Photo by Tama66
I found the doorway to untold wealth but I wanted my freedom more. What started as a game, or perhaps a nasty trick to lose me in the dense forest, led me to the Mystic Cave.
My heart was pounding hard and my mouth was hung open to inhale more than my button nose could manage. I trudged through the forest as nightfall descended. The air was colder. Fear made my teeth chatter as I remember bedtime stories of restless spirits wandering the forest in search of treasures hidden within.
The treasures were their currency for a better stay in the afterlife. If they had none or lost it, they would keep roaming the earth, particularly the Mystic Cave, destitute, until they got their withered hands on some gold coins or jewelleries.
I assumed those scary tales were meant to keep us, the unruly boys in the orphanage, in check. They couldn't be true. As I stood inside the dark cave, shadowy figures creeping around me, raising every hair on my body, I knew they were true. I cursed Leon in my head.
It was all his fault. His jealousy and mean streak led me down this path. I didn't want to play the game but Kamar said it was the best way to get Leon on my side. Then his clique wouldn't tease me for being the Directress' favourite anymore.
We were just fourteen, with an uncertain life ahead of us. I wanted to make mine meaningful and the Directress saw my commitment and took a special interest in me.
Dusk was falling rapidly and we were still in the forests. The temperature was falling fast and I was starting to feel it in my bones despite my thick sweater, jacket and jeans trousers.
Leon popped out from behind a huge tree. My heart was almost detached from my chest at his unexpected appearance. He gave me a sinister grin. "Bobby, let's see the stuff you are made of. Hide and seek?"
"Wait. It's getting dark. Shouldn't we return before the Directress gets worried?" I pleaded.
Leon shared a glance with Kamar and shrugged. "We are big boys. Why should she be worried? Or as her favourite…"
I quickly cut him off because that was one area I didn't want him or anymore to talk about. The Directress' special interest in me was a situation I couldn't help. The other boys didn't like that because they believed I got preferential treatment. I wanted to make them know I was just like them—uninteresting and maybe a little unruly.
I fell for the pressure. I wanted to prove to Leon and Kamar that I could flout the rules and perhaps get away with it.
"Sure, we are big boys. What do you have in mind?" I replied, pushing my clammy hands into the front pockets of my jeans.
Leon clapped my shoulders with his stubby hands and whispered with a grin, "hide and seek."
"Yes!" Kamar bellowed, raised his hands in the air, tooted and howled like a wild dog.
"I'm starting. I dare you, Bobby, to find me before it gets dark. Come on!" Leon said and ran, disappearing behind a cluster of trees. Kamar ran after him.
"Wait," I said, a little too late. I was going to suggest we played the game close by.
I took a deep breath. I can do this, I mused but my breathing was becoming harsh and loud in my ears. The forest suddenly became thick, whispers of mystery and secrets seemed to rustle the leaves.
I gingerly moved in the forest, careful not to get caught in any hunter's trap. My steps steadily increased just as my heart raced when the crickets began to chirp. It was dark and I couldn't see properly.
"Leon! Kamar!" I hollered. The forest echoed my words back to me. My voice sounded shrill and tense. "Where are you, guys?"
I noticed the leaves stretching like skeletal fingers and wanting to touch me. I began to run, leaves and branches, slapping across my soft face and leaving tiny, painful cuts.
In the distance, I saw a small cave and stopped. Perhaps my mind was playing tricks on me. One thing was certain, Leon and Kamar wanted me lost in the forest.
I stumbled further until I came to the cave. It was eerie and unusual. There was a big skull, probably a giant's, atop the cave. I stumbled inside hoping to find the dimwits there.
Instead, I met restless spirits howling eerily. A big wet patch covered the front of my jeans trousers immediately. I raised my hands to cover my face and begged them to let me go as I mistakenly stepped into the cave. After some muttering within themselves, they promised to let me leave the forest unharmed if I brought back two boys of my age to help carry their treasure through the Mystic Cave to the realm beyond.
I promised profusely and fled the cave in search of Leon and Kamar.
The Directress' was quite unhappy on my return to the orphanage. Leon and Kamar stood beside her, grinning mischievously. I grinned back to my astonishment. My encounter with the otherworldly in the cave suddenly made me a different person.
After lights out, I stalked to their room and told them about the treasures in the Mystic Cave creatively and exaggeratedly. Their bulging eyes portrayed their interest and greed. I left out the part of the restless spirits.
The following night, after we had entered the cave and I showed them the shining treasures in a chest, I watched them pounce on them in admiration.
Moments later, their horrifying cries filled my ears as I quietly exited the cave.