It was late evening. Night was settling in. The beach was getting deserted as it got darker still. There was a particular serenity about the beach at night. The breeze, the rustle of the palm trees, the water reflecting the moonlight. The night seemed to have arrived sooner than usual for Rahul. He hadn’t been making the most of his time, he thought to himself. The last group at the beach, a bunch of foreigners, had just left for the night, getting ready for dinner. Rahul lived alone. He didn’t eat much at night, as his lunches were usually heavy meals. So he wasn’t in a rush to return home
as yet. The calm solitude of the night was inviting. He stared out into the ocean ahead of him. Wondering what lay in those depths. Deep waters terrified him. It’s that feeling of loneliness amidst something as enormous as the deep ocean and not knowing how to swim in it. That’s what terrified him. He tried to divert his attention to something more pleasant. Something worth smiling about. Life is too short to be worried all the time, he thought. Just then he noticed something. A figure appeared to be walking at the beach. It was a girl. She appeared to be on one of those so-called leisurely evening strolls. He felt a little happy to see someone around him in
close vicinity. Unexpected company was always welcome to him. The girl had a certain grace about her, even to the eyes of someone observing her from afar. She appeared to be wearing a top, covered with a thin jacket and a long skirt. The sea breeze blew on her flowing hair and her skirt, subtly indicating how windy it actually was there. She was enjoying it. Rahul was used to sitting alone on a bench at the base of the lighthouse, appreciating the beauty of nature around him, grateful to be amidst it. But deep down, he did long for company. He was curious about this
newcomer at the beach. Whether or not she wanted someone to talk to or she welcomed solitude would be clear in a few moments, as he thought to approach her. He thought of a few icebreakers for a conversation. Maybe “Perfect evening to take a stroll at the beach isn’t it?” just because I happen to be here a few paces away, or “Women are not permitted at the beach after dark, especially pretty women!” too cheesy perhaps, he thought. He made his way towards the sands of the beach, pretending to seem as casual as possible, to not freak out the girl. She hadn’t
noticed him yet, as she continued strolling, running her hands through her hair. As he came a few yards away from her, she glanced at him. But she continued walking, unperturbed by the stranger approaching her. Rahul was about to speak when he saw the girl glance at him. But was surprised by her unwelcome cold reception of him. He had a strange feeling about this. Maybe I should just
reverse my course and head back to the bench and save myself some embarrassment, he thought. But he continued anyway, willing to take the risk.
“ Hi! I’m Rahul! I was sitting there on that bench and saw you walking here. Thought I’d say hi. I don’t mean to encroach your space of course.”
“ Hi. No not at all. You’re not doing any of that sort at all” she said.
“ Mind if I join you?” he asked.
“Sure. Why not.” The two started walking side by side a few steps. In silence. Not a hint of a conversation initiation from her. Rahul broke the silence.
“ What brings you to the beach at this hour all by yourself?”
“ Just wanted to gather my thoughts.” she said.
“ Thoughts. Oh yes. They are like a bunch of scattered articles in a room we need to organise from time to time.”
The girl didn’t respond. She kept walking, her gaze fixed to the ground.
“What exactly are these thoughts of yours about?” he asked.
She suddenly turned to him, looking straight into his eyes, not expecting such a direct question. Finally she spoke.
“ To run away from this world. To escape into the unknown.”
He looked at her. Astonished by the answer. He sensed something was off about this girl.
“ I don’t mean to be too inquisitive, but why would you want to do that?” he asked.
“ I don’t know. I just do.”
They walked in silence for a few moments. He didn’t know how to continue the conversation. The awkwardness was making him uncomfortable. He might end up saying something silly, he thought.
“ I think I’ll be leaving now. See you around.” she said.
“ Alright. It was nice meeting you.” said Rahul.
She turned to walk away from him, not a speck of emotion on her face. She walked a few steps when Rahul called out to her.
“ You didn’t tell me your name. “
“ My name’s Ana. “ she said.
“ See you around Ana. “
She waved at him and continued walking away.
