Chapter 1
Boating is great, it's especially pleasant on the night of a red moon when you are waiting for someone special to boat with. Satwik was waiting for Isha and he was excited for this kind of boating. He waited beside his straw boat which was anchored at the lake bank, a boat suited for just one man but has enough space for two children. As he waited for her, he kept staring at the vast Narkhakulam lake, it's transparent clean water was partly black due to darkness and partly red due to dim moonlight. As he swayed his hand in the water, he felt a strange current, which he could not describe in words but he felt that sensation before. Yesterday, day before yesterday and a few days before that, the feeling never got old. Satwik was getting used to that feeling.
He crouched down and covered his knees with his hands, he went into a trance as he stared at the red moon with fascination. He still could not believe it, nobody did but the phenomenon was happening every night. A week before, the moon was white but one night it suddenly turned red, it had been seven days but the moon did not change or regained its color and remained red. His trance broke and his heart skipped a beat when she tapped on his shoulder.
"Ha, scared you!" she teased him as she grinned, her face was brightly lit by the light from the lantern she was carrying. Isha's hair was plaited in two ponytails. Her face was round and she was in the same pink frock which she wore that afternoon.
"You know, you are late" he whined to her. "Oh come on! Baba (father) slept late and while coming I saw two men walking towards me, they were Ramu Kaka and Shyamu Kaka... They got suspicious and I almost got caught by them..." she paused as he interrupted her, "They were drunk and drowsy, right?" "Yes, and that's why I turned off the lantern and hid behind a bush. It was funny. They thought I was a ghost and I wanted to scare them but I didn't!" she explained calmly. "You did good! We don't want any unwanted attention. Let's go now!" he said softly while she stared at red lake uncomfortably.
