The Devil Awakening

“Maa, hum kahaan jaa rahe hain?”

“Baba ke paas.”

“Baba yahan rehte hain? Jungle mein?”

“Haan.”

“Woh humse milne kyun nahi aate?”

The woman walking ahead of him stopped for a moment.

She turned around, forcing a smile onto her tired face.

“Bas thoda aur chalna hai. Phir hum Baba ke paas honge.”

The little boy nodded happily and continued walking, his tiny hand tightly wrapped around his mother’s fingers.

The forest around them grew denser with every step.

The sunlight barely reached the ground through the thick canopy of trees. The rustling leaves, distant sounds of birds, and the occasional crack of a branch beneath their feet were the only things breaking the silence.

The boy looked around curiously.

“Maa?”

“Hmm?”

“Baba humein chocolate denge?”

The woman laughed softly.

“Haan, bilkul.”

The boy smiled.

“Pakka?”

“Pakka.”

And with that, they disappeared deeper into the forest.

“Maa?”

Silence.

The little boy looked around.

The forest seemed different now.

Darker.

Colder.

Lonelier.

He hugged his little knees to his chest and sat exactly where his mother had told him to.

“Maa, aap kahaan jaa rahe ho?”

“Paani lene.”

She picked up the empty pot lying beside them.

Then she crouched down in front of him and gently brushed his hair away from his forehead.

“Achhe bachche jaise yahin par baithna, kahin jaana nahi. Samjhe?”

The boy nodded.

“Okie.”

She smiled.

“Main bas abhi aayi.”

And then she left.

The boy watched her disappear between the trees.

One minute passed.

Then five.

Then ten.

The smile slowly disappeared from his face.

“Maa?”

No answer.

He stood up.

“Maa...”

Still nothing.

The forest gave him only silence in return.

20 Years Later...

Shiv’s POV

“Hello?”

“Where are you? We all are waiting here. And did you get what you went for?”

“Hmm.”

“Just hmm? Shiv, seriously—”

I ended the call before she could finish.

I pushed open the heavy wooden door of the palace and stepped inside.

Well...

This palace.

Of all the places in the world, this was where we had decided to do this stupid little adventure.

Ridiculous.

I still didn’t understand what kind of thrill my friends found in old, abandoned buildings.

Apparently, darkness, dust, ghosts and possible death were now considered fun.

Great.

I sighed and looked around.

The palace was enormous.

Even though it had clearly been abandoned for years, there was something strangely majestic about it. The walls were covered with faded paintings and intricate carvings. Dust coated almost every surface, and thick cobwebs hung from the corners of the ceiling.

The air smelled old.

Like forgotten memories.

I adjusted the bag hanging from my shoulder and started climbing the long, wide staircase.

My footsteps echoed through the empty palace.

Tap.

Tap.

Tap.

I could already hear my friends’ voices coming from the last room down the corridor.

Their shouting was loud enough to wake the dead.

Are they sure they’re human?

I sometimes had my doubts.

I continued walking towards them when suddenly—

Something caught my attention.

I stopped.

A painting?

My eyes moved towards the huge wall on my left.

There was something hanging there.

Or rather...

Something covered there.

A massive red curtain had been placed over what seemed to be a gigantic painting.

I frowned.

What’s this?

I glanced towards the corridor.

Their voices were still coming from the room ahead.

Nobody seemed to have noticed that I had stopped.

My curiosity got the better of me.

Of course it did.

I walked towards the wall.

The closer I got, the more unusual the painting seemed.

I reached out and grabbed the edge of the old curtain.

The fabric felt rough beneath my fingers.

With one quick movement, I pulled it aside.

Dust immediately flew into the air.

I coughed and waved my hand in front of my face.

And then I saw it.

The painting.

For a few seconds, I simply stared.

It was...

Beautiful.

And yet, strangely unsettling.

The painting looked damaged, as though it had been forgotten for decades.

Like a forgotten piece of history, hidden beneath curtains of fate.

Okay.

That sounded way too poetic.

I shook my head.

Too filmy, Shiv.

Still, I couldn’t take my eyes off it.

The painting portrayed a woman.

A beautiful woman.

Not just beautiful in the usual sense.

There was something about her face that made it impossible to look away.

Her eyes seemed almost alive.

She was dressed in traditional royal clothing, covered in intricate jewellery. A delicate crown rested upon her head, and her long hair fell over one shoulder.

A princess?

I moved closer.

As an artist, I had always noticed details that most people ignored.

And there was something unusual about this painting.

Something hidden.

I narrowed my eyes.

There.

Between the strands of the woman’s hair.

Letters.

I leaned closer.

Hindi letters.

I was sure of it.

But years of dust and dirt had covered most of them.

What is this?

I raised my hand towards the painting.

Maybe if I wiped the dust away...

“Shiv?”

I froze.

“Shiv! You’re here!”

I immediately turned around.

Sonam stood a few feet away from me.