Rahul stood there for a while, watching her go. The water washed away the sand beneath his feet. The sand hardened where he stood, piercing under his feet. She is a mysterious girl, he thought. Her initial response to him initiating the conversation didn’t give him much hope of it going well. He was used to girls being uninterested to keep a conversation going with him. The girls that fascinated him. Usually he would brush it off and go on with his life and not read into it too much. But there was something about this particular girl that raised his curiosity. Not for a love interest
per se. He felt an urge to know more about her. Maybe she’s hiding something, he thought. Maybe she has a dark secret. He wanted to find out. He looked in the distance, to see if he could spot her anywhere. But she seemed to have left the premises. He thought for a moment, whether he should give his curiosity a rest or should he pursue his so-called thirst for knowledge of a girl who is a complete stranger to him. He could just follow her the next day if he sees her at all and
unofficially proclaim to be a stalker. Unless he spots her somewhere nearby as he makes his way back home. The odds were against him, he thought.
He made his way to the exit, still pondering about the girl. He tried to push those thoughts away and think of something else. Dinner plans. He was actually starving. It was a while back since he had his last meal. A cup of noodles would suffice, he thought. Cooking an elaborate meal felt far fetched. The street outside the beach compound that led to the town was deserted at that hour. There were very few shops or houses nearby. Most of the population would be found at the town,
which was about three kilometres away.
Rahul’s home was halfway to the town. He preferred walking every time he ventured into the beach. Long walks gave him a sense of contentment, a way of connecting with himself. But at night it was different. The road ahead was empty. A few street lamps along the way gave some respite from the lonely walk in the deathly silent darkness. The chirping crickets, a hooting owl were the only companions Rahul could afford. He could see someone in the distance riding a bicycle headed towards him. A man. He was moving quite slowly. As he came close, he stared at Rahul. A blank look on his face. The man seemed familiar to Rahul. Probably came across him at
the beach.
He was almost home. A few hundred meters away. As he walked on, he felt a visual distraction to his right. He looked in that direction. There was nothing. To his right was a dense forest full of tropical flora and nothing but darkness. He wondered if he was imagining things. He continued walking. His house was just a few blocks away now. Hunger and tiredness getting to him. The distraction reappeared. He looked instantly. It was a flash of light. It was coming from within the forest. Appearing just for a fraction of a second, it was gone again. He stood there and stared in
that direction for a while. After a few seconds, it appeared again. It was getting more frequent. Rahul was bewildered by the strange occurrence before his eyes. He didn’t know whether to ignore or fuel his curiosity and investigate the matter at hand. The flashes suddenly became more and more abrupt. They weren’t periodic like they were a few moments back. It seemed as though a person at the other end of the flashes was desperately trying to grab Rahul’s attention. But what could be the reason behind this desperate attempt to lure him? He thought. He was curious now
more than ever.
He stepped towards the forest fence. There was a damaged portion of the fence which he could use to his advantage to enter the forest. He crawled through it and got to the other side of the fence. It felt like a completely different world from the residential area outside the fence. The air was humid. It felt much cooler. I’m about to get into this deep now. You can go back right now. The fence is right here. Rahul thought to himself. Fortune favours the brave. His thoughts contradicting. But what am I being brave for here? I hope I’m not wasting my time on something
utterly silly while I could just be home right now having my dinner. He was about to find out. He walked a few steps of the forest ground filled with tree barks, dry leaves and roots of large trees. The flash of light showed itself once in a while. He tired to maintain his path towards that direction. Someone is using a torchlight to call me towards them. He thought. It was dark. The moonlight barely guiding him along his way. The light came from a height. As though from someone perched up on a tree. Maybe someone is in trouble and is calling for help. The very thought spurred him on to get to the light faster. He walked faster. The forest was dead silent. It had unusually less birds housed in trees. The occasional owl is all that made a sound. Rahul did
not seem to care. His urge to gain knowledge of something often manifested as bravery in order to pursue it. But he did not think of it as bravery at all. It was just simple curiosity. The burning desire to know the unknown. But sometimes this curiosity could turn into utter obliviousness to surroundings and the sheer consequences of one’s actions.
