Hello guys
I am not brave. I am a coward. I am a scaredy cat.
There is something weird in the woods.
My father lives in a tiny mining village in the middle of the swedish forest. You can probably imagine the place; miles and miles of pines rustling in the wind only occasionally interspersed with old mining holes and dilapidated houses. Most of the houses are empty- they cant even sell them as summer homes. The closes shop is around 30 miles away. My dad likes it there though- its calm and the forest is never far away.
There is one place he doesnt like though. We call it the Dead Place. Its a roughly circular square mile patch of earth right in the middle of the forest. Nothing grows there, even the birds and animals seems to avoid it considering the dearth if tracks. There is no gradual transition from the forest to the dead place either; The verdant vegetation ends abruptly, giving way to sterile earth as if some invisible boundary separates them. My dad says its causes by some sort of pollution from the old mine though he’s always beem vague on the details.
There is never any cell phone reception there either.
My dad and I often take walks in the forest but we habitually avoid the place. Especially since the incident.
I had a friend back in high school- Divya Chowdhury. I realise it might seem slightly weird for a straight guy to have a girl as a best friend, and to be perfectly frank I did have a massive crush on her… I never told her though, and I doubt she would have reciprocated. What you have to understand about Divya is that she was absolutely fearless, to the point of impetuousness. She never saw a cliff she didnt climb or a river she didnt swim, and I know she shoplifted occasionally for the thrill of it. I always admired her courage and tried, in vain, to keep her more dangerous impulses in check.
Divya didnt have the best home life and when we were 17 she spent a few weeks of the summer with me at my dads place. She was never big on nature, so we spent most of our time playing videogames or watching television. As I mentioned before, I had a bit of a crush on her and I kept trying to think of ways to impress her. One august evening, I told her about the Dead Place, knowing the sheer weirdness of the place would pique her interest. As expected Divya was fascinated by my story- she had the morbid sensibilities of someone who has seen far too many horror movies.
“Come, lets go there!” She said, clearly excited. I tried to protest, but she just frowned “Dont be a scaredy cat- I promise I’ll keep you safe” She always had the stronger will between the two of us, and we soon set off into the forest.
It was august, and the nights had gotten dark again. We soon found ourselves stumbling through the nocturnal woods, the vegetation seeming far more threatening than when illuminated by the sun. A wolf howled somewhere not too far away, and I shuddered while Divya drew her breath before howling right back at it with abandon. After a lont sojourn we, finally, found ourselves at The Dead Place.
It was completely silent. It always was- did I tell you about that yet? The darkness seemed almost palpable as we peered into it. Even Divya seemed scared. After around a minute I spoke up “There, you’ve seen it. Lets go home” She kept staring “No. We have to go into it. We cant turn back now” I saw on her face that familiar expression that meant she felt the need to prove something to, if no one else, herself.
We got into an argument. I adamantly refused to enter but she was equally set on doing so. Eventually she half- shouted “Fine you damn coward, I’ll go alone. We can chat on the phone so you dont get frightened” And with that she marched straight into the Dead Place, one hand holding her phone to her ear, as I did the same while watching her leave.
Neither of us spoke at first, but I could hear her ragged breathing. “Are you fine?” I asked “Yup!” She replied back, though she sounded a little bit hesitant “I’m almost at the centre. I’ll start going back pretty soon”
The phonecall cut out after that. There was never, as previously noted, any reception im the Dead Place. I waited for only five minutes before I started shouting, hoping she would reply- she couldnt be more than half a mime away after all. I received no reply. My phone started calling though- the ID said Divya so I felt a sense of relief as I picked it up. “I twisted my ankle- can you please come get me?” Her voice sounded worried, frightened even. I had never heard her sound line that before. “Where are you?” “Right in the middle. Can you please come now? I’m really scared!” That roused my suspicions. Divya would never admit to being scared of anything. I resisted my instinct to rush to her aid. “Can you turn on your flashlight so I can see you?”
Promptly a light turned on, maybe 1000 feet away. I couldnt hear Divya breathing, but I heard her voice entreating me to come rescue her as soon as I could.
Of course, I also heard the second voice. Too low to make out, there was someone else in the background speaking quietly as if giving directions.
“Who is that there with you?” “What are you talking about? There is no ome else here! Stop scaring me and come help me!” The light in the distance started moving, approaching my direction rapidly.
I wish I could say that I realised there was something deeply strange going on and acted rationally. The truth is I was just scared and cowardly- I ran, as fast as my legs could carry me. I told my dad about what had happened an he went to search for her.
When he didnt find her he called the police.
Divya was never found.
Of course she still calls me. Every third night or so I receive a phonecall at midnight from her number. I know I should block her number but its in an odd way nice to hear her voice.
The voice is sometimes cruel, calling me a coward. Sometimes its cajouling, asking me to come help Divya lost and all alone in The Dead Place. Sometimes its sweet, reminiscing about things we used to get up to. Sometimes I hear the second voice too- though “Divya” always denies it.
I am visiting my dad right now, and the phone just rang. It will ring again. I know what it wants- for me to go to the Dead Place.
Perhaps I can go there just to stand beyond the edge, safe among the trees. But I dont think I’m brave enough for that. Perhaps thats a good thing.