I hadn't had a good nights sleep in ages, and this would be no exception. The bed was on the floor, which wasn't a problem, but it was far too small for me too stretch out and looked conspicuously full of bed bugs - which made me cringe. Our host went off to get us some clean sheets and came back a while later with, all I can describe as stained rags. These stained rags looked cleaner and more inviting than the mattress on the floor, and after dusting away the cobwebs in the corners of the room I went about getting the bed ready for sleep. When I managed to get to sleep I got woken by some strange wailing's that I couldn't quite place. The sounds either came from a cat, a dog, or a child, but what ever it was, they were distraught. This wailing and whimpering continued on and on. All I could think of doing was rolling over and pretending it wasn’t happening, which I guiltily did, I eventually fell back to sleep.
The sounds swelled round in my head until I could stand it no longer, I had to find out what they were. A low rhythmic chanting had joined the whimpering sound, and with each passing second the noise grew quieter. What could it possibly be? Is this some kind of Indian ritual? Am I mistaken, and it’s nothing more than the sound of a rickshaw distorted in the night? A television, or a radio? And what could I do? I didn’t know the town, we had only just found our way back to our sleeping hole from where we had eaten. It was dark when we arrived and I felt disorientated. The woman who owned the hotel had seemed slightly weird, and there was no one around in this part of town. All the westerners were staying in the Shanti, which was some walk away - we were all alone. What if it wasn’t a television or a radio, maybe someone needed my help? I could go and inform the police, but what would I say? “Yeah sorry to disturb you officers, but I heard a bump in the night”. The sounds were so faint now I could barely hear them - this was my last chance. I could either act or just roll over and forget it.
I decided all I would have to do is look, I won’t wake Kim she’ll be a lot safer here if anything should happen and I’ll be back in five minutes. I climbed out of bed making sure I didn’t disturb her, she probably wouldn’t let me go, or she would want to come with me, and either possibility wasn’t satisfactory. The door creaked slightly when it opened, and I stepped out into the cool Indian night. I don’t remember the entrance looking like this, and my legs feel really stiff. I must be more tired than I thought. I put on a T-shirt and my sandals as I walked through the unfamiliar passageway. It seemed to go on and on curving to the right, but it brought me out onto the street as it should have. None of the streetlights seemed to be on, and the moon was as small as possible partially covered by clouds, I wished I had brought my torch.
I listened hard and discovered the noise was coming from the left, the opposite direction from the town centre, I hesitated briefly wondering if this was a bad idea, but I was out now and I only needed to take look. I followed the sound along the cobbled street and as I went I felt the temperature change, it was like walking out of a warm house on a cold winter’s day. At least the moon had moved from behind the clouds, and was doing it’s best to light up my path. I came to the end of the road and to a T-junction, which way now? I was freezing cold and hoped whatever I was looking for wasn’t too far away. My instincts told me to go left up a small cobbled alley that was quickly engulfed by the dark. I was cold and wanted to get this over and done with so I started to run. The buildings blurred in the corners of my eyes as I ran past and shadows jumped out at me reaching in the direction of my imagination, what was that? Who’s there? My heartbeat rose until it was pulsing in my head as loudly as a pneumatic drill. The streets wound endlessly on, each looking the same as the last and my footsteps echoed as though I wore tap shoes. I lost a sandal on the uneven cobbled streets and immediately twisted my ankle as my foot hit the floor. The excruciating pain that shot up my leg as my foot buckled caused me to scream out, and that’s what alerted them.
The blood gushed from my swollen ankle as I fell to the floor, and I couldn’t move for a while so I just lay there. When I did manage to stand I immediately fell back down to the floor when I tried to put weight on my leg. I didn’t hear them at first as I lay there, it was more of a feeling I was being watched. The shadows now moved sheepishly away and were replaced by a darker shade of night, the moon had disappeared completely and the sky was covered by a thick layer of fog that engulfed it with an effortless swipe. It was not in a good situation, I was lost at night in an unknown town, an unknown country, where I didn’t speak the language. Furthermore no one knew I was out and I had no way of getting back. I had no money, no passport and couldn’t even put any weight on my leg, let alone walk on it. I had been running for what seemed like hours, and had got myself very lost. I had forgotten why I had come out in the first place, and worst of all I couldn’t quite think straight anymore.
My head started to feel heavier, and my eyes, oh how my eyes ached like never before, maybe I could just rest up here for a while, maybe I could just sleeepp… What the hell am I thinking!? I sat up quickly, startled, and found myself in the hole in the ground I had been sleeping in, the bug infested mattress underneath me, my ankle squashed up against the wall in front of me, and Kim soundly sleeping beside me.
TRAVELLERS JOURNAL - BORACAY - Music to travel to...
www.cdbaby.com/cd/travellersjournal
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