Aatma

Forbidden Forest

Mumbai: 2006

Mumbai is known as the city of dreams with its thriving young population, night clubs and Bollywood. It’s one of those hip and happening cities that never sleeps. This  city however has its own natural forest amidst the concrete jungle. One such forest can be found at the outskirts of the city, in areas with slightly lesser population. I will not reveal the name for safety reasons so let’s just call it Mystic forest. 

It was the year 2006, a group of thick friends who had grown together in an orphanage decided to meet each other after many years. It had been long since they had last met after going their separate paths. Some had secured a well paying job while some were pursuing higher studies.These friends were no ordinary people like you and me, they were awakened beings who had started their spiritual journey from a young age. 

The orphanage where they grew up was a special one, run by a Divine being who lived amongst humans like any ordinary man. Call it coincidence or pure luck that these 5 girls and boys were left in this off record orphanage. Unlike other orphanages, they were trained in many arts, scriptures and underwent many mystical, unexplained processes. The Divine being who was their teacher and only guardian had big plans for them and hence gifted them with the ability to see and experience great things unknown to the common man. While the world believed there were no such things as demons and Gods, these 5 individuals knew the truth and kept their abilities hidden from the world.

These 5 friends were Kavita, Arjun, Sahil, Vinay and Lata. Lata was pursuing her higher studies in Canada. Kavita was running her own thrift store business on i********:. Arjun was appearing for IPS entrance exam while Vinay and Sahil worked for 2 different IT firms. The orphanage had long shut after these 5 grew up and left to build their future but one thing that connected them all was their Guardian. He would often call them to share important news or take them trekking in the wilderness. Now that all were busier than ever, their interaction with him was reduced to just text messages or one phone call in a year.

“How long will you be gone?” Kavita’s boyfriend enquired as she waited for her Uber.

“Missing me already, I see…” She smirked and reached to peck his neck but Justin moved away.

“Ugh! What’s wrong with you? You haven’t spoken to me nicely ever since I mentioned I’m going home!” Kavita pouted.

“Why ask when you know it..” Justin remarked and lazily pulled out a beer can from the refrigerator.

“It’s been 3 whole years I haven’t visited home….you know that…” She made a sad face and made him look at her.

“Home? Didn’t you grow up in an orphanage?” He raised his brows sarcastically.

“You know what I mean by home...my folks from the orphanage are my family,” She sighed and continued. “They are my...Ahh!” She let out a quick cry and looked away.

Justin turned around to see what frightened her but there was nothing. “What happened? You saw something again? He enquired with a quizzical brow.

“Nope...It was a spider,” she lied and picked up her phone. Her Uber was here, she kissed Justin and promised she would return after a month. 

Justin reluctantly helped her with her bags and bid her goodbye, he was a clingy boyfriend and couldn’t imagine living without her. Kavita took off her lucky charm bracelet and tied it around his wrist before getting into the Uber. As she drove away, she looked at her house and shrunk when she saw a pale man with a broken neck peering at her through the kitchen window. 

Kavita could see and communicate with the dead, an ability that was common among all the 5 of them. However Kavita being the youngest still couldn’t comprehend nor get adjusted to her abilities. While the rest took it as nothing out of the ordinary, Kavita still had jump scares and would run away from the unknown. She gave Justin her luck charm which was gifted by the Divine being just to keep him safe. She had confided in him once when she had acted weird in the presence of a ghost. But Justin didn’t believe her and instead mocked her for a whole week. Thereafter, she stopped sharing her ghostly encounters with him and would sometimes share it with Lata, the one she was closest to in the group. Soon she would meet her and the rest of her friends. Kavita forgot about the incident and boarded the flight to India.

It was a typical Friday night in Mumbai. Vinay and Sahil were catching up at a bar after a long day at work. 

“You look sloshed for the weekend, haven’t you had enough already?” Vinay asked Sahil.

“How much is enough?” Sahil struggled to open his eyes and gulped down another drink.

“You know what He said, right? Drink too much and you're an open invitation to devils ready to possess you,” Vinay remarked and suddenly caught sight of a gorgeous lady looking at him while dancing on the dance floor.

“I wouldn’t mind being possessed, as long as I get to kill my boss!” Sahil grunted and noticed that Vinay had long left him to join the lady on the dance floor.

His phone beeped, it was a text from Lata reminding him to pick up Kavita from the airport in the morning. Calling it a night, he proceeded to leave and managed to walk down the stairs when he saw a waitress trying to pacify a little girl. 

