THE NIGHT THAT FOLLOWED NIHAL
The village of Kallumoodu slept early.
Not because the people were disciplined — but because the night here watched back.
No one walked outside after 9:17 PM.
No one ever asked why.
Except Nihal.
---
1. The Return
Nihal hadn’t been to Kallumoodu in twelve years.
He returned after receiving a letter written in shaky ink, addressed only with:
“Come home before the moon bleeds.”
No sender.
No date.
The handwriting, however… it was unmistakable.
His mother’s.
She had died ten years ago.
The bus dropped him near the old banyan tree — the same place where children used to whisper dares and run away screaming. The air smelled damp, heavy, like something had just finished breathing.
As Nihal walked toward his ancestral house, he noticed something strange.
No insects.
No dogs.
No wind.
Only footsteps.
Behind him.
When he turned — nothing.
---
2. The House That Waited
The house stood untouched by time, yet wrong. The walls looked slightly bent inward, as if listening.
When Nihal pushed the door open, it creaked—not loudly, but deliberately.
Inside, everything was exactly as it had been the night his mother died.
The clock still ticked.
Tick. Tick. Tick.
He froze.
That clock had stopped the night she passed.
Then he saw it.
A wet footprint.
Just one.
Leading toward the inner room.
His heart hammered, but his legs moved on their own.
---
3. The Mirror Room
The inner room had only one object: a tall mirror covered in cloth.
His mother used to warn him:
> “Never look into it after sunset.”
Nihal slowly pulled the cloth away.
At first—his reflection.
Then… it blinked.
He didn’t.
The reflection smiled.
Behind it stood a shadow, twisted, too tall, its face stretched like melted wax.
The reflection spoke.
“You left me here.”
Nihal stumbled back, hitting the wall.
“I don’t understand,” he whispered.
The mirror cracked.
And the room went dark.
---
4. The Truth Buried Beneath
When the lights returned, Nihal wasn’t in the house anymore.
He stood in a forest — the one behind the village — where children were warned never to go.
A voice echoed:
“You remember now, don’t you?”
Memories crashed into him.
The accident.
The fire.
The scream.
His sister.
She had followed him into the forest years ago.
He had told her to wait.
She didn’t.
When the villagers found him, he was alone — covered in ash — whispering her name.
They said the fire took her.
But the forest remembered otherwise.
---
5. The Thing That Wears Faces
From the darkness, something crawled forward.
It wore his sister’s face — cracked and hollow-eyed.
> “You left me, Nihal.”
He screamed, backing away.
“You were scared,” it whispered.
“So I stayed.”
The creature stood tall now, shadows wrapping around it.
> “Every night… I watched them sleep.
Every night… I waited for you.”
The ground cracked beneath him.
The forest began to breathe.
---
6. The Choice
The voice softened.
> “You can leave again.”
A pause.
> “Or you can stay… and I will stop following them.”
Nihal understood.
The village wasn’t cursed.
He was.
Every family that lived here suffered because the thing followed him.
Tears streamed down his face.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered.
The shadows wrapped around him like arms.
---
7. Morning
The next morning, the villagers woke to silence.
No shadows moved strangely. No whispers followed them.
But near the forest edge, they found fresh footprints.
Only one set.
Leading in.
None coming out.
---
8. Epilogue – The New Guardian
Years later, travelers speak of a figure seen at night — standing near the forest edge.
A young man.
Silent.
Watching.
Protecting.
And sometimes, if you listen carefully, you can hear him whisper:
“Go home.
Before the moon bleeds.”
