The Unknown Path

A long time ago there was a place which was not out of the ordinary, a regular town which was filled with houses, shops and a school. This was a time before the existence of the internet and cell phones. Just like any other town, there were areas that were unexplored and there was, in particular, a path that was never taken by anyone. This was because of the rumor that those who have tried to go down that path have never returned.

It didn’t bother the town much as there was nothing of interest in there, the path was covered with trees and hence there was no light to guide them, nothing lied beyond the path so they never wanted to cross it for any reason. Even in the morning sunshine was always blocked by the huge trees and due to the presence of such greenery there existed a variety of insects, bugs, birds. No one in the town could make out which species any of them belonged to. Although the town was filled with schools, shops and houses this path covered with forest always stood apart as if it had never changed. As if it had been the same since people explored this town.

People always stayed away from that path in fear of not knowing what lies ahead. The trees kept growing as time passed but the path remained, the path was always clear even when no one walked over it. It was very strange as the grass on both sides kept growing but it never once covered the path.

The Boy - It was a bright morning when the boy who always admired the path passed by to get to school. He had always admired the path hoping that it would be an adventure to explore, to see new things. He wanted to see what the path leads to, but he was also scared due to the rumors that went around about no one ever returning. The reason he wanted to go down the path was simple, no one had ever been there which means no one actually knows where it leads and what the path has to offer. He always watches the path as he passes by every time, determined to travel on the unknown path and to find out what is present in there. The school ended and summer vacation started. He had a lot of time in his hands, filled with curiosity he was determined to see what the path had to offer so he went in.

The Path - It was 10 in the morning but as soon as he entered, engulfed by the trees not a single ray of light entered making it dark as midnight. He knew about this so he carried a torch along with him, he turned the torch on and saw that the path led him straight ahead. The rumors were true the path was never covered by the grass, he carried forward-looking at both sides trying to see what was present in the greenery. So far he was able to find some insects, which were slightly bigger than the regular insects but were not that special.

Similarly, he also heard some birds which he had never heard before. As he was moving forward he heard something move beside him, unsure of what he heard due to the darkness all around, he flashed the torch to see what it was. He was unable to spot anything he then turned around and started to walk but suddenly his leg slipped on a rock which threw him off balance so he grabbed onto a vine that was closest to him in order to regain balance. He was able to balance with the help of the vine but alas it wasn’t a vine it was a snake.

Terrified seeing the snake hissing, he threw it away and started running. Soon he was sure that he had got rid of the snake but the horror-struck him as he forgot in which direction he started running. He was filled with fear, if he went back he might get out and go home but there was also a chance that his home was in the opposite direction. He tried to flash the light from his torch to see if he could remember the way he came in. But it was of no use since it was covered with trees on all sides his home could be in any direction. Fear started to grip him, but he moved forward in a random direction hoping it would lead him somewhere.

After the fear subsided he calmed down and realized that it was a mud path, after all, his footprints would still be present. He continued in the direction he had come running as there was only one set of footprints which would mean he didn’t run in the opposite direction. He planned to head back home and as he was walking something fell on his head, it was as if a bug had landed on his head. He quickly tried to knock it out with his torch and smashed the bug with his leg in fear and that’s when he felt some cold fluid run down his cheek. It might have been blood from the bug after all he did try to push it away with the torch but it wasn’t blood it was water.

He looked above and realized it had started to drizzle. It slowly started to rain and so he took shelter under one of the huge trees. As he was waving his torch on the ground to make sure nothing was approaching him. He took shelter but then it struck to him, the rainwater washed away his footprints of the ground but he was glad he at least found the direction he had come from so after the rain he could return back home. After some time the rain stopped and he started to head back home. He continued forward but never saw the end, it was as if there was no end. He moved forward but took an eternity and still he was nowhere near the end, so he started to run and run. Eventually, he did stop to catch his breath and that’s when he looked down to see a crushed bug. It looked very similar to the one he had crushed, he panicked but he still was determined to find his way out. He marked the tree with a stone to make sure he wasn’t running in circles. He moved started to walk, he was tensed and a sense of fear originated in his mind, he started to think of the rumors it made him fear more.

As he walked forward, it was faint but he could see something as if there was some light at the end, he was glad, he started to run towards the light. He was finally out, he made it. He was happy, he ran towards school as If he was late to school. He didn’t stop to question why he was doing that, maybe he wanted to amaze his friends and brag about making it out. The school was going, he sat in his desk and saved the explanation for later as the class was about to start. He couldn’t hold it in as he stared at the clock, waiting for the break to start and then he could narrate his adventure. He fell asleep staring at the clock and that’s when it struck to him.

If he went inside at 10 in the morning wasn’t he late for School?

Should he be in casual dress instead of a school uniform?

Why was the school working? Wasn’t it the summer vacations?

That’s when he woke up, there was no school, and he was taking shelter from the rain. The bug he smashed was still there. He never left. He wanted to get up and run but he couldn’t, he looked down only to find his legs buried in the mud. He was being eaten by the ground, he tried to claw through the ground but his hands ended up being swallowed by the ground he was going in deeper and deeper until only his head was visible. He tried to turn around, he saw that he had fused with the tree, his legs became roots of the tree and all that’s left was his face which is now the face of the tree and he can’t differentiate if he had skin around his eyes or it was the tree bark which is now on his face.

He now only had eyes but a bug blocked his view, the same kind of bug which he had smashed earlier. With his left eye, he tried to search for the smashed bug on the ground it was nowhere to be found. Maybe it is the same bug, who knows there wasn’t much he could do with only two eyes. He is trapped and will stay trapped for years to come. The bug walked from his right eye to the left blinding him in the process. Now it all went dark, dark as the night without the moon and stars. He couldn’t hear his own thoughts anymore, it was all dark and silent.