“You scared me! We thought you had lost your way. I’ve been calling you for ages. Why weren’t you picking up?”

Calling me?

Damn.

I hadn’t even noticed my phone.

She walked towards me and grabbed my arm.

I immediately pulled away.

“Sonam, just stay at a distance.”

She stared at me.

I could clearly see the frustration on her face.

But I didn’t care.

I hated the way she was always sticking to me like some kind of leech.

Disgusting.

Without saying another word, I walked past her and headed towards the room where everyone else was waiting.

But something stopped me.

I glanced back at the painting.

For a strange second, I felt like the woman in the portrait was looking directly at me.

I frowned.

Okay. Definitely getting out of here soon.

I turned around again and continued walking.

I reached the room.

Opened the door.

And—

Nothing.

Silence.

I frowned.

The noise I had been hearing just seconds ago had completely disappeared.

The room was dark.

Pitch black.

I stepped inside cautiously.

“Ayaan?”

No answer.

“Nikita?”

Nothing.

I looked around.

“What the hell is going on?”

My phone suddenly vibrated in my pocket.

I pulled it out.

No signal.

Of course.

“Guys?”

Still nothing.

I took another step forward.

And suddenly—

Every light in the palace turned on.

I flinched.

“What the—”

The darkness disappeared.

And the room in front of me was...

Beautiful.

I stood completely still.

This wasn’t the dusty, abandoned palace I had seen moments ago.

This room looked like something straight out of another era.

A bedroom.

No.

A royal chamber.

It was enormous.

The walls were decorated with golden patterns. Large paintings hung between carved pillars. A massive bed stood in the centre of the room, covered with white and red silk sheets.

Fresh roses were placed in crystal vases.

Jasmine flowers decorated the corners.

And somehow...

The entire room smelled fresh.

Like someone had just been here.

I slowly walked further inside.

The cold wind coming from the huge open balcony brushed against my face.

For some reason, the room made me feel peaceful.

Too peaceful.

The kind of peacefulness that makes you forget you’re standing inside an abandoned palace.

I walked towards the balcony.

Then—

Footsteps.

I froze.

Someone was coming.

The footsteps grew louder.

Closer.

I instinctively moved behind the large red curtain beside the balcony.

The door opened with a loud thud.

I held my breath.

A woman entered.

She was dressed in royal clothing.

Her jewellery softly clinked with every angry step she took.

She looked furious.

But even in anger, there was something strangely familiar about her.

She walked further into the room.

Then she spoke.

“Maa, mujhe us insaan se koi shaadi nahi karni.”

Her voice.

Soft.

Yet firm.

It carried the authority of royalty.

I stared at her.

Something inside me shifted.

Why do I feel like I’ve heard this voice before?

Not recently.

Not yesterday.

Not even years ago.

But somewhere...

Long ago.

A memory I couldn’t quite reach.

The older woman following her stepped inside.

“Magar is shaadi ka hona bahut zaroori hai. Dono rajyon ke beech sambandh sudhaarne ke liye aapko ye shaadi karni hogi. Rajkumari hone ke naate, ye aapka farz hai.”

The younger woman turned towards her.

“Magar Maa, aap jaanti hain na unke baare mein kaisi afwaahen hain? Logon ka kehna hai ki unhone apni pehli biwi ko apne haathon se maara tha.”

I frowned.

First wife?

What kind of man was this?

And why did this whole conversation feel...

Familiar?

The older woman didn’t seem impressed.

“Bahane mat dijiye, Rajkumari. Vivah toh aapko karna hi hoga. Ye rajya ki bhalayi ke liye zaroori hai.”

“Magar Maa...”

The princess’s voice broke.

She looked down.

For the first time, I noticed the tears in her eyes.

The older woman turned towards the door.

“Isse aage hum ek shabd nahi sunenge, Rajkumari. Hum apna faisla suna chuke hain.”

And with that, she walked out of the room.

The door closed behind her.

Silence.

The princess stood completely still.

For a few seconds, she didn’t move.

Then, She wiped her tears with the back of her hand and slowly turned towards the balcony.

For a moment, I couldn’t move.

There was something about her.

Her face.

Her voice.

The way she stood there beneath the moonlight.

It all felt strangely familiar.

And then.

My heart stopped.

That face

That exact face.

I have seen it before.

Twenty years ago.

In a forest.

A little boy sitting alone beneath the trees.

A woman placing her hand on his head before walking away.

“Achhe bachche jaise yahin par baithna, kahin jaana nahi.”

And then—

“Main bas abhi aayi.”

My breathing became uneven.

The memories I had buried somewhere deep inside my mind suddenly came rushing back.

The forest.

The little boy.

The woman.

The waiting.

The silence.

And that voice...

That voice I had spent twenty years trying to remember.

I looked at the woman standing in front of me.

My eyes widened.

My lips trembled.

There was only one word my mind could form.

One word that suddenly made everything else disappear.

Maa?