The Legend Of Green Hills

“Heard the rumors?” asked Shachi. She was standing in front of her brother in the living room, holding a newspaper in her hand. Pavan was annoyed by her invasion of his privacy while playing on his Game Boy. “About what?” asked Pavan, visibly annoyed.

“About this,” she said and gave him the newspaper. She pointed him to the news story she was talking about. Apparently, it was dated yesterday and there was an image of a nearby wildlife sanctuary printed on it with an article. It said that a villager had created a furor at a police station and he was detained immediately. He did this because nobody believed him that he was attacked by a ghost which is said to haunt the nearby Green Hills, National Park. It also stated that this was not the first case, the ghost had attacked many others who were unfortunate in traversing through the green jungle at night.

 “Yeah, I heard this. Some of my classmates used to talk about this during recess time,” said Pavan. “It was days ago. But why did you ask?”

“See this,” she said, took her mobile phone from her pocket, and opened the SMS inbox. She showed him a message from her friend Aditi. The message said that Aditi and their other friends are going for a ghost hunt in that park. The siblings are also invited. “Espcly. Pvn. ;-)” it said.

“No, not again,” Pavan sighed.

“Come on!” exclaimed Shachi. “It would be fun.”

“Not at all coming,” said Pavan. There was no feeling of fun in him. He kept his console aside, bent down, and folded out the part of his jeans which covered his right knee. There was a long but thin gash starting from his knee and went down till the ankle. “Thanks to your so-called friends, I had to stay in the hospital for one week. Do you remember our professor who used to teach English two years back? He beat me on the same part because I didn’t complete my homework during the stay in the hospital. Thanks to him, I had to stay at home for another two days. Thanks but no thanks.”

“OK Don’t come,” she said in a tone of disappointment. “We don’t want cowards.”

“What! Coward!” he exclaimed. It worked wonders on him. “No way… I- I will come. I am not a coward.”

She smiled and gave him a know-all look. He understood what she did. But he said nothing because she won again. She hugged him and went back to her room.

“Good evening guys,” said Pritesh as the two siblings arrived on time on the outskirts of the park. Their friends were standing near the gates of the park. The gate was closed with two security guards guarding it. As both arrived at the gate, their friends took them quietly to the right corner where the guards couldn’t see them. “The guards are not allowing,” whispered Reena. “So we have to go through somewhere else.”

“No way!” exclaimed Pavan but was hushed down by Shachi. He saw Aditi standing behind his sister smiling at him. He blushed and stood aside, pretending to listen to what they were discussing.

“I have a plan guys,” said Pritesh excitedly yet in a whisper. “I know a hole in the wall of the park. We can go from there.” Reena was annoyed. She blurted, “Why didn’t you tell that before? We would have saved our time.” He kept quiet. Aditi intervened, “Okay forget all this. Let’s go now.” They all agreed and they walked by the footpath towards the place where Pritesh saw the hole. Pavan hesitated at first but when he saw Aditi chatting with her friends, he quietly followed them.

What he could do, first his sister emotionally blackmailing him and now his friends who had a strange definition of fun. They wanted to have fun among wild animals in the middle of the night and also the place where people get attacked by an unusual being which they consider a paranormal entity called ghost. Mind-blowing right? They all are specialized in doing ‘mind-blowing’ stuff.

Like, take, for example, sword fighting. Yeah, especially sword fighting. It reminded him of pain in his right knee. It really hurts, he thought, the razor-sharp sword which was used by Pritesh while fighting with him in a no holds barred match. He shook away that thought but it came to him again. How haphazardly they were using that. No armor, no proper clothes, nothing. Just swords clashing with each other. First, you were thrilled and excited and then you realize you were hanging out with the wrong crowd. Not wrong, weird. Yes, the weird crowd that would do crazy things, like out of the world crazy! But then what about Aditi? No, keep moving. Don’t think of her. He blushed again.

They reached near the boundary. Pritesh pointed the hole to them, it was on the ground. The hole was small, one has to bend down and with a push from another person to enter inside the jungle. They did the same. First Aditi, then Reena, then Shachi, then Pritesh, and at last they had to pull Pavan inside. At first, he was hesitant but when his sister nudged him he quietly gave them his hands let them pull him inside. Finally, they are all in and now-

“Now what?” asked Pavan, still he was confused. Pritesh showed them a handbag he carried and pointed towards the opening. “Give me your mobile phones and watches.”

“Why?” asked Reena.

“So that nobody should know the time while we’re inside,” he said.

“What?!” exclaimed Pavan, what the hell is going on.

“This is the challenge guys and we have to complete it. If somebody would be carrying a mobile or a watch, they would never complete it and would’ve run away. I will keep it safe with me. Come on, guys. Take it seriously. Have faith in me.”

Pavan smirked. But when he saw his other friends giving phones and watches, he almost cried. They were excited and were ready to be the sacrificial lambs. He almost fell down but managed to balance himself. Why is he alive? He should have died right now. He should have died seeing his friends doing such a stupid and dangerous misadventure. But he is alive and present. If he wants to survive, he has to please them.

They all agreed and handed their phones and watches to Pritesh. He put these in the handbag and handed flashlights to them. “Take this and don’t get lost,” he said with a smile. “Let’s explore guys!” He started walking into the woods. “Follow me,” he said. They all agreed and went behind him.

