An eerie incident

As a medical professional, I have always tried finding a rational explanation for everything. But there are times we are compelled to believe certain things, beyond our comprehension. Like this incident, which is indelibly imprinted in my mind. In 1999, when I was in sixth grade. My dad, a naval officer who was posted in Chennai then, had taken month’s leave to be with my grandma, who had just then undergone a major cardiac surgery in Bengaluru.

At night, my father, mother and I were driving down from Chennai to reach Bengaluru around 3 AM. Since my uncle was at the hospital, my grandfather was at home. When he heard the hooting of our car horn, he rushed to open the door.

He seemed slightly shocked, from what we could conclude from his countenance. He then started narrating what had just then transpired. Just minutes before our arrival, his landline had started ringing-- the blaring noise piercing the night's tranquillity. My grandpa had woken up with a start, wondering who could it be at that unearthly hour.

A sense of trepidation had gripped him. Hoping it wasn't my uncle from the hospital with grim news, he mustered the courage to pick up the phone. He was indeed petrified by what he heard. It was loud wailing of a lady at the other end. His repeated attempts at eliciting an answer regarding who it was failed. All he could hear were blood-curdling wails of the woman.

He seemed visibly shaken as he recounted the horrific happening. Of course, dad passed it off as a “prank call”. My grandma passed away just a few hours after that telephonic occurrence. Her death shook our family really hard.

One day, as I was watching a telly programme on myths and mysterious occurrences across the globe, I came across the myth of the “Banshee”-- an Irish spirit, whose wail indicates imminent death in a family.

Immediately, I correlated this with the ‘spooky incident'. Was it really a Banshee forewarning us of grandma’s impending death, or was it indeed a ‘prank call’, as my dad had put it?