Heather didn’t seem to notice. When she saw Isha, she squealed, dropping her suitcase, and threw her arms around her neck. Their muffled, excited voices were audible even inside the bar. Heather pulled away, looking Isha up and down, then retrieved her bag. Then the two of them made their way across the street to a little outdoor restaurant and sat down.
I threw a couple of bills on the table and went outside, concealing myself behind a row of street vendors next to the station. The girls ordered drinks and talked for a few minutes until the waiter returned with two glasses of white wine. After he was gone Heather placed her suitcase on an empty chair, unzipped it, and lifted the lid just enough to let Isha peek inside. Her eyes widened. My wife touched Heather’s hand briefly and smiled.
I clenched my teeth, picturing her college photograph in my head.
I bolted across the street.
When Isha saw me her mouth dropped open. But before she could react, I’d grabbed the lid of the suitcase and thrown it open.
I gasped in horror at the thing inside.
“What the hell?!” Heather screamed.
“Jaswinder! What are you doing here?!”
Heather immediately slammed the lid.
I stood there, breathless, as Heather frantically zipped up the suitcase.
“I’m so sorry,” Isha told her. “This is my husband.” She turned to me. “Jaswinder, what in the world do you think you’re doing?”
“What is that horrible thing?”
“You are out of line,” my wife hissed.
“It’s okay,” Heather said, exhaling a deep breath. She set her suitcase on the ground. “Jaswinder, why don’t you have a seat?”
Isha looked at her, a confused scowl smeared across her face.
“It’s fine, Isha. Please, Jaswinder.” She gestured toward the chair.
A few patrons at the restaurant were staring. I sat down.
“Good,” said Heather. “It’s nice to finally meet you, Jaswinder,” she added, touching my hand.
“What was that?” I said.
Heather looked at Isha and smiled. “That is my gift to you and Isha.”
“That thing? I don’t want it!”
Heather laughed. “Listen, Jas… Isha has told me about your trouble conceiving.”
I scowled at my wife.
“What you saw in my suitcase is nothing to be afraid of. It’s a fertility idol. I’m here to help you and your wife have a child.”
I looked at Isha. “Is she serious? Why didn’t you just tell me?”
Heather leaned in and answered for her. “I wanted to discuss it with your wife first. I didn’t mean any harm.”
I frowned. “What, so we have to put that thing in our house?”
“No. The ritual has to be performed outside. Once we’re done you’ll never have to see it again.”
“Good. It’s horrible.” I folded my arms across my chest and stared at the table.
Isha touched my hand. “Heather would like to perform the ritual tonight. She’s hired a helicopter to take us to the site.”
“What site?”
Heather smiled. “Roopkund.”
I stared at her in disbelief. “Skeleton Lake?”
“You know the story?” Heather asked excitedly. “Not just the recent history, but the myth behind it?”
“Everyone knows that old story,” I said. I paused for a sip of my wife’s wine. Heather stared at me expectantly. I rolled my eyes and continued. “Roopkund was a gift from Shiva to his wife, the goddess Nanda Devi. It was her favorite possession. The legend says that during a pilgrimage in the 16th century, Nanda’s sister, Rani Balpa, gave birth on the shore of the lake. Nanda considered this an act of desecration and retaliated by summoning a hailstorm so large that it smashed the heads of everyone present.”
“Over six hundred people,” Heather said.
“Something like that.”
“And the bodies weren’t found until a park ranger stumbled across them in 1942. A lake completely filled with bones. Pretty creepy.”
I glanced at my wife. “Are you sure you want to do this?”
Isha nodded. “If Heather says that’s the place, then that’s where I’ll go.”
I glanced at the two of them, drumming my fingers on the table. “I’m coming with you.”
“I wouldn’t have it any other way,” Heather replied, finishing her wine. “We leave in two hours.”
I had just enough time to run back to the apartment and gather a few things before the helicopter left. I brought a heavy coat, boots, camping supplies, and a bag of dried fruit. Cooking wasn’t my specialty, and I couldn’t waste any more time than necessary. An hour later I met the women at the airfield. Just as Heather had said, the helicopter was waiting, rotors twisting languidly.
I stared out the window and watched as we drifted over the foothills and slowly climbed into the mountains. It wasn’t long before the great peaks of Thrishul appeared on the horizon. The pilot banked and dipped into the misty valley below, descending through the haze until Roopkund, like a frozen, crystalline eye, blinked into existence.
Heather touched me on the leg. “This is it,” she said.
The helicopter landed on a plateau about a hundred meters from the lake. We unloaded our gear and said goodbye to the pilot, then headed down to the shore.
Roopkund was small, frozen, and littered with human bones. They were everywhere. Skulls, arms, legs, ribs–it looked like a slaughter. Some had been sorted or assembled into full skeletons by tourists.
We picked a relatively flat spot on the south shore of the lake and made camp. We worked as the sun set behind Thrishul, casting a long three-pointed shadow over the valley.
After we’d finished the three of us crawled inside and zipped the flap.
“This will help with the cold,” Heather said, grabbing a bottle of whiskey from her suitcase.
“Is this part of the ritual?” I joked, taking a pull from the bottle.
“Couldn’t hurt,” Isha said.
“So when do we start?”
“We’ve got a few hours. We can’t start until midnight, so we might as well get cozy.”
Heather unzipped her coat and stretched her arms. “Bottle please.”
Isha passed the whiskey to her and she took a long drink.
“Careful!” Isha laughed. “We’re not in college anymore!”
“Oh God,” Heather grinned. “This girl could drink in college, Jas. You have no idea.”
I rolled my eyes and took a sip from the bottle. “I’ve heard the stories.”
Heather shook her head. “Oh I don’t think you’ve heard them all.”
“I may know more than you think.”
Heather’s eyes widened. “Isha, did you tell him?”
“Unfortunately,” Isha replied, unzipping her coat.
“Scandalous!”
I nodded, smirking.
Heather grabbed the bottle and pulled. “How much did you tell him?”
Isha glanced at me. “Just about the one time we kissed.”
Heather burst out laughing. “Oh, the one time! Girl, I’ve had my fingers inside of you more times than I can remember.”
“What?!”
Isha groaned and snatched the bottle from Heather’s hand.
“I knew it!” I yelled, grabbing the bottle away from her. “Liar.”
Heather bit her lip. “You’re upset by that?”
I upended the bottle and filled my mouth with the harsh liquid.
“Jaswinder?” Heather said.