Hantu Gunung [On Hold]

Chapter - 10

Pocky was alone in meadows for really long now. It was already past sunset and darkness had descended on the mountain. But Kahfi wasn't back yet. She was worried about him and also anxious with her own situation. She hadn't been alone here after  captured by Rings. By now she was well aware of the dangers of the mountain and didn't want to get him in any trouble. "Where could he have gone? Did he went too far while wandering? Should I go look for him? But what if he comes back here looking for me?" She had too many questions running through her head. She sat there for a while deep in thoughts and finally decided to leave.

After reaching at the fork way, she called out to him one last time, "Kahfi!". The call was unanswered. And so, remembering what Kahfi had told her, she left for the mountain peak to meet Blek and ask for help. She took the uphill route and reached the peak. She called out to both Kahfi and Blek. But neither were there. "Is this Blek ever here? I have been here so many times but never seen the guy." And so, with an unsure mind, she went to the next place she knew about.

She descended back and this time took the other route at the folk, to reach the lake. The forest around the lake was dense and in the dark of the night, it was difficult to tell where she was going. She kept calling him and looking around. She went back to the meadows again. But he was nowhere to be found. By now she had passed the tree next to the path Kahfi had taken thrice, but neither the path nor any trace that it ever existed could be seen.

"Where could he have gone? He should have come back by this time." Pocky's concern was turning into worry. She again went to the tree forest hoping to find atleast someone. It was then that she felt a shiver. "Why does the breeze feel so foul. There is something different about the mountain today." She thought to herself. "Mayeng! Mayeng!", she called for him but there was no answer. "That's wierd. Why is he not at lake. Even during day he was off to somewhere and he is still gone." She thought to herself.

"Where is everyone?" She was getting more and more worried when she felt it again. A chill. A breeze that felt different from usual, it carried an ominous feeling. In absence of the man who knew every nook and cranny of this mountain, Mayeng and the sound of his flute, the beautiful and divine lake that showcased the glow and color of the moon, appeared to be dark, gloomy and sinister. Suddenly she wanted to get as much away from the lake as she could. She was out and alone. And so, she started to walk away from the lake, to reach her meadows.

But once she started, the forest felt different too. She wasn't sure if it was the haunting darkness, or the silence or what she felt earlier. She started her walk back but the path seemed too twisted than usual and she ended up back at the lake. She took another path, then another, she turned the other ways but no matter what, she ended up at the lake. It seemed like the forest had been enchanted. "Mayeng! Mayeng! Please help" She cried for help but it was again met with silence.

She tried again, and took another path. She walked into the forest again. But after walking few minutes into the woods, she felt a shiver from within her, "Is the air too cold?" She tried to feel the wind but instead, felt a breath at her nape. She turned abruptly, her eyes open wide in fear, in uncertainty, but she didn't see anyone behind her. "Is that you Mayeng?" she asked in a trembling voice. But there wasn't anyone, but a dark path. Dark and cold.  Hesitatingly, she took a step, and then another. She took it and walked slowly. She didnt want to admit, but she was scared.

Soon, the tree forest was left behind but that path still continued, into something that looked like a marsh. Soon, the path started to merge into it. Pocky felt her feet dipping into the mud, first just her ankle, then above it, and finally, her knee was submerged. It was becoming harder to take every step. "Was there a marsh in here as well?" She went further, waddling into it. It wasn't the kind of place where she wanted to be left alone in the dark. There were huge mangroves growing all around with gigantic roots and trunks that looked dried up.

She followed the sunken path until she reached what looked like the centre of the marsh. At the centre, there was another dried up mangrove but it had no branches. Just a trunk. But it's roots were so big, they might have been the largest among all she saw. She went nearer. The trunk looked hollow and it had an opening. She went towards it trying to peek inside. "Is there something inside it?"

"AAH!" She let out a scream. It wasn't something, it was someone. She could feel "it" breathing. And in that moment, she shivered from inside again. Never in her life or supposed death had she felt so scared of something. It was an aura, sinister and ominous, telling her she should run away, but she couldn't. Just then, she felt "it' moving inside the trunk. Frightened, she felt like her heart was about to burst. She wanted to run away, but her feet felt as if they were glued to the surface. And then, she was what looked like a claw, or maybe a hand, she couldn't differentiate as a dark shadow moved out of the hollow and held it's edge, one finger after another.

Pocky wanted to run but being unable to move, she could do nothing but scream. She scream her lungs out, and in an attempt to force herself to flee, fell backwards into the marsh. But her feet were still unmoving. "What are you doing here?" she looked back and for once, in what felt like millenniums, she felt relieved. It was Mayeng. Standing there and looking at her expressionless. "Help!!" Without wasting any time, Pocky cried for help. Mayeng went towards her. By now Pocky could see both the hands of the shadow were out of the hollow holding it's edges. It seemed like he was standing up inside of it. "Hurry up. Please!" Pocky screamed in restlessness. She was crying, tears rolling down her cheek.

"It's okay. I am here." Mayeng extended his hand to her and shockingly as soon as she held it, she could feel her legs move. She got up and turned towards the shadow. "Now kid, I want you to get out of here as fast as you can." Mayeng said to her with a smile. "His words aren't matching his expressions", she thought. She looked at him, then at the shadow. And confused, in that split second she did what he had asked for. She ran. She ran as fast as she could tracing back to the way she had taken earlier. She ran though the mud and stopped at some distance. She looked back and realized, Mayeng wasn't following her. Hesitatingly, she walked few steps back and hid behind a Mangrove from where she could see Mayeng.

He was still standing in front of the trunk but had moved back a little distance. His white kimono was all she could see in that darkness. Everything else blurred into the night. And then she saw something darker than even the night. The shadow, emerging from the trunk. It was tall and it towered over Mayeng. It's claws! She could see each one of them separately now, long and rugged. And a wing, she saw a wing as it unfolded from the back and opened. It had only one wing, but it's span must have been larger than Mayeng himself. And the rest was hardly visible to her in the dark silhouette.

The air had gotten heaver. She could feel it. The sinister aura, now spreading everywhere. She could feel her heard pounding louder and louder as it spread like terror. And that was it. She had no more courage to see what was about to happen. She didnt want to stay there anymore. She wanted to go back to Kahfi. She ran and ran and ran. Through the marshes, through the forest, back to the lake. She followed the same path. She still didn't know how she could, but still wanted to run back to those meadows.

By the time she reached the lake, the sun rays had almost touched the mountain. And the hues were visible to her now. She stopped near the lake and knelt, panting she looked down and noticed red on the grass near her. Then she looked at herself and saw the flowers on her dress had turned darker as well. She was red too. And then, she felt that rustic smell. Horror struck her as she realized it wasn't marshy waters she was running into whole night. It was pool of blood. Suddenly she remembered the stories of the gunung Kahfi had told her. One of them was about a castle in a sea of red. She had seen that red. But there was no castle. But then again, there was the king. The king whose one wing was cut down just as she heard in the story.

"Mayeng". Suddenly she remembered. "What about Mayeng. Should I go look for him?" The forest didn't seem that scary to her in broad daylight as it was the night before. She stood up and built her courage to go back near the blood marsh. But when she looked back, there wasn't a path anymore. The path she would have possibly walked on was submerged inside the lake now. "Did the water part? How have I gone that way? Is that even possible?"

Feeling frustrated and lost, she screamed into the air. The scream was again unanswered and she knelt down on the ground. Helpless and alone.