By Juee Kelkar
When the silence slowly engulfed the noise as the sun grew dull in the village of Sanslow, a little girl, accompanied by her father, was walking back home through a dense forest. They lived far away from the market. Although this was a daily commute, today her father was quite tense. He gripped his torch and was walking with complete alertness. Sensing his fear, the little girl asked, “Are you in trouble, papa? Why are we running home so early?”. Father was hesitant at first but replied calmly, “Echo, my sweet little bud, do you know the story of a werewolf that lives in our village? On a supermoon, he crouches for his prey, hiding in these dense trails. No one could ever find him, but people speculate he is still alive and actively hunting people.” At first, Echo was too scared to say anything, but after breathing calmly, she questioned, “Then are we running from him, Father, because the moon is glittering today?” Before he could reply, they heard a loud noise behind them. Echo was about to turn back; but her father held her and said, “No! My child never turns your back, never makes eye contact, and never screams. Alright? Promise your papa that you will follow what I say.” He gestured to hold her hand, and Echo held his hand in agreement. With their hands clasped, they were treading softly towards their home as fast as possible. Soon they reached the trail's end, but suddenly they were alarmed by another noise, as if someone were steadily creeping towards them. Echo looked at her father, who was too frightened to calm his demeanor. He gathered his strength to look at his little child and said, “Echo, remember your promise to Papa, right? Echo nodded in response. That’s my girl. Now, head straight up front and walk as fast as you can, okay? I am right behind you; do not forget what I have said; never look back; and never make eye contact or scream no matter what you hear.” Echo started walking as fast as she could, but suddenly she heard a scream, and the voice was quite familiar, to the extent that it was as if she had heard this voice a few minutes ago. Before she could look back, the voice warned her, “No! My child, you promised me, right? I am alright.” The voice stopped speaking. The poor child was too scared to look back, so she ran as fast as she could until she reached her home. She tried to catch her breath, and as her breathing became steady, she looked back. And when a 17-year-old Echo opened her eyes, she was back in reality. After waking up, Echo got ready for school while her mother was preparing her supper.
“Mom, could you lend me some cash for the school trip?" Her mother sighs and replies with a heavy heart, “Yes, my dear, but I hope your teacher has cut some slack for us." Echo was slightly annoyed at her mother’s reply but nodded with a positive expression and said, "Yes, of course, he is very well aware of our condition, so he decided to pay half the amount, but we’ll have to pay the rest of it by ourselves." There was a tint of joy and relief on her mother’s face, and she left to get the money. While Echo was polishing her supper, her mother returned with money and a packed lunch. Echo left for her school. She did manage to make peace with the forest and wished that this same old route would never lead her to doom. Soon, she reached school and was settled in her classroom, waiting for her teacher to guide them with today’s itinerary. Echo overheard her classmates talk about that creature. According to them, Echo’s Papa was the last unfortunate victim, and now the creature no longer exists to haunt them. Echo was not ready to accept what her surroundings led her to believe; she never voiced her doubts but kept looking for ways to straighten them. Echo was about to nap until her homeroom teacher, Mr. William James, entered the class, giving them a brief insight into their excursion.
As Mr. James ended his explanation of their itinerary, students descended to their allotted buses. Students were assigned a guide upon arrival, but Echo was not fond of that idea; she decided to explore the museum alone. While walking through a few sections, she realized that there was a sign directing towards the upper floor. She went upstairs and saw a completely different section of the museum. While prying, she saw things that were far more ordinary than antiques. While she was trying to understand their relevance, she saw something that she could recognize—something that was remarkably familiar. It was a torch, similar to the one owned by her father.
While she was in complete shock at the situation, Mr. James came up to her. He was scolding her for not following their instructions, but, it all felt numb to her, as if in a vacuum. She could not comprehend this situation—why, out of nowhere, a museum away from her home would have something that belonged to her father. Mr. James tapped her to get her attention. As she snapped out, she looked at him with teary eyes and said, “Sir, this torch here belongs to my father; we had it while we were walking home that day. I thought I would never be able to find out what exactly happened that day, but I guess there is hope. Can we please ask any guides as to why they have it here? Can we request that they remove it so I can take it home? Sir, please help me; maybe they know what happened to my father.” Suddenly, Mr. James felt deprived of his rage, and worry engulfed his expression. He said, “What are you talking about, my child? How is it possible? I don’t see any torch; look around, child; there is nothing here. Echo, are you sick in any way? You seem sleep-deprived to me. It seems that after all these years, you still have a lot to let go of; you must be hallucinating. I suggest you rest in the nearby garden, eat your lunch, and get some rest?”Echo was far too agitated to respond positively. She confronted him, “What do you mean you don’t see anything? It is right, her.” She looked around, only to realize that everything she saw was gone. Before she could acknowledge her state of mind, she found herself on the ground, crying endlessly at her loss. Mr. James consoled her, and while doing so, Echo got up by herself and ran downstairs without a word. She sat in a nearby park silently, as if nothing had happened. Soon, everyone gathered to leave. Tired of her emotional exhaustion, she slept throughout the journey. And as she woke up, she was lying on a couch with an oddly dim light on her face. She was not able to recognize her surroundings until Dr. William James entered and said, “How do you feel, Miss Echo? You must have been too exhausted; no wonder you fell asleep in the middle of your session. Apologies for that, but I hope you had a healthy sleep. So, should we continue with our session? Or do you want to stop for today?”
As the doctor was speaking, Echo was slowly able to recognize her surroundings. She said, “I had a dream—nightmares, to be precise; it's been the same since my father's death, but for a change, it wasn't the truck that killed my father, but a werewolf did it. Haha! Haha! (chuckles). You were my homeroom teacher, and we went to a museum or something.” The doctor smiled at her, took his writing pad, and sat forth with her, almost laughing as he said, “So that was not a peaceful sleep after all. It is the trauma you have developed since your father's death that is leading to such nightmares. You will soon hit your thirties, and that will also lead to a lot of physical and mental wear and tear. I suggest you take some time off and go elsewhere for some relaxation; maybe this vacation will help you get some good sleep. We'll continue your medications, so do not worry about that, but I would suggest you try sleeping without them. You are quite young to develop a dependence on such medications.”
Echo stared at the dim lamp and replied, “Where should I plan this vacation? Sanslow? I don't know, but maybe you are right, and I should take some time off work and medications. Maybe our next session will be after I return from my fun trip.” Echo got up and grabbed her bag to leave, and as she walked up to the door, Dr. James called her and said, “By the way, are you in love with me? You did have me in your dreams; I can’t believe I am in my fifties and can still charm ladies. Wait, was I as old as your dreams? Was I at least handsome?” Echo laughed at him, and he laughed back. After a brief conversation, she left the clinic and reached home. After taking a fresh shower, she made herself some coffee and was reading The New York Times. A while later, her phone started ringing, and she picked it up and learned that the number was unknown. When she answered the call, it was a man trying to say something distortedly. She hung up the phone and was unbothered until the man called again. She picked it up, and this time the voice was quite clear; the voice said, “Hey little girl, it’s Papa here. I am using Ben’s phone; I forgot mine at home. Your old man has grown forgetful. Well, I am here at Ben's, and his grandkid was telling me a story about the werewolf that comes on every supermoon. Do you still remember? It was your favorite bedtime tale. My little bud, I hope you come home soon, okay? Your old man is missing you. And don’t forget what I said.” The voice grows distorted and raspy yet continues, “Never make eye contact, never look back, and walk as fast as you can until you wake up.”
By Juee Kelkar
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