It was an ordinary night, as ordinary as can be. The kind of night that does not particularly stand out–where the wind glides by without much force, the clouds are not overly cluttered, and the weather is neither torrid nor chilly. A group of rackety teenagers stood on the vacant ground that separated the road from the dense forest. A single light illuminated the road which was deserted for a few miles, at least. It was no coincidence that this path, curving along the forest that the town was infamous for, stood generally deserted. Stories of the forest called Gafa floated far and wide, with no credible source to vouch for their veracity. Arguing the truth of these tales became somewhat of an amusing pastime for the town folk. No matter which way they swayed in these arguments, it was a general consensus that it was smart to avoid Gafa if they could help it.
The teenagers though, felt differently. Convinced that the stories of the mighty forest were concocted either to hide away a precious secret in its depths or to keep the adventurous types away from the dangers of the wildlife, they had found the perfect situation to confirm the truth of their suspicions. The situation arrived in the name of Karma. Karma, a girl not much younger than most kids of the group, had recently moved to the town. Eager to make new friends, she was delighted when Robben had asked her to come along with him and be a part of their daily meetings. Over the course of the week of meeting them, she had grown rather fond of the group and had decided to make herself indispensable.
On that specific night, she had joined them at the edge of Gafa, confused about their rather peculiar choice of gathering spot. “Hey guys! Interesting choice of place.” she tried to sound chirpy even as the setting made her uncomfortable. “Aw yes! Don’t you just love it?” called Gus as he crossed the street to join them. “Can’t wait to begin man!” yelled another voice. “Begin what?” Karma was bemused. “Why, the quest for the hidden treasures of the haunted forest of course.” offered Aria. “You’re kidding, right?” said Karma. “Scared now, are we? Weren’t you the one boasting of adventures in your former town?” said Robben. Before she could counter, “In any case, Batin has been inside for a while. I figure there’s no choice but to bring him back at least.” he finished.
She could not believe this was happening. She was ready to turn around and flee. But what of the plan to make herself indispensable? And what of Batin? Oh, Batin was the sweetest of them all. His eyes were a pleasant shade between grey and brown, and he always got his way with the group. He seemed to fancy her too, always circling her and running to her, tail wagging and waiting for her to pet him. How could she turn away from him? She swallowed and made up her mind. “Right, let’s make a move then.” she said. “What? Are you sure?” Robben seemed surprised. “As you said, we don’t have a choice. You goofs could use my help anyway.” she smirked. “If you are so sure, maybe you don’t need us at all. Why don’t you get Batin yourself? He likes you more than any of us here.” said Gus as he winked at the others. “Go on!”, “Shouldn’t take you more than five minutes”, “Show us what you’ve got!” they urged her on.
She took an uncertain step forward. She then slowly walked towards the first tree. Looking back, she hoped someone would follow. Robben maybe? She was praying that he sensed her fear. Instead, he held his thumb up and smiled at her reassuringly. It did nothing to reassure her. She turned towards the forest again and decided it was best to get it over with. Drawing a long breath, she used the light from her phone and edged forward.
The world seemed to transform entirely as she walked deeper into Gafa. Had trees always had such a menacing structure to them? The phone light that seemed harsh in the darkness of her bedroom was almost insignificant now, as if the darkness was trying to consume it whole. Ignoring the chill that spread over her body, she slowly inched forward and called for Batin. The response was nothing but silence. The only other sound was of her shoes crunching against dry leaves on the forest floor. The sound startled even her and she began walking faster. Crunch crunch crunch. Soon one leg caught in a massive root jutting off the ground and she fell. The phone flew from her hand and hit a nearby tree. Almost simultaneously, she heard the sound of glass cracking and saw the light going out. The sound of the tiny shards hitting the leaves one after the other reverberated through the forest. Then it grew deafeningly quiet and darker than ever. To call it black would be to do it a disservice. It was as if a vacuum had sucked out every last hint of light that ever existed. She looked up hoping to spot the moon and found more darkness instead. Wasn’t it a full moon two nights ago? Trying to push herself up, she slipped and fell yet again. Feeling helpless and more afraid than ever, she called again for Batin. The world stood eerily still. Nothing moved or made a sound. The only thing that seemed to be growing was the dark. It seemed now to be spreading within her. How that was possible, she could not say. She frantically moved her arms around hoping to find something that would help pull herself up, even though she wasn’t sure which way was up, which was front or down. Her fingers grazed what seemed to be the bark of a tree. It was as if she felt a tree for the very first time in all her life. Every crevice and every nook–she saw them entirely with her hands. Then she stood up, careful to keep her legs steady. She began walking again, using the trees to guide her ahead, or what she thought was ahead. It appeared as if she was entering a black hole, a place from which there was no return.
