Experience a spine-chilling journey through Chilapata Forest in this suspenseful story by Resmi Banu, Class 5, Epic Public School. Discover the eerie encounters and haunting mysteries that blur the line between dreams and reality.
I was with my sisters having a great time. Do you know why? It was because we were planning an outing. But there was a tiny little problem — we were confused about where to go. Moreover, as my sisters were visiting all the way from the USA and were scheduled to leave shortly, we had to plan the trip quickly.
After a series of discussions and debates, we finally decided on Chilapata Forest. We had heard that it was a beautiful place, and since it was our first visit, our excitement was at its peak.
“I’m visiting Chilapata for the first time, you know. I’m sure we’ll have fun,” my elder sister said.
“Oh yes, we will! As a matter of fact, it’ll be my first time too,” I added.
“Oh, is it? But you seem to know a lot about the place, so I thought you must have visited,” my sister asked.
“Not exactly. I know about it because I keep hearing stories from my friends at school who have visited Chilapata several times,” I clarified.
“I see.”
Our conversation continued for a while until we were sleepy enough that dreams took over our discussion.
The next morning, we all woke up full of energy, perhaps because of the excitement for our trip to Chilapata. A new place is always full of surprises, you see. We packed everything we needed and decided to drive in our car. Just before we started, my younger sister had a bright idea. She said, “I’ll take my camera to click pictures of animals, trees, and everything beautiful.”
“That sounds like a great idea,” I said.
She took her camera, and I must say, she’s rather good at photography. I knew this the moment she clicked the first picture of a bird. In fact, she was clicking pictures of almost everything she found unique and interesting, and they looked quite professional. And so, our journey began.
After driving for about an hour, we reached a place that looked quite lonely. In fact, the entire road was empty except for our car. Suddenly, we saw a young girl waving at us to stop. As we slowed down, she approached us and asked, “Can you please give me a lift?”
Looking at her standing all alone on a deserted road, we readily agreed. “Of course, hop in,” we said, and she got in.
The drive was smooth, and so were the roads. Suddenly, the girl broke the silence and asked, “Where are you all headed?”
“We’re going to Chilapata,” I replied.
She looked shocked and said after a pause, “Chilapata at this time of the day? It’s already evening. By the time you reach, it’ll be night.” There was fear in her voice.
My elder sister quickly responded, “Why? Is there a problem?”
“Well, if you take my advice, don’t go there at this hour.”
“Why?” I asked, slightly irritated.
“I’m telling you, please don’t go. It’s believed that there’s a ghost in the forest,” she said, sounding even more scared.
“A ghost? What a funny joke,” I laughed.
“Believe me. Many have seen it.”
“Have you seen it yourself?” my sister asked.
She didn’t respond. After a while, she quietly asked us to stop the car. She got out without another word and disappeared into the darkness. Honestly, we were a bit confused, but we decided to ignore her and continued our journey.
Around 8 in the evening, we felt a strong urge for tea and stopped at a roadside tea shop. The shop was in a place surrounded by dense forest, the only sign of human life around. We walked towards it and were greeted by the glare of a strong Petromax light, which blinded us momentarily. When we looked again, we saw the shop’s interior was lit by a single candle, casting eerie shadows on the walls.
The shopkeeper’s face was partially covered, making him look even more intimidating. For a moment, we considered returning to the car, but hunger got the better of us.
A sudden nasal voice broke our thoughts. “What do you want?” the shopkeeper asked.
“We’d like some tea and something to eat, please,” my elder sister said.
He didn’t respond immediately but reluctantly began making tea. When it was served, the warmth of the cup felt good in the chilly evening air. We sipped our tea, looking at the long trees of the jungle. A creepy feeling lingered.
Suddenly, we noticed a group of people marching down the road.
“Left, right, left, right…”
To our surprise, a child was leading them. We felt uneasy but chose to ignore it.
After finishing our tea, we started walking back to the car. But as we did, we noticed the group was now marching toward us. Panic set in, and we ran to our car. To our horror, we found it covered in blood.
The last thing I remember is seeing my sister fainting before I too lost consciousness.
“Rashmi… Rashmi… RASHMI, wake up! If you want to go to Chilapata, you need to start early. Wake up!”
I woke up to my mother’s voice and found myself in my room. No tea shop, no marching people. It was all gone. I looked around and saw my cousins still asleep. “Oh, I was just dreaming,” I smiled. But then I recalled my mother’s words: Morning dreams always come true.
My sister asked, “Should I take my camera with me for pictures?” …..