The nature of the wildlife sanctuary in the night was not so pleasant. Animals including man-eating leopards roamed freely during the night in the search of their next prey they can get their hands on. In such dangerous circumstances there can be no such adventure, especially this one, which is illegal and stupid, Pavan thought. He was walking behind his friends with his flashlight switched on, looking out for danger that he can promptly escape from. His sister Shachi and the rest of their friends have no qualms for their own safety. It reminded him of his latest adventure, exploring the railway tracks in the night. It was no doubt harrowing for him, but on the contrary, it was a thrill exploration for his friends. The most challenging part with his friends was commu-“Chills! Brr…” Pavan blurted out. The weather out there suddenly changed and the temperature went from heat to cool in no second. All of them were shaking as there was a sudden onset of a chilling breeze. It was not pleasant at all. They didn’t expect chills in a hot and tropical climate. That was unusual and more unusual was the fog that was slowly seeping into the woods around them. They started getting an eerie feeling. “What’s happening?” asked Reena.

“Don’t know,” said Pritesh with a confused look. “Might be midnight I guess…”

“Should we return? I don’t feel comfortable here,” Aditi said in a tone of fear.

“I guess we should stop here for a while. When the sun is in the sky, we will turn back and return.”

Everybody agreed but Pavan didn’t. “We should return. This is too many guys I mean-”

“If you want to go alone, you can go,” said Shachi. Pavan quietly sat with them.

“We don’t have any camping equipment nor do we have any wood for the fire,” said Reena. “How would we spend time this whole night?”

“Okay, we’ll collect some wood and I have a matchbox full of matchsticks. We will use that,” said Pritesh. “Also we have lots of foodstuffs and don’t worry we also have sleeping bags for everyone. We will be done for this night.”

“Okay cool,” said Reena and everyone started preparing for the night.

It wasn’t a starry night. Clouds swirled in the sky. It created an eerie feeling in the hearts of the five. Combined with growls of felines, hoots of owls, and yelps of deer, it made an amalgamation of voices which, in turn, terrified them more. The roar of the cold winds made their night insufferable. They were not prepared for it. But after they collected pieces of branches and twigs, set them on fire, and sat beside it, they got a sense of relief. For a moment, they forgot everything and started talking.

“So what are we expecting tonight?” asked Aditi while sitting cross-legged beside Reena.

“We are expecting ghosts. This area is haunted by a person who had died violently years ago. He was killed and maimed by his fellow villagers because he dared to elope with their village’s girl,” said Pritesh while eating some marshmallows. “We will communicate with him.”

“But why? You know that ghosts can harm us,” said Reena. “I have seen a movie where people like us went to the jungle and never returned.”

“Don’t talk like this,” said Aditi. “You’re freaking me out.”

“But guys,” said Pritesh hesitatingly. “Have you seen any ghost or demon in real life?” Everybody said no.

“Me too,” Pritesh said, rubbing his hands in front of a bonfire. “I have never seen one either. I guess we would see one.”

“Okay-y,” said Shachi, with some excitement. “This is a lifetime opportunity I guess…”

All agreed except Pavan. “There are wild animals roaming out,” he said hesitatingly. “We might be in danger…”

“Oh come on,” said Aditi. “No one will harm us. Wild animals are scared of fire we are safe-

They heard a noise. It was like someone just scraped a metal. The surrounding area became quiet. No hoots. No yelps. Nothing. Trees stopped moving. No wind. Just silence. Nothing else. They felt the temperature was dropping more and more. Even a bonfire couldn’t help them to be relaxed and warm amidst the cold weather.

Pritesh tried to gather words but only four words could come out of his mouth, “It might be a ghost.” They again heard a sound. It was like a whoosh.

“Oh my god!” said Aditi. “I thought someone was watching us… It felt creepy…”

Finally, Pavan started talking, “The hell with ghosts. You know what, you all are idiots. Do you think roaming in jungles is cool? The hell with it.”

“What’s wrong with you? Can’t you see how everyone here is scared?” argued Shachi.

“The hell with it,” said Pavan aggressively. “You know what? You all cannot live without a thrill and now this nonsense. I was happy playing videogames. I never wanted to hang out with you all.”

“Pavan you are scaring us!” exclaimed Shachi. “I am sorry guys for him-”

“If there is a ghost present over here, then show us the proof you bloody loser! You cannot even take away your lover! If you can’t show yourself, that means you don’t exist-

“Don’t do this I beg you,” said Pritesh. “It’s dangerous-”

“Shut up! Ghosts never exist!” exclaimed Pavan and continued. “Come out, you coward! Show me your strength! I dare you! If you exist, then KILL ME! NOW!-”

Pavan disappeared. Everyone heard a splotching sound on a nearby tree like somebody threw loads of tomatoes on its branches. Shachi switched on her flashlight, her hands shaking out of terror, and tried to scan the tree. But when she just pointed her flashlight on the trunk of that tree, she saw blood trickling down as if it was someone who was murdered recently. Her hands got numb in shock. No, it can’t be, she thought. It can’t be him. Using her flashlight, she followed up on the trail of blood until the light reached the branches. What she saw made her scream.

“What happened?” asked Pritesh. He was worried.

They all saw in the same direction where her flashlight was pointing. They all screamed, stood up in a hurry, and ran away. She was all alone with her brother’s corpse. Her knees got weak and she fell with her face towards the ground and wailed.

Her wail echoed throughout the forest and stirred the guards, who couldn’t figure out what it was. One guard said that it might be a ghost and they should not go towards it. The other agreed and made no move.

From the next day onwards, papers started publishing reports of a case in which the friends of the siblings were accused of murder. The accused, in their defense, said it was the ghost who killed those two but authorities never believed them. But then, the evidence against them proven inconclusive and they were acquitted by the courts. The police couldn’t find any other lead and the case went cold.

Even today people can hear screams and wails whenever they passed by the gates of National Park at midnight. Nobody dares to investigate this phenomenon, as already the rumors have spread about two siblings dying in the middle of the woods. The first one died due to shock and the second was allegedly killed by a ghost.