Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
Suman and his wife Chitra moved into their new house. The house was a dream come true for the couple. They had purchased a vast piece of land on the outskirts of a quiet town and built their perfect home from scratch. It was surrounded by lush greenery, and the tranquil environment was a welcome change from their busy city life. Suman was a high school teacher. He had always been a man of rationality. He didn't believe in superstitions or the supernatural.
However, everything was going as planned. They were happy with their new home. It's been 6 months since then.
Suman spends his evening by reading some books. It's his only hobby. There is a sturdy oak tree near the window of his study room. For the past few weeks, he had noticed several crows gathering on the branch outside his window, cawing for hours. While he might have initially dismissed it as a routine occurrence, but there was something peculiar about their cawing—it seemed as though they were there solely for Suman's presence.
One night suman had a strange dream.
He found himself in a dense forest in his dreams. The forest was unlike anything he had ever seen before. It was as if the trees and plants were alive, their branches and leaves moving with a purpose of their own. The very air seemed to vibrate with an otherworldly energy.
As he walked deeper into the forest, Suman couldn't help but feel like an intruder in a world that didn't belong to him. It was silent everywhere even being inside a deep forest. The eerie silence was broken by an alluring and tempting female voice that seemed to emanate from the very heart of the forest. It whispered sweet promises and beckoned him to follow. Strangely he felt aroused by the irresistibly tempting tone. An invisible pull that he felt. Compelled by curiosity and an unexplainable desire, Suman followed the voice, pushing his way through the dense undergrowth. Eventually, he stumbled upon an abandoned building structure. It was an old, dilapidated mansion, overgrown with vines and surrounded by an aura of mystery. That building seemed to be the source of that unknown voice. Though he was scared even in his dreams, but he thought to give it a try and find out what was waiting for him.
But no matter how hard he tried, he could never reach the building. It seemed to move further away from him as he approached, as if mocking his futile attempts to uncover its secrets, and then suddenly he woke up and found himself sweating heavily and the most embarrassing part was, experiencing nightfall. His pajama was all wet around his groin, making the fabric very much sticky. Carefully he got up and went to the bathroom. He felt his sore pen!s as if someone had milked the last amount of semen out of it. No doubt it was a big load, making a mess on his thigh and balls. He was embarrassed by the situation. He couldn't remember last time when he had a nightfall. Probably when he was very young, he experienced it a few times.
Next day everything was normal. But in the night, he had that exact same dream, same scenario, same temptation. And just like the previous day he had another nightfall. It repeated for next few days. Almost each night, the dream played out the same way, with Suman chasing the elusive building, the tantalizing voice luring him deeper into the ever-shifting forest.
Suman was concerned. He couldn't understand why he was having these dreams and the nightfall along with it. He knew dreams are always weird and illogical but having the same dream almost every night is not normal. They consumed his thoughts during the day, and he couldn't discuss them with Chitra for fear of embarrassment.
Desperate for answers, Suman decided to confide in his wife. One evening, as they sat on the porch of their new home, he finally broached the subject. "Chitra, there's something I need to tell you," he began hesitantly, his voice quivering.
Chitra looked at him with concern. "What is it, Suman? You've been acting strange lately."
Suman took a deep breath and recounted his recurring dreams of the animated forest, the alluring voice, and the elusive building. He couldn't bring himself to mention the nightfall, but Chitra sensed his distress.
"You should see a doctor," she suggested, her worry deepening. "Maybe it's stress or something else affecting your sleep."
Reluctantly, Suman agreed. He scheduled an appointment with a sleep specialist, hoping to find a logical explanation for his vivid and unsettling dreams.
The specialist listened carefully to Suman's story and conducted several tests. Afterward, he explained that the dreams could be a manifestation of stress and anxiety related to their recent move and the adjustment to their new life. The nightfalls, he assured Suman, were not uncommon in such cases and could be managed through relaxation techniques and therapy.
Two months passed since then. Suman was taking mild sedatives prescribed by the specialist, and it worked. To his relief, it worked, and the bizarre dreams became less frequent, but his mind was affected by those dreams. He felt unusual arousal very often since that time. Specially when he recalled about those dream.
Months passed, and Suman had almost forgotten about those unsettling nights. One evening, as the sun dipped below the horizon, he decided to unwind on the balcony of his home. The tranquil setting, with the oak tree swaying gently in the breeze, provided him with a sense of peace he desperately needed.
As he gazed out into the semi-darkness near the fence surrounding his property, something caught his eye. There, in the shadows, he saw two burning, amber eyes staring directly at him. It was a fox, a creature not known for its proximity to human dwellings. Yet, this fox seemed different, as if it had a purpose. It held Suman's gaze, unmoving, as if it knew him or had something to convey. He tried to shoo it away, but it remained steadfast, not yielding to his gestures. After what felt like an eternity, the fox abruptly disappeared into the night.
Confused and intrigued, Suman ventured to the spot the next morning, expecting to find signs of how the fox had entered his premises. To his surprise, the fence was untouched and unbroken, making it all the more perplexing. He went back inside, scratching his head, wondering if the fox had somehow jumped into his property.
The following night, the same unnerving scene replayed itself. The fox returned, its burning eyes locking onto Suman with an unsettling intensity. He rushed inside to call his wife, eager to share this eerie encounter. However, by the time they returned, the fox had vanished into thin air, leaving them bewildered.
Days passed, and Suman continued to check the balcony each night, but the fox remained elusive. Then, one evening, his heart skipped a beat. There, at the exact same spot, was not a fox but a dog, standing in the bushes. Suman couldn't believe his eyes; this was a change from the norm. The dog, much like the fox, stared directly at him and then, without a sound, melted back into the bushes.
Puzzled and somewhat unnerved, Suman debated calling his wife to share this latest development but decided against it. Night after night, the dog would reappear, standing in that same spot, staring at him, and then vanishing into the shadows. The mystery of these persistent, silent watchers continued to haunt Suman, leaving him to wonder if they were messengers or something far more enigmatic.
This pattern continued for days, and then it was a cow, and later a snake. Each night, a different creature appeared in the bushes, all of them seemingly staring directly at Suman before vanishing mysteriously.
Finally, on one fateful night, as Suman gazed out at the familiar spot, he saw something that sent chills down his spine. It wasn't an animal this time; it was a female silhouette figure. It stood there, motionless, just as the others had before, staring at Suman with an intensity that felt otherworldly. The figure seemed to beckon him, and for the first time. Suman heard the same alluring call inside his head. He felt a deep sense of unease that transcended the boundaries of his understanding. The enigma surrounding his house's perimeter had deepened, and Suman was left with an unsettling mystery that refused to be unraveled.
To be continued....