Death followed her home

The room was dark with a hint of light coming through the curtained windows beside the bed. Ivana was sleeping peacefully, when she suddenly felt a tug on her feet which jerked her body awake. She hurriedly came into a sitting position and looked around the bed. When she saw nothing around, she thought maybe this happened because she is extreamly tired today. She started looking for her phone with one hand and used the other one to massage her ankle where she felt the strong tug. It was 3:30am so she decided to go back to sleep again, switching the display light off. Yet, lying down she could not relax and felt like someone was watching her from the end of the bed. To take off that eerie feeling she began to think about the incidents that brought her here.

Ivana is a 26 year old woman with dark brown hair and an attractive face. She is 5'3" and has a curvy body. She is a social worker in a NGO, working with underprivileged children. She was always passionate about helping people but it has not been long since she got this job. She had to go through extensive training for 3months after which she has been given a posting in this rural town named Hiragarh.

The town is on the outskirts of a jungle where communication is not adequate. In the past few years, this town was experiencing several child abuse and abduction cases which got attention of the welfare organizations and a team of 3 people from Ivana's NGO has set up a camp here to investigate and aid the children.

At first, everyone in the family objected about Ivana going to live and work so far away from home. However, she was determined to take the job and do it diligently because, firstly, she has been unemployed for the last 2years and secondly she was intrigued by the stories she read about the children of that town on the case files. So she and her 2 team members, Rehana and Akib reached to Hiragarh this morning. They spend the whole day unpacking and went to sleep early when this happened to her.

Ivana twisted and turned on her bed, wide awake and feeling unnerved, as she kept on thinking.

Life has not been easy for Ivana so far. She has struggled with body image issues since childhood. Her romantic fantasies about the perfect soulmate caused her to believe in the lies of jerks who made her more miserable in the long run. She has slowly built a wall around herself after those encounters and now her bullshit radar was so powerful that her friends often took her advice in understanding men.

Her chain of thoughts got interrupted by the harsh crowing of the roosters which indicated that it was day break. With a deep sigh she got off the bed and decided to go for a walk. Coming out of the room, she found Rehana, her senior project manager, praying salah in the living area.

Rehana is an amazing women at her forties, with a affectionate face and a lovely smile. She has such a caring yet strong demeanor that, Ivana always feels comfortable around her. Even though they have a age gap of 17 years they chat like friends when together.

Ivana waited for Rehana to finish praying and asked, " Would you like to go for a walk? I couldn't sleep properly last night and need some fresh air."

" I would love to dear but I need to finish unpacking and wait for the guard to introduce me to a housekeeper before we start our work." Rehana replied.

" Sure! Do you want me to stay and help you?" Ivana inquired as she did not want Rehana to take too much pressure.

" No need darling. You go and report me what you saw around the town. Don't forget to take a sweater." With that Rehana went back to her room and Ivana headed towards the main entrance.

The house that has been rented for them is one of the ancient bungalows made at the time of british rule. It had a gothic and medieval looking structure with large painted glass windows and round balconies. This house was probably used to host hunting parties when lords came to hunt in the jungles of Hiragarh. Now these are used by government officials and welfare workers when they come to visit. This place was completely different from the urban jungle Ivana has lived all her life. It was almost surreal.

"This is going to be quite a challenge." She told to herself and started jogging towards the town center.

On her way, she saw many people on the street even at this early hour. They all looked gloomy and in a trance. Most of them did not even spare her a glance and the once who did, had an empty, uninterested look on their face. It bothered Ivana because she felt very unwelcomed.

At the town center she found a tea stall, so she decided to have a cup of tea and ask around about her project. People who drank tea from a tea stall generally like to gossip in the city she lived before coming here. She, therefore, hoped this will also be the case here. Two middle aged rugged looking men were sipping tea when she approached them after asking for a cup herself.

"Sir, my name is Ivana. I came from an NGO to investigate about the child abductions. Do you know anyone who lost a child?" Ivana asked in a low, curious voice.

"Look dear, I know you mean well, however this is no place for a city girl like you! You will cause more trouble than good." One of the man said in a concerned tone.

Ivana knew something like this would happen so she immediately replied, "This is my job sir, so it would be great if you could give me some information. One way or the other, I will have to finish my project."

With a deep sigh, he looked at Ivana and started talking, " 3 children went missing from my village in the last 2 months and one of them was found dead five days ago. That little boy was hanging upside down from a banyan tree. His eyes were missing and maggots were crawling out of the eye socket when we found his body. He had bite marks on his neck, shoulders and elbows.

Ivana gasped in horror and inquired, " Did you inform the police? Was the bite marks made by human teeth? What safety measures did you take to protect the children after that?"

The man raised his hands to stop Ivana's questions and said, " It took 2days for the police to come. The body was badly rotten by then. They took the body for post mortem and declared that the child died of heart attack, probably due to fear, and his eyes were removed after death. Many left the village after that but suspicious incidents are jappening in every village near Hiragarh. Children are now prohibited from going near the forest."

"Did you look for the other kids or their bodies?" Ivana asked, trying to not start vomiting becase she felt nauseated.

The man shook his head in affirmation and fell silent. Ivana took a deep breath and asked, "What or who do you suspect behind this heinous act? How many children have been lost in total?"

"No human can do this to another human being in his right mind and if anyone did, then he is no longer human. He has either embodied a demon or is in possession of one." Replied the men with fear in his eyes.

Ivana sighed at his ignorance and said, "if you knew what human beings are capable of on there own, you would not have blamed the demon."

She then concentrated on her tea which was already getting cold, while thinking of making a report of her findings to her seniors.

On her way back, she felt a discomfort, as if someone was watching her from behind. Still, whenever she looked back there was no one to be found. When she reached the bungalow, she saw a man was standing on the gate. The man looked about her age but had a muscular body and a tall figure. He had a dark brown eyes and a charming smile painted on his face as if he was seeing a long lost friend.

When Ivana came closer, he put his hands forward for shaking and said, "Hi! I'm Rayan. I am a self proclaimed paranormal investigator, here to make a documentary about the missing children. And you?"

Ivana could not believe what he was saying. With a disgusted look, she said, " Are you kidding me? Is this some kind of a joke to you? You came here to earn likes from people's miseries? You are disgusting."

With that she pushed him by her shoulder and entered the house leaving him looking very confused and hurt.