An evening in Kathmandu cemetery

Rise, rise, rise.

Whispers in the dark, chilly night. A thick soup of dirty white fog blankets everything. Dogs howl, do they always sound like Jackals?

The air smells of gunpowder, burnt metal, and rotten eggs. The sulfuric pungency creates a sense of confusion and strikes fear in the deepest chambers of one's heart.

In the oft-avoided cemetery at the outskirts of Kathmandu, there's a bustle. Roars of engine, shouts, confusion. Rankling of chains, a blaring horn, groaning of rusty metal gates. Thump. Thump. Thmp. Men heaving and groaning. Swearing at each other. Gravel and mud being shoveled. Isn't it full moon today, someone shouts, it shouldn't be this dark, we should have brought torchlights!

Shut up and dig, it's dark so what, we can see the mud, that's what pays the money!, the contractor shouts.

They hit something after an hour and half of swears thumps and groans. A muffled cheer of joy. Clinks of glasses. And soon, sounds of knocks against wood. Wood creaking and groaning, men heave-hoing. A loud thump. Wood creaks.

Shock. Confusion. Angry shouts.


They didn't expect the coffin to be empty. It was, empty as the day it was created, not a sign of anybody dead or alive ever inhabiting it.

Mfker, did we dig up the wrong grave, someone shouts. What idiot would bury an empty coffin, someone else shouts. Is this about ghosts and things like that because I dont like that sort of drama, we should go home if it's something related to spooky stuff. This is not what we were told, says someone rather passionately.

Everyone is trying to figure out the coffin. No one pays attention to the slow heavy breathing from far away, slowly getting louder. Crunches and crankles. Thwaaap, thwuuup, thwuup, something soft being flung about. It gets louder and louder.

What's that sound, the 'not into ghosts' guy says. Quiet. Thwuuup thuwuup thwuump, the sound is gradually getting louder. Strong men aren't always brave men. There's a school of thought that argues that strong men are the most scared men, they cultivate their strength to protect themselves fro unknown terrors. Such as the one they can feel coming to them.