By Manasa Sandanaboina
In the heart of a small village nestled deep in the woods, there lived a community with an ancient and dark tradition. Each year, the village's boys, between the ages of 18 and 25, were sent into the cursed forest for what was said to be "training" to protect the village. The king told the villagers that the boys would only return after years of becoming strong enough to guard the village against the dangers lurking outside. However, none of the boys who had gone ever returned. Yet, every year, the villagers believed the king's words—until it was Kiran's turn.
Kiran was a strong, smart boy of 18. He had always been curious and brave, and his mother, Sunita, loved him fiercely. When Kiran’s name was called, Sunita’s heart sank. Unlike the others, she never fully trusted the king’s story about training in the forest. It wasn’t fear of the wild, but a sense of dread about what lay beyond the tall trees.
The night before he left, Sunita handed Kiran a small, sharp knife. "Use this to mark the trees,” she whispered, her voice cracking. “So, if you ever need to find your way back, follow these marks and come home.”
Kiran nodded, though his stomach churned with unease. He kissed his mother on the forehead and promised he’d return.
The following morning, the village gathered. The ten boys selected stood in a line, and the king himself appeared. "You are chosen for a great honour," the king declared. "Your training will make you strong protectors of our village. You will return only when your time is complete.”
With that, the boys were blindfolded and led deep into the forest by the king’s guards. There was no fear in the village—just the hope that their sons would come back stronger than ever. However, for Kiran, the forest felt wrong the moment they entered.
When their blindfolds were removed, they stood in the thick of the jungle, surrounded by nothing but towering trees and silence. No sign of any trainers or camps, just wilderness.
"Where are the trainers?" Ravi, the oldest of the group, asked, glancing around.
“They said we’d meet them here,” another boy, Jai, muttered.
But Kiran, gripping his knife, felt the truth creep in like a shadow. “I think we’re not here to train,” he said in a low, grim voice. “We’re here for something else.”
"What do you mean?" Aryan, a nervous boy, asked, his eyes wide.
Kiran swallowed hard. “We’re here to die.”
Panic rippled through the group. Some boys, like Raghav, refused to believe it. “No, you’re lying!” Raghav shouted. “I’m going back to the village. Whoever wants to come, let’s go!”
Five boys, consumed by fear, followed Raghav, ignoring Kiran’s warnings to stick together. Kiran, Ravi, Aryan, Veer, and Jai remained. They huddled together, trying to figure out their next move.
As the darkness crept in, the sounds of the jungle grew louder. The boys, now surrounded by shadows and strange animal calls, knew they couldn’t survive long.
The next morning, as the first light broke through the trees, a blood-curdling scream echoed through the forest. The boys jolted awake.
“What was that?” Veer asked, fear gripping his heart.
Kiran’s face hardened. “We need food and water. Some of us need to stay here while others search for supplies.”
Jai, Ravi, and Aryan agreed to venture out while Kiran stayed behind with Veer, whose health was beginning to falter. Hours passed before they returned, their faces pale, trembling with fear.
“They’re dead,” Aryan whispered. “We found them… Raghav and the others. They’ve been killed.”
“By what?” Kiran asked, already fearing the worst.
“Something,” Ravi whispered. “A monster. It tore them apart.”
Kiran’s chest tightened with dread, and Veer, sick and weak, began to cry. “We’re going to die out here, aren’t we?”
“No,” Kiran said firmly, though the fear in his gut twisted like a knife. “We’re going to survive.”
But night fell again, and the nightmare grew darker. A monstrous creature with glowing red eyes appeared from the depths of the jungle. Moving faster than anything they had ever seen, it snatched Aryan in an instant, dragging him into the night.
The remaining boys were frozen in terror, their hearts racing, their legs locked in place.
“We need to run!” Ravi shouted.
Kiran knew that running was pointless, but desperation took hold. “Stay close! Don’t get separated!”
The next morning, Ravi, Jai, and Kiran set out to find food once again, leaving Veer behind to rest. They wandered deeper into the forest, hoping to avoid the monster. But soon, they found the bodies of two more boys—Raghav and one of the boys who had fled earlier. And nearby, half-alive and barely breathing, was one of the friends who had fled with Raghav.
His voice was faint, each word a struggle. “It… it’s a trap. We weren’t… sent to train. The monster… kills us. Run… before it’s too late…”
His final breath slipped away before they could ask more.
Suddenly, the monstrous creature appeared out of nowhere, its glowing red eyes locking onto Jai. Before anyone could react, it moved with terrifying speed, snatching Jai and dragging him into the darkness.
Ravi and Kiran, filled with horror, raced back to Veer, only to find him still weak and struggling. “We have to leave, now,” Kiran urged. “This place is cursed. That thing will kill us all.”
“I can’t make it,” Veer wheezed, his body trembling. “Go without me.”
But neither of them would leave him behind. They tried to lift him, but Veer, seeing the monster's shadow approaching, took matters into his own hands. "If you stay with me, you’ll die. I won’t let you sacrifice yourselves for me.”
Before Kiran or Ravi could stop him, Veer drew Kiran’s knife and plunged it into his own chest. He fell to the ground with a weak smile, his eyes closing forever. “Live for me,” he whispered with his final breath.
Kiran’s heart shattered, but there was no time for mourning. They had to survive. “Let’s go,” Kiran whispered to Ravi, his throat tight with emotion.
The two of them fled into the jungle, Kiran trying to follow the knife marks he had made earlier. As they raced through the thick trees, the monster pursued them, its growls echoing in the air.
Just as all hope seemed lost, Kiran spotted one of his marks. “There!” he shouted. “We’re close to the village!”
With renewed strength, the two boys burst from the jungle, collapsing in the village square. The villagers, stunned to see anyone return, rushed toward them.
Kiran, barely able to stand, shouted, “The king has lied to us! We weren’t sent for training. We were sent to die!”
The villagers murmured in confusion, and soon, the king appeared, looking pale and nervous. “What nonsense are you speaking, boy?” he demanded.
Kiran’s rage boiled over. “There’s a monster in that forest! You’ve been sending us to feed it!”
The crowd gasped, and the villagers began to mutter angrily. The king, realizing he could no longer hide the truth, confessed.
“Yes,” he said, his voice shaking. “The monster has been there for centuries. If we don’t sacrifice young men to it, the creature will come for the village and kill us all.”
But Kiran, filled with anger, refused to accept this. “We will fight it,” he declared. “We will not let this monster claim any more lives.”
The villagers, inspired by Kiran’s bravery, rallied together. They armed themselves with weapons and set out to kill the beast. A fierce battle followed, and though many lives were lost, the villagers finally succeeded in slaying the monster. The curse that had hung over the village for generations was lifted at last.
Kiran, now a hero, stood beside the villagers, his heart heavy with the memories of his fallen friends. Sunita, his mother, rushed to his side, her face wet with tears. “You came back,” she whispered.
Kiran hugged her tightly. “I promised I would.”
From that day forward, no more boys were sent into the forest, and the village was finally at peace.
By Manasa Sandanaboina
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