🌳 Mohini Tree – Childhood Nightmare (Part 1)

During my childhood, we lived in Pegoh Estate. When I entered Standard 6, our family was given a new house because both my parents were rubber tappers. The estate only provided new houses for couples who worked there.

Near our new house stood a huge tree, which everyone called the Mohini tree. I don’t know its real name, but it had big red flowers and a massive trunk. The elders said the tree had been there for more than 50 years. One thing that always scared us was the giant iron nail driven deep into the tree. Amma always reminded us, "Never touch or remove that nail." It gave us chills!

The tree only bloomed once every few months, but when it did, the bright red flowers would fall and cover the ground around the tree and even around our house. Honestly, it looked very beautiful—like nature’s own red carpet.

But not long after moving into the new house, strange things started happening...

🩸 The First Incident

Just a week in, I had to go to the washroom. The door was made from cheap, sharp metal. While coming out, my ankle got stuck under the jagged edge of the door—and it peeled my skin open. The pain was unbearable.

I was so scared to tell my parents. Back then, if we got hurt or made mistakes, parents would sometimes scold or beat us. So I kept quiet. I lay down on the bed and carefully kept my injured foot hanging off the side.

Around 7pm, I slowly walked to the kitchen. Suddenly, Appa saw blood everywhere on the floor. He was shocked and immediately ran to treat the wound. The bleeding was bad. Even now, I still have a scar on my ankle from that injury.

👻 The Second Incident…

(To be continued in Part 2)

-GowriArumugam-