Darkness

• Areebah Sohel, Grade 5
• Short Story
• 2022

The harsh wind howled an enraged melody, reprimanding those who were out this late at night. An inky sky stretched above the lifeless city. The moon hid behind thunderclouds, and the stars had lost all glimmers of hope, fading away. The boy was gallant. He strode through the forest with his chest high, knowing that he was ready. Ominous, inauspicious voices echoed through the woods. Spindly naked trees made a roof above his head so that not a single beam of light could enter the desolate forest. Dead shrubs asked for something to quench their dehydrated thirst.
The courageous boy hobbled through the forest, dead, dry leaves crunching under his feet. He was ambling through the woods when he came to a sudden halt. "This is it", he mumbled under his breath, so that only the watchful trees could hear him. He kneeled and brushed away a few purple, crispy leaves. There, he came face to face with a concealed trapdoor. The boy was ambivalent. He inched the door open, which screeched loudly, tentatively. Suddenly, the door fell inside the hole that lay beneath it with a crash. The boy flinched, glancing around the forest. The forest was pin-drop silent. Apart from the eerie echoes and flutters of stunned crows, the woods were quiet. He stared at the hole, one of the secrets of the trapdoor, and wondered what would happen if he entered it.
Something about his journey was precarious, like an old ladder, but the boy was determined to continue his voyage. He descended the hole, into the darkness. Rays of moonlight flooded the bottom of the hole. The anxious boy glanced at the opening, taking in the light and hope of the surface. He proceeded forward into the blackness.
He had been strolling along the path when he had stepped on a twig. Instinctively, he made a swift turn to check for anyone. There was not a soul to be seen. He gave an uncertain, apprehensive laugh. Surely, no one was following him? He shuddered at the thought and continued into the darkness. Every time there was the slightest sound, he involuntarily flinched and stumbled.
The darkness was becoming overpowering. The mere light was fading, becoming vaguer and vaguer. As the blackness overpowered the moonlight, the boy's hope became weaker. He continued his crusade, propelling his legs further.
The tunnel seemed endless. As the light became dimmer, so did the air. The boy's breathing became rapid and raspy. Breathing felt like lifting a mountain. His heart hammered furiously. Abruptly, he collapsed. Death was inevitable. The struggling boy's breathing became shallower. He turned his head and managed to glimpse at the light. Although it was a microscopic dot, it was the final hope. And then that too was gone. Darkness had overthrown the light. The boy coughed, and thick red blood spurted out of him like a fountain. He muttered something inaudibly, and as his last strength was gone, he closed his eyes and fell into an everlasting sleep. Surrounded by darkness.