Mrityu Van

In the morning, the mist had mostly subsided, letting rays of sunlight sparkle on dewy plants and trees near the cottage. Birds chirped peacefully, filling the mountain air as I walked out the front door, stretching. It was 7 AM, and most of the resort was probably asleep since I was the only one out there.

The mountains surrounding the resort were crystal clear, their green forests and stone peaks standing out amongst the backdrop of the clouds in the blue sky, the sun shining upon them. I could make out waterfalls on some of the mountains, even though the sounds were barely audible, muffled by the distance.

It was beautiful, this place. I'd only ever seen landscapes like this through a screen. Seeing it in person was a whole new experience.

I breathed deeply in the mountain air, trying to empty my mind and free myself from every thought nagging me. It mostly worked, except for one:

The memory of meeting Chi last night.

Later That Day...

The tour jeep bumped along the mountain road as we headed toward the first tourist spot in the package: Silent Lake. The famous lake was situated at the bottom of a valley, and the pictures on the flyers of the tour package promised a picturesque view of the lake from the mountain above. I'd asked why we couldn't swim in the lake, and found that it was off-limits due to many species of wild animals using it as a watering hole.

"If you're lucky you can see it," the tour guide had said. "The elusive mountain tiger, the rarest species in this range. If you spot one you're considered extremely lucky."

I didn't count on seeing one.

The jeep was a rickety old thing owned by the tour agency we were with, something that looked like it had seen years of use. The paint was peeling off, and many of the knobs and buttons on the inside had worn out. I sat in the front seat with my family in the back, unusually quiet for some reason. The tour guide drove the jeep along the road, at an inconsistent speed, making the ride even bumpier than it needed to be.

Trying to break the awkward silence in the jeep, I was the first to speak.

"So, Mom and Dad, have you been here before?"

"I thought I told you," said Mom. "We've been here once before you and Sakura were born."

"And damn, has this place come a long way. That row of hotels we passed just now? Didn't exist last time I was here. This whole area was one big forest, with only this road connecting the viewpoint," said Dad, adjusting his position in the uncomfortable backseat.

"You're right, sir," said the guide from the driver's seat, nodding his head. "This place wasn't as developed before. In fact, it was one of the settlements of the Swarna (Gold) tribe until a few years ago, when the tribe was cleared out to build the hotels."

"Swarna tribe?" I asked, curious if it had any connection to the tribal ceremony I'd witnessed last night. "Do they live in this mountain range?"

"No, this was only a settlement. The tribe's real home is the Mrityu Van, a restricted area no one can enter legally. The government restricted it after the incidents that occurred there," said the guide.

"Mrityu Van, huh," I said, curious. "What incidents occurred there?"

"You don't know?" said the guide, turning to look at me. "It was everywhere on the news when it happened. The place is called Mrityu Van for a reason, meaning 'Forest of Death.' People rarely visit it, but according to locals, it's a cursed forest. They say whoever enters it, never returns."

"Never returns?" I asked, interested.

"It's just a saying. A few years ago, a group of college students went there to shoot a movie or something, I don't remember exactly. But after that, they went missing for months. The government initiated a search, and after a lot of searching with the help of authorities and several volunteers, only two of the original twenty-four students were found. The others were pronounced dead by the government," he said in a serious tone.

"Why?" I asked. "They could still be alive, right?"

"They took the decision for a reason. During the search, several volunteers and authorities died and most were injured for strange reasons. Some of the volunteers claimed they felt a presence with them in the forests, and it drove them crazy. The deaths were mostly suicides, like people jumping off cliffs for no reason, or drowning themselves in a lake. Nobody had seen anything like this before. To deal with this and the massive amount of money it took to keep the searches going, the government made the wise call to pronounce the other students dead," he answered, turning the car roughly at a hairpin bend.

"My God," whispered Mom. "The forest might really be cursed."

Sakura and Dad stayed silent, not wanting any part in this grim topic.

"And the tribe? Were they involved?" I asked, wondering if the tribe was held responsible.

"The Swarna tribe denied any negative involvement in this incident, and volunteers never mentioned them interfering in the search in any way. Some tribals even helped in the search, cementing their innocence. The area was made restricted for their sake too, after all," said the guide.

Dad suddenly sat upright, asking the question on everyone's minds.

"What about the two students? Are they alive?"

The driver didn't answer for a moment, focusing on steering past a blind turn.

"No," he answered in a grim voice. "Both of them committed suicide in the mental asylum they were sent to."