The Last Light in the Forest: A short story

    The Last Light in the Forest   

         I was having a head ache, a severe one. The throbbing from the temples was slowly crawling into my eyes. And that's when I knew, I need to take a break. A break away from this hectic life, meaningless smiles, and a truckload of responsibilities and expectations. I popped a painkiller and swallowed it with a scrunched up face, while cursing internally at everything. I tried to smother the head ache away with my pillow, and it seemed to be working and I drifted to a woeful sleep. 

        Next day, I was ready for the "escape" trip- as my friends would call it.. Yes, it was actually an escape from from the hectic life, meaningless words, soulless smiles and truckload of responsibilities... Whenever I felt the crushing burden of expectations and deadlines, I knew that it was time for a reset.

        As it is done to be away from everyone who knows me, I never take my phone, as it will constantly remind me of the various failures of my life when my fingers tap across the status circles in social media. So the Samsung phone was securely kept in the drawer and my mind felt an instantaneous peacefulness. I dozed off in the bus and after about 3 hours journey, I found myself at the beginning of the trails of a forest in Palakkad. 

        There were some others trekking in groups, but I preferred moving alone. Even though I was in the midst of calm and quiet jungle, my mind was not still. The work-pressure, the break-up, the EMIs, the scornful look of some acquaintances, even kept playing in my mind like an endless loop. I wandered around ; by the time I was aware of my surroundings, the sun was sinking behind the clouds, the evening hue was slowly spreading around the sky. Gradually the reddish hue was merging with the darkness, and  tall dark shadows were creeping around me. 

        I started to trace my steps back, but I couldn't find anyone around me. My flashlight illuminated the jungle path and kept on walking. It felt like an hour has passed (my watch was also not working!), but the jungle was not clearing and long trail stretched before me. Did I wander too far away? 

        My flashlight started flickering and dimming. I was sure that I has fully charged it... may be not? I was soon enveloped in utter darkness, when my torch light died off completely. Now that my eyes were shrouded in shadows, I could hear everything too clearly. The rustling of leaves.. the howling wind...the eerie cicadas.. I could then feel the goosebumps; cold sweat erupted from the back of my neck. I was already regretting the decision to visit the desolate forest.. I could feel the entire forest looming over me and the eyes of some unknown predator stalking me.

        That was when I saw it.. a ball of fire, moving up and down some feet away from me, like a fire torch being swished up and down.. The hope and relief I felt at that moment was indescribable... Relief washed over me in waves.. 

        "Hey! Please help me! Show some light over here!" I shouted. 

Image Credit: Generated using AI via Google Assistant 

        But it didn't seem like they heard me. The fireball was already drifting away. I did not want to lose this last straw. My pace increased automatically, and I was practically running towards it. I was not hearing any more spooky forest sounds, nor my mind was in turmoil. My sole mission was to catch up with the light source..

        I don't know how much time has passed while I was chasing the light like a moth drawn to the flame.. May be an hour... May be more.. Not sure... Finally the light stopped at a distance.. Perhaps they heard me.. I ran without wasting a second, not even bothering to shout... Random thorny branches had scratched my face and body at many sites, my entire body and soul were exhausted... I just needed to be near the light... I cleared the small branches with my bare hands... I finally saw it...

        A bright fire ball in the midst of  a clearing in the forest... flickering gently in the breeze... calling me ... beckoning me... My legs were already moving to the light before I could process anything... My eyes mesmerized by the dancing flame.... Then I felt like the ground was fiving away beneath my feet.. I was drowning... Still my eyes were glued to the fire.. My hands flailing around toward it.. 

        "Now you'll be mine, FOREVER", a sinister voice whispered in my ear... Darkness crept into my eyes...

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        I opened my eyes, when I was hit with a bright sunlight.. I was no longer in the forest.. The white ceiling was a welcome sight.. I inspected my surroundings.. I was in a hospital... Some tubes and wires were connected to my body.. I took in the disinfectant smell greedily and blanked stared out of the window...

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        Last night as I was the only missing tourist. A search and rescue team came in search of me. They found me almost submerged in a marsh. I was rescued in a timely manner. I didn't explain about the fireball and other eerie experiences... I didn't want to be labelled as a crazy person... But I was sure that my experience was not a hallucination, not a delusion, it was real....

Note: This story is inspired from the folklore about Theekollipishachu/ Kollivai pishachu...

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