Rohan had lived in the village his whole life, but there was one place he never understood—
the orchard that stood at the edge of the fields.
People called it The Silent Orchard.
Not because it was quiet…
but because nothing inside it ever made a sound.
No birds.
No rustling leaves.
No wind.
Just silence.
Complete, unnatural silence.
Every evening, when Rohan returned from school, he felt the same strange pull—
as if the orchard watched him walk past.
Some days it felt harmless.
Some days it felt hungry.
Today… it felt different.
Like it was waiting.
The First Sign
As Rohan walked by the rusted fence, a cold wave brushed past his ear—
a sudden drop in temperature that didn't match the warm February air.
He stopped instantly.
A faint mist curled around his feet,
as if the ground beneath the orchard was breathing.
Rohan swallowed.
"Why does this place always feel alive…?"
He took one step forward—
just enough to peek through the branches.
That's when he saw her.
Not clearly.
Not fully.
Just a red shape,
the silhouette of a girl,
standing deep between the trees.
Still.
Unmoving.
Facing him.
Rohan blinked—
and she vanished.
His breath caught in his chest.
"Again… this red figure.
Who is she?"
But his question remained unanswered,
swallowed by the orchard's suffocating silence.
A Whisper Without Sound
Rohan took a step back from the fence.
And the moment he turned away—
A shiver ran down his spine.
Not a sound.
Not a voice.
But a… feeling.
A message.
A whisper without noise:
"…come back tonight."
Rohan froze in place.
He didn't hear it with his ears.
He felt it inside his mind.
He looked over his shoulder—
the orchard stood still.
Silent.
Empty.
Yet the message lingered like cold fingers on the back of his neck.
Rohan swallowed hard.
"Why… why me?"
The orchard didn't answer.
It never needed to.
It simply waited.
And as the evening light faded,
Rohan knew one thing for sure:
This night was not going to be normal.
The Silent Orchard had chosen him.