Clues valued more than life. And a mystery costs those lives.
From times old, I had been raised in a web of folklores. Some more realistic than the others, the others more fake than some.
It had been four days since I ransacked the bungalow in search for a small box. The most jarring thing wasn't even the stories itself. It was the fact that I believed it, more so the fact that both dad and grandpa could have been taken by an alien despite my age.
I sat on the shore, my head hung low. Even the beautiful crystalline water mirroring the sky above, couldn't keep my attention, as the moon pulled gentle waves from the lake.
I jolted as a large bird flew over my head into the darkened forest with tall thick trees. A chill ran down my spine the more I stared at it. The story was old but the memory was still fresh in my head.
I was eight years old when we came here, in Golpaka, a small town on the outskirts of Rajasthan, for a vacation. One night, my parents made a mistake of leaving me unsupervised.
I ran into that forest following a kaleidoscope of butterflies, way deep into the forest. That's when I met them, the Cangkhi tribes. They were covered in ashes from head to toe and they wore an apparel made up of pure animal bones or humans.
It seemed like they were performing a ritual. I peeked from between the trees, my feet unmoving, as they ripped out the guts of the man I remembered as the one who sold candies to me, all to throw it to the fire. It was clear, the land belonged to them and I couldn't comprehend why Grandpa had to buy an estate here.
The next thing I remembered was an old lady with complete white eyes like crystal balls, whispering an oracle. I swear I saw a piece of my future looking into her eyes.
"da'ves hu ttam re o-ku"
The words were still clear in my head.
At this moment, my phone rang.
"Come back"
I shouldn't have picked up the call. My brother was the definition of cynicism and though his personality was needed in his field of job, it was of no use to get me do something.
I wouldn't deny the rift that seemed to continuously grow between us after dad's disappearance. And though I understood his condition to provide for the family and giving a day's rest to mom, I couldn't accept his choice.
"No"
He couldn't change my mind. I shut my phone off.
I lid a cigarette and watched the smoke curl.
Jake's CafePop, my father's favourite café corner, was the last time anyone saw him.
I took a drag.
Right at eight thirty he was supposed to be in a meeting and the cctv footage did picked him up crossing the street. Then why the fuck didn't the second camera caught him walking on the other side of the road.
I took another drag.
It was hard when a list of all possibilities got struck in red. Perhaps the phantoms of the night knew where he was.
I threw the cigarette and was about to resume my search. Maybe a coin in a gutter, anything. But then a loud voice caught my attention.
"Help!"
I turned my light on and searched the area.
"Help me!"
I froze in place when a bloodied woman ran, no, limped towards me and fell on me, dragging both of us down. I shook her, but no response. With my trembling hands I checked her pulse and my whole world seemed to have shifted right at that moment.
I threw her off of me, her body splayed on the ground. I looked towards the way from where she came, leaving a trail of her blood on the ground, alert for a killer or an animal.
Dead. She was dead.