Into The Unknown
It was her 22nd birthday. Everyone around her radiated joy, but not her. Amidst the cake, sweets, friends, and family, she possessed everything one could wish for. Yet, a heavy emptiness loomed within her, rendering everything around her hollow and devoid of significance.
It wasn’t that she lacked gratitude. On the contrary, she knew she was fortunate. Yet, a growing detachment gnawed at her spirit. “Am I sinking into clinical depression?” She silently queried herself. “No, it’s just a passing phase,” she reassured herself, attempting to brush away the creeping shadows of doubt.
In the middle of all the pouring wishes, she was constantly looking at her phone. The phone was constantly buzzing with all the text messages. In that noise, she was looking for something specific.
“He did not text me yet. Why he did not call me? Did he forget? Is he still angry with me?” She continues to overthink. “Maybe he is pranking me. He will come by and surprise me,” she reassured herself again.
Soon her phone buzzed. This time it brought a smile to her face for the first time. “Happy birthday,” it simply stated. Relief washed over her. With trembling fingers, she crafted a heartfelt "thank-you" and more fifty words of indebtedness, amplifying her gratitude for his succinct two.
Self-respect wasn’t foreign to her, yet lately, it seemed to slip through her fingers like sand. “Oh, look at that smile. It seems he’s finally remembered,” a voice teased, evoking a blush in response.
“Hey! What did he gift you?” an over-enthusiastic friend asked. “Nothing. He is busy nowadays. He is facing some personal and financial problems, so that’s why, you know”.
“Still! How much a Rose would have cost him?” (The over-enthusiastic friend went away after gaslighting her)
“Don’t get fooled. He loves me. He loves me. He loves me,” she convinces herself.
The cake-cutting ceremony began. She blew out the candles and closed her eyes to wish.
“What’s happening to me? If you’re up there, God, please guide me,” she whispered into the void. The chorus of well-wishers sang in unison, oblivious to the turmoil behind her forced smile. As the festivities concluded, guests dispersed, leaving behind a trail of photographs and whispered conversations.
Following dinner, she retreated to her room, sinking into the comforting solitude. Her phone, once again, failed to yield the awaited message. Instead, she stumbled upon his Instagram story, a dagger to her already wounded heart.
He went with some of his friends to some place for fun instead of coming to her party. He did not even have the slightest sensitivity. He knew she might see this and he also knew how she might feel about this. He still decided to go and post about that on social media.
“He cares. He cares. He must,” she repeated the mantra, desperate for reassurance. Curling into herself, she sought solace in the embrace of her pillows, tears escaping despite her best efforts to suppress them. Exhausted from the emotional tumult, she drifted into an uneasy slumber.
As night crept on, a sense of unease settled within her, disturbing the peace of her usual surroundings. The comforting embrace of her bed was replaced by a chilly atmosphere that seemed to seep into her very bones. Weird smells filled the air, and the constant buzz of mosquitoes grated on her ears. “Why now?” she muttered, her eyes still closed against the unfamiliar sensations.
Slowly, she became aware of the strange chorus of chirping insects and the rough ground beneath her. With a sudden shock, she forced her eyes open to find herself surrounded by the darkness of a dense forest, its towering trees blocking out any traces of moonlight.
“What the f*ck?” she said with the loudest voice possible. Panic gripped her as she struggled to make sense of her surroundings. “Where am I? What’s going on?” she cried out, her voice reverberating through the silent expanse of the wilderness.