The light was getting slightly bigger with every step he took. He was getting closer. I’m headed in the right direction. He wondered what sort of trouble the source of the light might be going through. There seemed to be no sign of audible struggle or agitation of any sort. Awfully silent hostage situation. He thought. How different the circumstances would have been if the victim did not have a torchlight? As he took a few more steps, he noticed something that shocked him. The source was moving. It seemed to be moving vertically downward. Getting off a tree maybe. What the hell is going on?!
He still couldn’t see who it was. He was a fair distance away.
He was about twenty five yards away from the source of the flashing light. He stood there for moment. The person flashed the light at him a few times and stopped. Both stood still facing each other. In the darkness. Neither having a clue who the other one was. Suddenly the person with the flashlight sprinted towards Rahul and cried out.
“Help me! Please! Help me!”
What the bloody hell!!
“Whoa! Whoa! Calm down!” Rahul attempted to console the person.
As he got a closer look at the person, he was surprised to realise who it was. It was the girl from the beach. She was hyperventilating and perspiring heavily. Clearly subject to lot of mental and emotional turmoil.
“Ana?! Is that you?”
“Yes yes!! It’s me. I’m glad you recognised me! Please help me! I’m in real trouble here! Please! I beg you!”
“What’s going on?! Are you hurt?”
“No I’m not hurt luckily. Not yet atleast.”
And Ana broke into a kind of hysterical sob. Rahul was in shock. He didn’t know how to react unless he knew what exactly was going on.
“We need to get out of here Ana! Right now!”
“There are people trapped in there. We have to save them. I can’t leave them behind! I just can’t. I’m sorry. I’m scared! I’m scared for them! Please help me save them! Please!” She said pointing towards a spot inconspicuous under the tree cover. The spot seemed to have what looked like a door. A rusted old door which looked like it had been there for decades.
This is not good, thought Rahul.
“Ana you need to tell me what’s going on.”
“There’s no time! We need to hurry and go in there! He’ll be here soon! Please!” said Ana.
“Who’s he? Who’s coming?” asked Rahul, panicking now.
Ana ran towards the door. When she got there, she waved at him to hurry up. Hesitantly, he took a few steps and then ran to where she stood. She pulled the door handle. With great resistance at the hinge, the door creaked open. There was nothing but pitch black beyond that open door. It looked like the path went down from there. A staircase perhaps.
“What is this place?! I have a bad feeling about this Ana.”
“They’re down there. At the basement. We’ll have to hurry.”
“Did you hear what I just said? I’m not going down there. This is insane. I’m getting out of here. I can’t do this. I suggest you do the same. Before it’s too late.” said Rahul, his mind made up.
“Please! There are children down there! They need your help! My sister’s down there! Please help me! I beg you.”
“Your sister?”
“Yes! She’s 6! She’s tied up down there.”
“Alright. We gotta make it quick then.” Rahul finally agreed.
They rushed down the stairs through the darkness, onto the basement. The wooden floor creaking with every step they took. They both stood still for a moment to hear any sound made by the hostages. Rahul heard nothing. The silence was deafening. At that very instant, he felt as though he was all alone in the entire world. He turned around to face Ana. She stood at the dimly lit base of the staircase, staring at him, calm, no more hysterical sobbing and pleading. With a grin on her face, she watched him.
“Ana where are the children? Where’s your sister?”
To his surprise, Ana burst out laughing. The basement echoed with the woman’s evil laugh. She continued laughing, for a couple of minutes, as she stepped onto the wooden floor. Rahul was petrified. He couldn’t breathe.
“All the children are dead” she said. Expressionless. Emotionless. She walked over to one of the doors and opened it. Revealing a pile, of what looked like, six to seven dead bodies of children. She side - eyed him, with a grin, while she did it.
“And my sister? Does not exist.” she said, breaking into a laugh.
“Ana what the hell?!” said Rahul, sweating profusely now.
She laughed louder. She slid her hand into her pants pocket and took out a knife. Still laughing. Walking towards him now.
“No Ana! Please no!”
A pair of hunters came in search of deer in the forest. Venison was highly sought after in those parts. They saw some movement near the thick bushes and had to be as stealthy as possible. Suddenly they heard a loud shriek of a man. Not just once but four times. The deer jumped off the bush and ran away. The hunters threw their guns to the ground off frustration.
