A forest? Tall trees. And this black fog surrounding me. Oh wait there's someone! I should ask where I am-... What… the heck! He woke up. "Kunal, relax!" He was breathing heavily. "It's just a nightmare, nothing more. What time is it? 1 AM?" He thought.
But what he saw in his nightmare was a thing to be scared of. It was a woman. Her face was burnt and her teeth were back and forth. Her eyes glowed eerily. Right after, she vanished in the darkness and Kunal woke up.
He opened his window and took a deep breath but suddenly an owl entered his room and hit the mirror. The mirror broke into fragments and blood spread in his room. He stepped back and just then heard a scream. And one after another, the whole city came to life with lights. The owl got up and flew away leaving him alone in the chaos. And the lady in the dark seemed to make her return…
Next morning
Kaito ran to his office, with a half eaten toast gliding outside of his mouth. "Oh no... No, I'll be late!" And repeated the same words to himself. "Huh! Why are there so many people here…"
The centre of the city had a rare crowd gathered around a lamp post. Kaito entered the crowd to see what's so interesting. And he was shocked to see what was there. The lamp post had a poster hanging on it containing a dark picture of a forest with glowing eyes on a human-like entity hidden in darkness.
"Wh- what's this?" He asked a stranger beside him. "Like I know! However, it's similar to my nightmare I had last night!" the stranger replied. "Wait what nightmare?" Kaito asks, curious. "So you don't know? Apparently everyone in the city had the same nightmare of a scary lady in a forest. You must have had that too, didn't you?" the stranger answered. "No way. Is it for real? Oh wait- I… . Am late!" He reminds himself as he stopped the conversation in the middle remembering he had work too. And he ran as fast as he could. Luckily he got to his workplace in time.
Quick introduction - Kaito is a 26-year-old investigative journalist. His office is not so big and it's still in the starting process. He was born and raised in Delhi. He is not so brave and is an ambivert.
He entered his office and sensed a weird environment inside. He overheard a conversation between his colleagues. "But really, I think we can use this opportunity for our good!" the blonde man suggests. "I guess you are right… after all it's the whole city!" the other man agrees. Kaito didn't understand what they were talking about. "Guys, what are you talking about?" he asks. "Ohh, Kaito. We are talking about the nightmare. Did you have it too? The scary lady one?" the blonde man asked. "So it's true that everyone shared that dream… How is that even possible!" Kaito exclaims.
"We also had this shock a few minutes ago. But don't you think we could use this as an opportunity? We can make a lot of money. It's high time we work hard," the brown-haired man says, smiling. Kaito's boss entered the office. His boss was a big guy. The entire place fell silent. He walked to Kaito and said: "Hello Kaito. Did you have that nightmare? Ohh, I can't believe it. Also did you play the new Indian horror game? It's amazing," his boss asks. Turned out he was a cheerful person.
"Boss, I need to go home early today. I have to do something," Kaito said. "Fine. You don't even take any holiday so it's COMPLETELY fine!" his boss answers, not having a problem with it."Thank y-" before Kaito could finish his sentence, his boss spoke. "But, why?" he asked. "I got a date with Rae in the evening so-" Kaito explains. "Cool, you got a girlfriend? You didn't tell me!" the boss says, laughing. "Yeah she was my school friend and now we are in a relationship," Kaito says, rubbing his eyes with the back of his hand. "Well, you can go. I don't have a problem with it," the boss says, putting a hand on Kaito's shoulder before leaving.
Kaito and Rae sat at a cafe in Disney World when it was evening. Something felt off. The excitement they all shared was just not to be seen. Rae was an exciting person who just seemed to be a bookworm but only those who are close to her, know how she really is.
In middle school, Kaito accidentally fell on her with his tiffin box. She was reading a book when all the juice and sandwiches fell on her. She got up in anger and said: "Hey! Watch where you're going!" Kaito was shocked. "I'm really really sorry but… It wasn't my fault, I tripped," He apologized. "It WAS your fault!" she yells. "It's not! And why would I apologize to you? You look like a horse anyways!" Rae gasped as Kaito roasted her. She picked her book and walked away. And then they became the ultimate rivals of their class. But with time they understood each other and rivalry turned into friendship and then relationship.
