In the heart of a terrifying jungle, I held that strange object in my hand.
"What is this…? It looks like a round diamond," I thought.
Suddenly, in the darkness of night, I saw many pairs of red eyes around me, slowly moving toward me.
Gathering my courage, I held that small round strange object out in front of me. Immediately, a light came from it.
In that light, I saw the huge, terrifying snakes whose eyes were glowing red. They were coming closer to me.
At that moment…
I screamed out loud,
"Save me! Save me!"
Suddenly, I woke up, gasping for breath.
Then I heard a knock on the door.
Without thinking, I opened it.
My mom came to me.
"What happened, Neel? Why did you scream like that?"
I saw fear clearly in her eyes. So I composed myself and said,
"Nothing happened, Mom. I just had a bad nightmare."
"All right, freshen up and come down for breakfast."
"Okay, Mom."
After she left, I slapped my cheek and said to myself,
"Will this dream ever leave me? I have been having it since childhood, but never told anyone.
"But I still haven't found the secret behind it. What is that round strange object? And those huge snakes look like something out of fairy tales, like the ones in movies or TV series! But all these things are imaginary… they don't exist in reality."
Keeping all these thoughts in my mind, I went to freshen up.
Let me introduce myself—
I am Neel Mahmud, just Neel for short Name. The only child of my parents. I am now in Class 11 first year of college, just turned eighteen. You'll get to know the rest later.
After freshening up, I went downstairs to have breakfast.
Sitting at the table, my mom said,
"Neel, today some distant relatives of your grandfather will come. I don't know them well, but they had a good relationship with your grandfather."
As soon as I heard "grandfather," tears welled up in my eyes.
Actually, my grandfather passed away five years ago under mysterious circumstances. You will know the reason later. I was 12 or 13 years old then.
Grandpa loved me very much, and I loved him too.
None of the family members could accept his death. Grandpa said grandma died from a strange illness—an illness even doctors couldn't diagnose. That was also a mystery. Although grandma died 10 years before grandpa, when I was only 2 years old. Before grandpa passed away, he gave me a diary.
He told me that when the right time comes, this diary would help me a lot. Lost in these thoughts, I came back to reality hearing my mother's voice.
"Why are your eyes wet?"
"Actually, I was thinking about grandpa."
"Your grandpa was a very good man."
"Okay mom, enough for now. Tell me who exactly is coming?"
"A woman and her two daughters. They were very close to your grandfather. They will be staying here for a few months," my mother replied.
"Oh."
After finishing breakfast, I left for college.
On the way, I met my friends.
(Joy and Akash)
They are my best friends. They have always stood by me in difficult times. The three of us are like three souls in one body—haha!
"Neel, today is going to be a great day," said Akash.
"Why?"
"Because we're going on a picnic today. The day is so beautiful and peaceful—ahh," Akash smiled.
"You're right," I said.
"I was thinking the same," said Joy.
"Alright, this afternoon we're finally going to visit the —Moonveil Forest."
Near the northeastern hills of Bangladesh lies a forest that isn't marked on any official map. The local tribes call it "Moon Forest" — the Moon's Veil. Some foreign researchers quietly refer to it as Moonveil Forest.
Just hearing the name Moonveil Forest feels like an invisible magic wrapping your heart—a deep darkness hiding mysteries, where even the wind whispers old forgotten secrets…
To be continued.