She yelled for Batin for what seemed like the hundredth time, but the darkness seemed to swallow the scream. At a distance, a tiny silhouette formed. She blinked to focus but could not be sure if her eyes were open anymore. There was pitch black, and in the midst of it, the darkness took the shape of a figure that was getting closer. Her heartbeat began to quicken. It was now echoing through the silence of the forest, and she was almost sure the figure had heard it. She then heard a hushed voice, “Remember me, Karma?” she thought it said. “Remember? It’s me, Thana..” it trailed off. She felt her heart race all the more. She opened her mouth to speak, but more silence oozed. Finally, she managed to say “How?”.
“Thought you left me behind when you left town, did you?” the figure laughed, “I’m here. I will always be here. To remind you how you killed me.”
Karma stiffened. This could not be. There were no such things as ghosts. Yet, alone in the middle of nowhere, she was not entirely certain of the fact.
“Thana, I’m sorry. I tried but..” she felt tears trickling down her face.
“You liar. You watched me die. You did nothing to stop it.”
“But.. No.. Sorry.. I loved you.. Please..” she sobbed as she fell to the ground.
“We were best friends, Karma. And you let me die.”
She was right. Karma had only stopped for a second to buckle her shoe. If only she would have looked up, she would have seen the bus coming. She could have stopped Thana. But there was also the fact that the whole thing was Thana’s idea. She had said it’d be fun to race across the busy streets. Karma then saw the incident as clear as day. “It wasn’t my fault.” she said finally, “I wish we had never gone there, but the blame is not mine.” She waited for an answer but got none. Wiping the tears on her sleeve, she lifted her head. She tried to remember why she was here in the first place, but her memory failed her. She had no recollection of why she was here and was inching towards madness as darkness took over her mind. The figure was closer than ever, and she could feel its breath against her face. She prepared to yell but felt a lick across her cheek, and then came a woof. Relief filled her as she threw her hands around Batin and stayed there.
Feeling much saner, she turned around to head out. Only she wasn’t sure which way was out. She heard Batin trotting in a direction and followed. “Please tell me you’re leading us outside, boy.” she said hopefully. Batin gave a joyful bark. How he was upbeat even in this setting, was beyond her. Regardless, she was grateful for the company. After a significant walk, she spotted a light in the distance. Having waded through the thick forest of darkness, the light gradually restored her back to life, dim as it may have been. She approached an isolated house that was on the edge of the forest. She did not recall seeing it there before. As she looked around for her friends, a man walked to her. Staying away from a strange man would be the wise thing to do, but she had no fear left to feel. Besides, Batin sat by her foot protectively.
“You made it out, I see.” he said.
“Seems that way.”
“What did you see in there?” he asked, curious.
“I don’t know. I think I saw a ghost.”
“Ghost. Huh.” he chuckled.
“I’m sorry, but you’d feel differently if you went in there yourself!” she was growing defensive.
“Child, I go in there every day. Ain’t no ghosts but the ones in your head.” he said matter-of-factly.
He then turned to walk back into the house.
She stood still, considering what he had said. There was some shouting and soon, she saw her friends heading towards her. “Where did you disappear off to? We followed you to pull you out. Saw no sign of you.” said Aria. “Did you now? Good thing I found Batin then.” Karma beamed. “What do you mean?” said Robben, and she saw Batin cradled in his arms. Her eyes immediately turned to her foot, next to which was no sign of Batin or of him ever being there. She looked at the ground behind her and saw her lone footprints leading out from the forest. “Karma?” called Aria. She turned to answer, but the darkness began closing in on her. She reached out her hand desperately, only to feel the familiar touch of the nooks and crevices.