While scanning the news over morning coffee, a headline caught my eye: “Young woman dies after losing balance at waterfall.” I was irritated by the carelessness. I turned to my mother, "This has to be another selfie-obsessed case. They think the validation from strangers on the social media is more important than their lives". Hearing our conversation from the kitchen, our cook, Malati Mavshi (pseudonym to protect her identity) paused. She had more to add to the story, "that story is from my village. There is more to it. I know about it".
Malati Mavshi narrated: Summer has always been the peak tourist season in her village. Blessed with stunning natural beauty, the area's crown jewel was its waterfall—a perennial stream of crystal-clear water fed directly from the high mountain springs. Year after year, millions travellers from across the globe journeyed to the remote village just to spend their summers by its waters. The numbers kept growing after the rise of social media. Afterall, her village was the perfect backdrop for the 'nature lover aesthetics'.
Yet the roaring waterfall held a dark secret. Every single year, without fail, a young woman would drown and lose her life. Even the strongest swimmers stood no chance against the natural force. Despite the best rescue efforts, the fall claimed the life of one young woman every summer.
The pattern was hard to ignore. Villagers decided to get to the bottom of this. They dug through old newspaper clippings, archived articles, and police records, but turned up nothing. None of the official documents offered a plausible explanation. With nowhere else to turn, they sought out the oldest man in the village—who finally held the answer they were searching for.
Decades ago the village was inhabited by indigenous tribes. On a bright sunny afternoon, tribal teenage boys decided to cool off at the waterfall. While playing at the waterfall, a young man hit his head against a rock, drowned, and died. Later they learnt that the man was scheduled to be married later that summer, leaving his dreams of a family entirely unfulfilled. It is said that every year, the spirit of that young man searches for a bride. That is why he latches onto a young unmarried woman, pulls her pulls her under, and ensures no rescue attempt can ever save her.
Malati Mavshi whispered, "He was just a young man with his whole life ahead of him, dreaming of a wife and a family. He died before any of it could become a reality, but his desires didn't. Even today, his spirit still searches the water for a bride".
Malati's chilling story sent a cold shiver down my spine, instantly transforming a cold, detached news headline into something hauntingly tragic. As I looked back at the article in the newspaper, I saw it in a completely different light—and right then and there, I quietly crossed her village off my travel bucket list for good.
[Disclaimer: The waterfall shown above is not the actual waterfall from the village mentioned in this story.]
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