‘A journey into a spooky forest’: Short Story by Saurabh Mishra, Apeejay School, Panchsheel Park

Everything was fine for a while but in 2021 during the lockdown on the 9th of May, an unforgettable night unfolded. A family meet was going on, and it was 11:50 PM. Ramit and his two brothers, Sandeep and Gaurav, decided to go out. Sandeep mentioned a nearby half- forest, half-park area where, according to rumors, strange religious and non-religious activities like black magic were performed. Ramit was intrigued and decided to check it out. Together, the three of them left the gathering and headed for the forest. 

After 10 minutes of walking, they reached the place. The area spanned about 10 kilometers long and 1.2 kilometers wide. During the daytime, half of the forest served as a park, but the other half remained abandoned and eerie. People usually visited the park in the morning and left by 6 PM; no one dared to stay after dark.

The three entered the forest through a broken part of the boundary and noticed a woman performing some sort of ritual with a doll made of flour. She was murmuring words they couldn’t understand. For a while, they observed her from a distance, trying to make sense of the situation. When they failed to comprehend anything, they decided to move on. Meanwhile, Sanya called Ramit, but his phone was on silent mode and “Do Not Disturb,” so they didn’t realize that she was trying to contact them.

As they moved further, they came across a four-way junction. The group decided to split up and explore the paths. Gaurav would take the left, Sandeep the front, and Ramit the right. However, Gaurav hesitated because he was afraid of spirits. Eventually, they agreed that Sandeep and Gaurav would take the path on the left together while Ramit would explore the front on his own.

The plan set in motion, they each headed in their respective directions. When Ramit reached the end of the front path, he saw a group of dogs staring at me intensely. After a few seconds, they shifted their focus to a particular point.

Curious, he followed their gaze and saw a shadowy figure. He told myself it must be my imagination, but unease began to creep in.

He stepped back and took a right turn, which led him to a square-shaped area. In the middle of this area, there was a banyan tree with a flickering streetlight. Near the tree, I saw a hole in the ground and another tree with no leaves. Hanging from its branches was a doll, its eyes bleeding.

To Ramit’s horror, the doll began crying, tears mixed with blood dripping from its face. Suddenly, it started moving toward him. His heart pounded, and he could hear footsteps approaching from both sides. Terrified,he screamed, shut his eyes, and felt like he was about to faint.

Just then, someone tapped his shoulder. He turned around and saw Sanya, Sandeep, and Gaurav standing there. They asked him why he was screaming. He told them everything he had experienced, but they didn’t believe him. They explained that he hadn’t moved an inch from the spot where he started. Sandeep and Gaurav said that when they came back, they found Sanya, who had tracked his phone out of concern and rushed to the location. She told them the area was not safe and urged them to leave immediately.

At that moment, Ramit fainted. When he woke up, he told them what he thought had happened—that his soul had wandered ahead while his body remained in place.Sanya explained that if they had taken even a second longer to wake him, he might have died.