go, Jabar, unable to take the suspense any longer, suddenly dashed forward for a closer look. 'God! What has happened to them?' he screamed. When Halil and Jabri caught up with him, they found the car was indeed empty. There was no sign of Jabar's wife and daughter. Jabar seemed on the verge of breaking down by now. He called out his wife's and his daughter's names repeatedly as he swept the surrounding area with the torchlight in his hand. 'Satimah... Ratna... where are you?' No reply. There was only the rattling of falling rain on the earth and the trees. Jabar called out even louder, but still there was no reply. He kept sweeping the area with the beam of the torchlight, but could not see anything.
'We have to search for them,' Jabar said, striding uphill along the lane. 'No, hold on, Mr. Jabar. This is a dangerous place, you know,' said Halil, pulling him back by the arm. 'But, I have to find my wife and daughter,' Jabar protested anxiously as he jerked his arm free. He strode away and continued to search around with his torchlight and called out his wife's and his daughter's names. Jabar had not gotten very far when a woman's voice called out from the direction of the graves. Halil and Jabri heard it. Jabar must have too, for he quickly shone his light in that direction. 'Jabar, dear, we're over here,' said the voice. In the beam from Jabar's torchlight, they saw a young woman leading a girl aged about seven by the hand. As they approached him, they heard Jabar asking, 'Where have you been?'
Halil and Jabri had never seen any woman so fabulous looking. The little girl was just as beautiful. They saw Jabar running towards them. But then, abruptly, he stopped in his tracks, apparently startled. Halil shone the light on them, just in time to see Jabar dropping the torch in his hand and retreating in apparent horror. The young woman and child kept bearing upon him. At one point, they turned to look into the beam of light from Halil's torch, and Halil and Jabri saw two pairs of crimson eyes staring at them. As a terrified scream issued from his mouth, the woman and the girl closed in on Jabar and tried to encircle him in their arms. But, luckily for Jabar, he slipped and rolled downhill. The woman and child seemed to have lost sight of him, and went for Jabri's car instead. Halil rushed forward to pluck to safety, while Jabri dashed for their car. 'Hurry! Get into the car and wind the windows up!' urged Halil, as he pulled Jabar by the arm. Jabri quickly started the engine. By this time the woman and child were just yards away.
'Lets get out of here! Reverse! Reverse!' Halil screamed. Jabri engaged the gear and the car lurched backwards, almost plunging into the ditch. Jabri swung it into the lane and they sped away just in time. The road back to Kampung Sepang was still flooded, but this time Jabri threw caution to the wind and sped all the way home. It was to their good fortune that the engine did not fail them. Back at Halil's place, the trio rushed out, dashed inside and locked all doors. They slumped into the sofa, panting from terror. Their faces were drained of all blood. 'I think 'll take up your offer to spend the night here after all,' Jabri told Halil. In the Chinese cemetery they had just fled from, two fabulous looking women were preening their hair as a little girl romped amongst the gravestones.
A Kampung Sepang farmer told of another frightening experience. Searching for a missing goat near the cemetery, he suddenly hear a chilling cry somewhere ahead of him. The cry made him think of demons. When he looked, he saw a young woman sitting on a stone monument, giving him a queer sort of gaze. The farmer fled as fast as he could back to the village, blacking out the moment he stepped into his house. For days afterwards, he lay sick in bed from the shock. Jabri, who had been listening attentively as Halil and Jabar talked, finally decided to join in. 'Look, Halil, I feel sorry for him. We've got to help. Come along. I'll drive and we'll send him to his car. Think you're brave enough?' Halil did not reply. There was a cloud in his brain. That creepy feeling was still on the back of his neck. Jabar pleaded. 'Please help me. In the name of God!' Despite his uncertainty, Halil had to agree finally.
The trio moved quickly. As Jabri dashed for his car with Jabar right behind, Halil hurried to his room, reappearing soon afterwards with a couple of torchlights in hand. He rushed into the car to join them, taking the front passenger's seat next to Jabri, and turned around to hand one of the torchlight to Jabar in the rear. It was still pouring and, with vision much reduced, Jabri was compelled to keep the speed down. Worse, water was almost a quarter way up the wheels in places along the road. 'Hey, Ri, can't you go any faster?' Halil urged. Jabri shook his head and explained that he was trying to avoid getting water in the engine, which would cause a breakdown.