“You need help?” He asked and grabbed her attention.

“I think she’s lost, but she won’t tell me her name,” The waitress sounded stressed.

“How about I stay here while you go up and  inform the manager?” He suggested and waited for her reply.

“That could work, are you sure you’ll be okay with her?” She asked sceptically.

“I’ll be fine, miss…” He composed himself and stood next to the crying child before the waitress scurried away.

“I want my mommy!” The kid cried and looked up at him with teary eyes.

Sahil sighed and suddenly grabbed the kid by its neck. “Tricking humans with your sob stories again?” He commented as his finger’s burnt the kid’s neck. It wasn’t long before  the kid revealed its true form and turned into a demon by Sahil’s touch.

It snarled and pulled Sahil by the arm before slamming him down. Sahil had become weak after drinking too much, he tried getting up but failed when the demon pinned him down. 

“Sahil!” Vinay met him down at the parking lot. “You left without informing…” He cribbed “The drink was on you.”

“I um...guess I forgot,” Sahil smiled goofily and got into his car.

“Wait, you're driving?” Vinay asked and felt strange.

“Why wouldn’t I? It’s my car! See you later,” Sahil replied and started the engine when all of a sudden Vinay pulled Sahil out and punched him in the center of the chest.

The demon that had possessed Sahil, jumped out of his body and screamed before escaping. “Are you alright?” Vinay asked Sahil worriedly but Sahil was knocked out.

“Guess we’ll be roommates tonight!” he chucked and drove him home.

The next morning Sahil woke up to find himself in Vinay’s plush apartment. Hearing voices in the living room, he walked in to find  Kavita, Lata, and Vinay chattering like there was no tomorrow. 

“Oh shoot, I overslept! How did you get here, Kavita?” Sahil asked apologetically.

“Vinay picked me up!” She replied excitedly and embraced him. “It’s alright, he told me how drunk you got last night and picked up a fight with a cop,” She giggled.

“A COP??!!” Sahil looked in Vinay’s direction while Vinay acknowledged him with a wink.

“It's good to see you after ages, Kavita,” Sahil embraced her back. 

“You haven’t seen me in a long time too, don’t I get any attention,” Lata asked.

The boys unanimously said no before the doorbell rang. “I think it’s him,” Latta squealed and welcomed Arjun in.

“I see I'm late to the party as always,” He joked and greeted everyone except Vinay. 

 They had a fall out a few years back and neither of them bothered to bury the hatchet.

Noticing the tension in the air, Kavita diverted everyone's attention to her. Soon they all got settled and started reminiscing about the good old days. 

“It’s been a long time since we haven’t gone trekking!” Arjun stated.

“Yeah right! I could use some fresh air and nature’s music,” Lata added.

“Guys, you remember the time we went trekking to the forbidden forest?” Vinay interrupted in excitement.

There was pin drop silence as everyone recalled what transpired there. “Nobody is going there!” Sahil affirmed.

“But why? It was so cool!” Vinay made a face and looked for approvals from the rest.

“It was cool because He was with us...we would be dead meat if we were to go without Him,” Arjun sighed.

“Arjun is right, besides there are so many alternatives…” Lata paused when Kavita interrupted.

“Things must have changed...besides….we can take care of ourselves...He trained us for a reason, didn’t he?” Kavita said and shocked them.

“Seriously….you wanna go to that cursed place?” Sahil couldn’t believe what he just heard.

“It’s not cursed you all! It’s mystical...imagine all the good stuff we’ll get to see there..’ Vinay sniggered.

“Ugh, his fantasies get more bizarre by the day,” Arjun quipped.

“It’s not safe...none of us has ever been there without Him,” Sahil crossed his arms.

“Exactly, hence we need to go there by ourselves and prove we are capable of making our own decisions,” Kavita asserted, her hatred for the one who raised them in the orphanage was quite visible.

“This is turning ugly...I just wanted us to spend some good time together,” Lata sulked. “If Kavita and Vinay insist on going to the forbidden forest then let’s go,” She added.

“Are you out of your-” Sahil was interrupted by kavita.

“Nobody is forcing you...you stay...we go, right everyone?” Kavita turned and faced her audience.

Sahil muttered and left the apartment while the rest stayed back to plan the outing. 

At night, Kavita and Lata prepared to sleep. Latta was curious and asked Kavita if she knew what she was getting into. “You do remember what happened there, don’t you?” she whispered.

“I didn’t see it...I don’t believe it…” Kavita quoted and turned off the lights.

