Devendra was seventeen now.
One year had passed since everything had seemed normal—since college, since smiles, since pretending that life had finally healed. Somewhere along the way, things quietly fell apart. He stopped going to school. No big reason, no dramatic moment—just exhaustion that refused to lift. Even his girlfriend had left, unable to understand the silence that had grown inside him.
That night, he returned home late.
His body felt heavy, drained, as if every step carried the weight of years he could never explain. Above the rooftops near his house, the moon hung low—deep red, unnatural, watching.
The house felt tense the moment he stepped inside. Earlier that day, he and his mother had argued badly—words said that shouldn't have been said. The kind that echo long after the room goes quiet. Now, guilt pressed against his chest. He wondered if she was still awake… or worse, sitting alone with her thoughts.
He went to his room instead.
The table fan beside his bed rattled loudly, its uneven sound filling the darkness. He lay down, eyes open, staring at the ceiling, telling himself not to sleep.
But sleep came anyway.
His body froze.
He knew immediately—sleep paralysis.
The room melted away, replaced by a village far too familiar. Empty. Silent. The air felt thick, heavy, just like the nightmares from his childhood. Houses stood crooked, doors half‑open, as if waiting for him.
His legs moved on their own.
He entered one of the houses.
Inside, the darkness shifted—and she was there.
Not screaming. Not violent.
This time, her voice was soft.
"I love you."
The words repeated, slow and close, over and over again. The sound crawled into his head, tightening around his thoughts. Her presence pressed against him—not pain, but something colder. Something consuming.
"Stop… please… what do you want from me?" Devendra cried.
Her voice changed—layered, distorted, echoing from everywhere.
"I want you. I want to take you where you belong. Into the dark."
The village seemed to fall away beneath them, as if the world itself was collapsing into a deep, endless shadow.
Devendra jolted awake.
Sweat soaked his clothes. The clock read 2:13 AM.
The fan rattled beside him.
He exhaled shakily.
"So that's it… the sound. That's why it happened again."
He sat up.
Then his eyes drifted to the side of the bed.
A shape.
Hair.
A presence far too close.
Before he could scream, arms wrapped around him—tight, inescapable. Her voice was no longer soft.
"I never left."
Her mouth opened impossibly wide, darkness spilling from within, swallowing light, sound—everything.
And Devendra vanished with it.
END OF THE STORY
"This is the nightmare of our childhood."
Author Note
Hello guys.
So… the story ends here.
To be honest, this wasn't just fiction for me. This story is inspired by my real childhood nightmares—the kind that come at night, steal your breath, and stay with you even when you grow up.
I wanted to share what fear feels like when you're young, when you don't understand it, when it follows you quietly into adulthood.
Thank you for reading till the end.
Thank you for staying.
Sayonara.
We'll meet again—with a new story.