One hot Sunday afternoon, I was sitting at home, not knowing what to do. I was not able to kill time. I decided to get out of the house. So I changed and took out my bike to roam about. I had no definite plans of what I was going to do. I started riding along the beach side down south. After riding for some while, a peculiar signboard along the side of the road caught my eyes. It read "People come here once, but never leave". It had a picture of a resort like beach house and promised some entertainment. I decided to give it a shot.
It was 4km down the same road. After riding for some time, I never saw the beach house that appeared in the ad. After enquiring with the people living in that locality I came to know that such a place never existed. No one was aware of such resort in that area. Something was fishy. I started riding further, when I encountered a curve in the road. Either side of the road was covered with thick grass and poisonous trees. I noticed a small path along one side of the road. The grass was broken and gave clear indications of someone’s visit not very long back. I parked my bike along the road to one side, and climbed down the narrow path. It was so dense. I had a strong feeling that someone was following me in that marsh. I decided not to turn back and kept marching forward pushing the grass away from my path. After walking for about twelve minutes, I noticed a building, more like ruins of a building in the midst of the jungle. To my surprise, the building resembled the dilapidated version of the same one which I had seen in the signboard on the road. I shuddered at the very thought that something real messy, was going on. At one moment I thought about going back and forget what I had been through. But my curiosity made me move further and find out what was happening. I moved closer to the building. I began to hear eerie noises. I was so scared. I went near the door and gathering all my nerves, I knocked at the door. To my relief, a lady clad in white sari opened the door and let me in. I asked her who she was and why is she living in such a place. She didn’t bother to reply. She marched inside her kitchen to get me some water, since I was perspiring now. The house was so dimly lit. I started scanning the old walls of the house filled with photographs and paintings. One picture suddenly caught my eyes. I was shocked. There were three people in the photo, me, my father and my mother. Though it was a bit odd, but they resembled my very own family. I further noticed that the lady in the picture was the one who opened the door and let me in the house. I failed to notice the resemblance in the first place. A cold chill ran down my spine. I was unable to move my body. I was transfixed staring at the picture. I turned around to look at the house and suddenly I was thrown back, when the lady was standing right behind me holding a glass in her hands. She gave me a murderous glance that took all the life out of me.
At that very moment a man entered the room. He was holding some papers in his hands and started yelling at me. I noticed that it was the same man in the picture. My heart was pounding fast now. It’s now or never. I must act quickly. I didn’t know what to do. My legs were letting me down. I was not able to run. I felt surrounded by some unseen power. Oh God! Save me from this situation. The noises were becoming louder. I was almost about to pass out. I knew nothing more. Suddenly the room became well lit. My eyes were flashed. I adjusted my eyes to the brightness in the room. Only then I realized that all this was just a dream. My mother was standing next to my bed holding a cup of tea and trying to wake me up. She said it was already evening, and I should get up. My dad was trying to wake me up too. He was sitting next to me reading the Sunday newspaper. I was very much relieved. My heart beat was normal. I sat on my bed and started drinking the tea which my mother made for me. It was pure bliss.
As I sat sipping on the glass of tea, I noticed something peculiar on the front page of the newspaper which my father was reading. It had a clipping of an ad. It contained a picture of a resort with a message reading "People come here once, but never leave".