For the rest of the journey, the three said nothing to each other. They stared ahead as the headlights on Jabri's car struggled to penetrate the heavy curtain of rain. Halil shivering all over, not from the cold but from the terror of recalling all the tales he had heard about the place they were now heading for. He thought he should warn Jabar of the possible dangers ahead, but realized he should not distress the man any more than he already was. 'Mr. Jabar, when we get there, please be very careful. Don't be hasty. There's a lot of hazzards in this kind of downpour,' Jabar said nothing, responding with just a nod. Soon, they were there.
As they turned into the lane and drove uphill, Halil saw a figure dashing across their path from the bushes to the left. In the beam of the headlights, a pair of purple eyes seemed to glow as they stared at them. Jabri was shocked and instinctively applied the brakes. 'You see that, Lil? What the hell is it?' There was a distinct tremble in his voice. Halil nodded. He followed the figure with his eyes as it plunged into the bushes on the right. He switched on the torchlight in his hand and pointed its beam there, but by then there was nothing left to see. 'Step on it, Ri!' Halil said. Jabri stepped on the accelerator and the car screeched up the hill. Moments later, jabar gestured towards the side of the lane. 'That's my car... Over there on the left. You see it?'
Jabri slowed down and pulled up a short distance behind Jabar's stalled car. In the beam of the headlights they noticed to their alarm that all the door were open. Alighting, they cautiously approached the car. But with just a few yards to go, Jabar, unable to take the suspense any longer, suddenly dashed forward for a closer look. 'God! What has happened to them?' he screamed. When Halil and Jabri caught up with him, they found the car was indeed empty. There was no sign of Jabar's wife and daughter. Jabar seemed on the verge of breaking down by now. He called out his wife's and his daughter's names repeatedly as he swept the surrounding area with the torchlight in his hand. 'Satimah... Ratna... where are you?' No reply. There was only the rattling of falling rain on the earth and the trees. Jabar called out even louder, but still there was no reply. He kept sweeping the area with the beam of the torchlight, but could not see anything.
'We have to search for them,' Jabar said, striding uphill along the lane. 'No, hold on, Mr. Jabar. This is a dangerous place, you know,' said Halil, pulling him back by the arm. 'But, I have to find my wife and daughter,' Jabar protested anxiously as he jerked his arm free. He strode away and continued to search around with his torchlight and called out his wife's and his daughter's names. Jabar had not gotten very far when a woman's voice called out from the direction of the graves. Halil and Jabri heard it. Jabar must have too, for he quickly shone his light in that direction. 'Jabar, dear, we're over here,' said the voice. In the beam from Jabar's torchlight, they saw a young woman leading a girl aged about seven by the hand. As they approached him, they heard Jabar asking, 'Where have you been?'
Halil and Jabri had never seen any woman so fabulous looking. The little girl was just as beautiful. They saw Jabar running towards them. But then, abruptly, he stopped in his tracks, apparently startled. Halil shone the light on them, just in time to see Jabar dropping the torch in his hand and retreating in apparent horror. The young woman and child kept bearing upon him. At one point, they turned to look into the beam of light from Halil's torch, and Halil and Jabri saw two pairs of crimson eyes staring at them. As a terrified scream issued from his mouth, the woman and the girl closed in on Jabar and tried to encircle him in their arms. But, luckily for Jabar, he slipped and rolled downhill. The woman and child seemed to have lost sight of him, and went for Jabri's car instead. Halil rushed forward to pluck to safety, while Jabri dashed for their car. 'Hurry! Get into the car and wind the windows up!' urged Halil, as he pulled Jabar by the arm. Jabri quickly started the engine. By this time the woman and child were just yards away.
'Lets get out of here! Reverse! Reverse!' Halil screamed. Jabri engaged the gear and the car lurched backwards, almost plunging into the ditch. Jabri swung it into the lane and they sped away just in time. The road back to Kampung Sepang was still flooded, but this time Jabri threw caution to the wind and sped all the way home. It was to their good fortune that the engine did not fail them. Back at Halil's place, the trio rushed out, dashed inside and locked all doors. They slumped into the sofa, panting from terror. Their faces were drained of all blood. 'I think 'll take up your offer to spend the night here after all,' Jabri told Halil. In the Chinese cemetery they had just fled from, two fabulous looking women were preening their hair as a little girl romped amongst the gravestones.
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