"Hey Kaito! Is something off?" She asked him. "Huh? No, no, no, no. I'm good! So what would you eat?" he asks, an awkward smile on his face. "I have been seeing you thinking about something I don't know." she says, looking away for a bit. "Nothing. I'm just having a bad feeling about that poster… But it's okay!" he says, chuckling. "I know it feels so odd. But don't just think about it man," Rae reassures him. "Guess you are right," Kaito agreed. And the excitement was back!! But not for a long time…
Kaito honestly did try to push the thoughts away, but the eerie feeling lingered in the back of his mind. Even as he laughed with Rae and enjoyed their date, a part of him couldn't shake the unease. Later that night, as he walked home, the streets were unusually silent. He checked his phone—11:45 PM. The city that was usually alive even at this hour felt… dead.
His apartment wasn't far, just a few blocks away. As he passed under a flickering street lamp, he saw a shadow shift in the corner of his eye. His heart skipped a beat, and he turned his head sharply—nothing. "Maybe I'm just paranoid," he muttered, shaking his head. Just as he was about to walk again, a cold wind blew past him, making the hairs on his arms stand on end. The street lamp above him flickered wildly before shutting off completely, plunging him into darkness. And then… he heard it. A whisper. Faint, like the wind was carrying words he couldn't quite understand. He froze. Then—footsteps. Slow, deliberate, right behind him. He spun around. No one was there. "Kaito…" a voice whispered, sending chills down his spine. That voice. It was soft yet raspy, like someone struggling to speak after being silent for centuries. He took a step back, his breath shaky. "Who's there?" he asks, uncomfortable. It was silent… Then, the whispering started again. This time, it was coming from everywhere. "Kaito... Kaito... Kaito…" The voices overlapped, growing louder and louder. His head throbbed, and he clutched his ears, trying to drown them out. Then—he saw her.
Standing just beyond the broken street lamp, hidden in the darkness. The same woman from the nightmares. Her burnt, twisted face. Her jagged teeth. Those glowing eyes piercing through the night. And then, she smiled. Kaito's breath hitched. His entire body screamed at him to run, but he was frozen. She raised a finger and pointed directly at him. Then she vanished. The whispers stopped. The air grew still. The street lamp flickered back on. Everything was… normal. Except for the bloody handprint on the ground where she had stood. Kaito didn't sleep that night.
The next morning
The next morning at the office, Kaito was exhausted, running on two hours of sleep and too much caffeine. But something about the energy in the newsroom felt different. People were talking in hushed voices. Some looked nervous. Others were outright terrified. Kaito walked up to his colleague, Mina. "Hey, what's going on?" he asks, looking at her. She turned to him, her face pale. "You didn't hear?" she asks before looking at her phone. "Hear what?" he asks, frowning. She handed him her phone. It was open to a news article. "Mysterious Death in City Center – Man Found Dead Under Lamp Post." Kaito's stomach dropped. He scrolled further. The details were scarce, but there was one thing that made his blood turn to ice.
The body had been found under the same lamp post where he had seen her. And next to the body? A bloody handprint. Exactly like the one he saw last night. He swallowed hard. This wasn't just a nightmare anymore. It was something more, something Kaito couldn't quite understand. "Am I losing my mind or am I in some nightmare?" Kaito asked himself. He honestly wasn't sure of anything anymore. Why was this lady strange and how come she came to him?
Kaito needed to breathe and immediately went to the balcony. This felt a bit too much. Kaito was the type of person who could not handle horror very well. Even as a kid he'd avoid watching horror movies cause they gave him nightmares that often felt a bit too real as if monsters would just crawl out under his bed at night. Kaito's mind raced; he didn't know what to do. Though what could he do?