Three days later they all assembled at the train station. “Have you got everything we need?” Arjun asks Vinay.

“This baby is loaded!” Vinay showed him the food sack.

“WTF! Vinay, you were supposed to get trekking essentials, not food!” Arjun cringed.

“Guys our train is here, let’s go!” Lata alerted them.

As everyone got in Kavita looked back and paused. “Hurry up, Kavita! Sahil isn’t coming,” Lata yelled.

“I wasn’t waiting for him,” Kavita made a face and got in.

“Tickets please!” The ticket officer stopped Kavita.

Kavita was about to dig into her bag when Lata pulled her through the ticket officer.

“Did we just pass through him?” Kavita guile realising she fell for a spirit.

“Of course you dummy!” Lata smirked and looked back at the spirit. “Must have passed away while on duty” she muttered and joined the gang.

Kavita turned around and quivered, seeing the spirit. She wondered how the rest were so casual and bold around spirits and ghosts unlike her.

“Where’s your lucky charm?” Lata asked.

“I gave it to Justin,” Kavita replied.

“Justin?! Are you still going serious with the guy?” Lata raised her brow.

“We moved in together. Justin understands me…” Kavita smiled and avoided lata’s suspicious gaze.

After an hour or so they got down at their stop. “This place has changed quite a lot in recent years,” Arjun scratched his head.

“ The last time we came here we were in our teens,” Viny added.

“It’s the town that’s changed…I”m sure the forest has remained untouched,” Lata quoted as they all boarded a bus from there.

It was not her one hour journey from the town to the forest. They finally reached the start point of the forest and got down the bus. The weather was perfect for trekking, not too warm, not too cool. 

“Hmmm..the smell of wet mud in the early hours of the morning is so refreshing,” Kavita drew in a deep breath.

“All right guys! Are you all ready?” Vinay asked enthusiastically.

“Aye aye captain!” They all replied and entered the Forest.

It was 7 am when they started, the sun was on top by the time they stopped to have some snacks. “This was supposed to be fun” Lata frowned as she bit into a cinnamon roll.

“We are in nature, this is what trekking is all about..duh!” Arjun chuckled.

“You know what I meant...We didn’t see anything exciting,” She sighed.

“That’s because Vinay deliberately took the wrong route,” Kavita interrupted.

“Eh huh….Did I...I don’t know...This is the…” Vinay gulped when he realized he couldn’t fool them any longer.

“Not the right route!” Kavaita huffed. “You think only you know the route by heart? We are a mile away from where the forbidden forest even begins!” She yelled and began walking away from where they had set camp.

“Kavita, wait up!” Vinay was concerned but she continued walking ahead.

“Nice work, hot shot!” Arjun sighed and followed Kavita along with Lata. Having no option, Vinay followed them and prayed they shouldn’t encounter beings they aren’t prepared for.

The atmosphere of their surroundings was changing rapidly as they ventured deep into the forest. “Guys wait!” Vinay shouted from the back and joined Kavita who was leading the trail. 

“What is it, Vinay?” Kavita rolled her eyes.

“I was just suggesting that since we are going in, let's head to the abandoned temple,” He smiled wearily. “I know the route!” he added.

“Great! Cause we aren’t gonna use it,” Kavite asserted and continued walking.

“Woah! What do you mean?” He got tensed and pulled Kavita behind a tree. “Look, that is the only safe route within the forbidden forest, He never let us tread unknown paths,” Vinay explained.

“Ya right, He always had His way. Ruining our lives,” She retorted in anger and marched ahead.

“This is it, behold….the Forbidden forest!” Arjun announced as a white owl hooted in the distance. The sunlight here could barely break through the dark clouds. It was always gloomy and rainy in the forbidden part of the forest. 

“Let’s do the drill!” Vilnay addressed everyone while Kavita rolled her eyes again.

“Stick together at all times. Leave before sundown and,” Vinay was cut short by a familiar voice from the back.

“Do not look back…” Sahil said as he stood tall on a rock.

“You came?” Kavita’s face lit up.

“I said not to look back!” He smirked before she jumped into his arms.

“Phew! Thank God you arrived,” Vinay whispered and felt a lot more relaxed seeing Sahil.

Sahil was now leading the group as they stepped into the forbidden forest. All 5 of them stiffened and became more aware of their surroundings now. 

Arjun stepped on a dry twig and paused when the crackling sound echoed around them. 

“Did you hear that?” Lata dilated her pupils.

“Someone is humming a tune,” Vinay pursed his lips.