A Sew Through Time [Banbudh And Budbak]

23: The run

Heavy fog descended over Badri's face. He sneezed and opened his eyes to see the blur. Sitting up with a paining spine, he rubbed his eyes and stared at his feet. A slight pain developed in his ankles; his knees were bruised and purple. When the blur disappeared, his eyes scanned the new surroundings around him.

He was in the middle of a forest, uninhabited. Dark brown trunks towered above his head and disappeared into the gloomy grey sky. The grass was dewy, making his palms feel cold. He sniffed instinctively, trying to predict whether a storm was coming, but the decayed leaves obstructed.

Standing up slowly, he regained his balance back and looked around. A little trail meandered out of the clearing and into the bushes.

"Budh!"

His voice echoed. For a moment, he felt the trees were imitating him.

"Khushi!"

The scream faintedninto the emptiness.

His mind failed to grasp reality. Noticing the trail again, he walked out of the clearing while calling out. The trees looked to be having the same height, with prickling spines above his head. Halting at the edge of the greenery, he noticed the trail had disappeared.

A terrific dreamy view appeared infront of him. The cliffs and ranges were adorned by fog, the cloudy grey sky forming lighter and heavy layers across.

A shrill screech wafted in the sky. Looking up, he discovered eagles circling on top of him, flapping their wings and ignorant of his presence in their void. One swooped down into the cliff and flew up, disappearing into the thick clouds.

An image of Khushi standing near the bizarre looking portal flashed in his mind, and of Budh desperately fighting to hold on to them,

Why did she do that?" He said softly, "All my friends are so stupid, tch"

He kicked a rock into the cliff, hearing it fall a hundred metres below, faintly. Walking towards it, he crept on all fours and peeked below, only to shift back,

"Nope, not a good idea"

Returning back to the forest, the trail showed up at sight. He returned back to the clearing. A dried log laid in the middle, accompanied by thick hedges and swirling pines. Some of their needles had fallen under his feet, making his walking sound noisier.

Feeling tired, he sat on the log, thinking hard on how to find his friends. The wind picked up again, spraying needles on his back.

"Gah!"

His voice echoed, the trees were mocking him again.

"That seminar lady" he swiped the needles off his clothes, "Why did she say that?" And looked around, "Maybe she was lying?"

He felt she was lying to catch their attention and prevent them from helping her.

A bush rustled.

He turned towards the sound, "Who's there?!"

It stopped moving. But his suspicion did not leave him alone. Approaching the bush, he concentrated on his sight and audibility.

Behind him.

He spun around and dramatically posed like a kung fu fighter. But there was nothing.

"Main samajh gaya" He reposed, "You two are pulling a prank on me!"

There was no answer.

"Alright you win! I'm absolutely terrified now!"

The fog hung in a forgotten daze. Narrowing his eyes, he detected a few bushes moving. The eagles screeched again, but he did not look up.