"Di... come back to bed."
Riya's voice was soft, careful, almost pleading.
Meera didn't move.
"I like it here," she said.
Her eyes stayed fixed outside, unblinking, as though something beyond the window held her in place.
Riya glanced at Aarav. He was already awake, already watching. His face was tense, shadowed by the dim light.
"Di... it's cold," Riya tried again.
A pause.
"They're still there."
Riya froze. "Who?"
No answer.
"Di... who?"
Meera blinked slowly, her lips parting just enough to let the words slip out.
"The ones who didn't leave."
A chill ran through the room.
Aarav's chest tightened. He wanted to step forward, to shake her out of it, but something in her voice made him stop. It wasn't Meera speaking. Not really.
They barely slept after that. The silence pressed in on them like a weight. Every creak of the wooden beams felt louder, every breath felt too shallow.
Morning came too quickly, though none of them had truly rested.
"Let's step out," Aarav said finally. His voice was steady, but his eyes betrayed the exhaustion. "Fresh air. Maybe it'll help."
Riya nodded. "Yeah."
She helped Meera stand. Meera didn't resist. But she didn't react either. Her movements were slow, mechanical, as though she was being guided by something unseen.
Aarav clenched his fists at his sides. She's slipping further away, he thought. And I'm standing here, useless.
The moment they stepped outside—
the forest fell silent.
Not gradually.
Instantly.
The faint rustle of leaves, the distant calls of birds, even the hum of insects—gone.
Riya slowed, her grip tightening on Meera's hand. "Did you hear that?"
Kabir frowned. "Hear what?"
"The sound... it just stopped."
Aarav's jaw tightened. "Nature doesn't stop like that. Not unless something makes it."
Kabir muttered, "Great. So now even the trees are against us."
The narrow wooden path led them down into a small clearing where a few village houses stood.
A couple of people were outside. Talking.
But the moment they noticed the four of them—
the conversations stopped.
Mid-sentence.
One man lowered the cup in his hand, his fingers trembling slightly.
A woman stiffened near a doorway, her eyes darting toward Meera before quickly looking away.
And then—
without a word—
they began to leave.
Not hurried.
Not panicked.
Just... deliberate.
Avoiding eye contact.
Walking away as if staying would be worse.
A door shut.
Another followed.
A child peeked from behind a window—
and was immediately pulled back inside.
The curtain snapped shut.
Kabir's voice dropped, uneasy. "Okay... that's not normal."
Riya's grip tightened around Meera's hand. "Why are they leaving?"
No one answered.
Aarav's chest burned with frustration. They know something. And they're too afraid to say it.
Aarav stepped toward an older man who hadn't moved yet. His face was lined, his eyes tired, but he stood rooted in place, watching them.
"Excuse me," Aarav said. "Can we ask you something?"
The man looked at him.
Then his eyes shifted to Meera.
And stayed there.
His expression changed.
Not surprise.
Recognition.
And something else.
Something closer to fear.
"You went there," he said.
Aarav didn't deny it. "Yes."
"Steam House."
Riya stepped forward, her voice sharp. "What is wrong with that place?"
The man didn't answer immediately.
He glanced briefly at the empty houses around them, at the doors that had shut, at the windows now covered.
Then he lowered his voice.
"There is a family... the Shastris. They still keep that lodge."
Meera's lips parted faintly.
She whispered something under her breath.
Riya leaned closer, her heart pounding.
It sounded like a name.
"...Sanya."
Riya's blood ran cold. "What did you say?"
Meera blinked slowly, as if she hadn't spoken at all. Her eyes remained fixed upward, toward the slope hidden by trees.
The old man's face paled. He looked at Meera with something close to dread.
"They lost something," he said quietly. "Something no parent should lose. And when they tried to bring it back..."
He stopped. His gaze shifted nervously toward the forest, as if afraid the trees themselves were listening.
"...they brought back more than they asked for."
A silence stretched between them, heavy and suffocating.
Kabir's voice was sharp, almost desperate. "What does that mean?"
The man didn't answer directly. His voice dropped lower, almost a whisper.
"Some things don't leave. Even when they should. And the Shastris... they never left either."
Aarav's throat tightened. He wanted to demand more, to shake the truth out of the man, but the villager's eyes had already shifted away, his body tense as though speaking further would invite something closer.
The man stepped back. Conversation over.
And without another word—
he turned and walked away.
For a moment, none of them moved.
Then—
Meera spoke.
"They're closer now."
All three of them turned to her.
"What?" Riya asked.
Meera's eyes were still fixed upward.
Toward the trees.
"They don't like it when we talk about them."
Her lips curved faintly.
Not a smile.
Something colder.
Silence.
No one said anything.
Aarav's chest ached. He wanted to reach her, to pull her back, but every word she spoke felt like it belonged to someone else.
The walk back was quieter than before.
The forest hadn't returned to normal.
No birds.
No wind.
Just a stillness that felt like it was listening.
At one point, Kabir stopped.
"What?" Aarav asked.
Kabir frowned, looking back.
"I thought... I heard footsteps."
Behind them.
They turned.
Nothing.
Just the empty path.
And trees standing too still.
Kabir muttered under his breath, "Fantastic. Now we've got invisible stalkers too."
Aarav didn't laugh. His jaw clenched. If something's following us, it's not invisible. It's waiting.
Kabir didn't say anything after that.
The treehouses came into view.
Unchanged.
And yet—
not the same.
The air around them felt heavier, thicker, as though the forest itself had shifted in their absence.
Riya spoke first. Her voice was steady, but her eyes betrayed the fear beneath. "We're going there."
Kabir looked at her, incredulous. "You're serious?"
"You heard him."
Aarav nodded. "This started at the Steam House."
A pause.
"And it leads back to that lodge."
Kabir exhaled slowly, his voice hollow. "...This is a terrible idea."
Aarav's eyes hardened. "Terrible doesn't mean wrong."
Riya looked at Meera.
Her voice softened, almost breaking. "We're fixing this."
Meera slowly lifted her head.
Her eyes moved past them.
Toward the upper slope.
Toward the hidden lodge.
"They're waiting," she said.
A pause.
Kabir let out a breath, his words bitter. "Of course they are."
Aarav's jaw tightened. "Then we don't make them wait."
The forest stood still around them.
Too still.
And somewhere above—
hidden behind trees and silence—
the abandoned lodge waited.
For a moment—
it almost felt like something shifted near its windows.
Or maybe it was just the light.
No one said anything.
But all of them felt it.
Like the place already knew.
They were coming.
And this time—
it wouldn't let them leave untouched.