"Forune?" Reydi said as she put the plate down on the kitchen counter. "Are you sure?"
"Yes, I am sure," Erinjay said, grabbing Reydi's hand and pulling her close.
"With Lavanya? Knowing well that your family will not want to see her," Reydi said, taking her hand back.
"I know you are unhappy with this decision, but trust me. I have everything in mind," Erinjay said, hugging his wife from behind and kissing her cheek.
"I am scared."
"Everything will be fine. I promise."
"I don't want to risk Lavanya's life."
"Nor do I. But Forune is her real home. And I think she needs to see it and experience its beauty."
"Promise me nothing will happen to you?"
"I promise you."
Lavanya watched her parents from the door, waiting for the moment she would go to Forune. Her father had said a lot about the place. He said it was the most beautiful place that ever existed. Except he never told her that beneath its beauty lay the dark world of non-humans. A world that humans did not know existed.
A really good, not so attractive for some, way to describe Forune would be mist and rain. A lot of rain. It appeared as though a cloud with an endless amount of water lashed out on the hilly town once and then never stopped. The mist accompanied it. But as eerie and ominous as it sounded, the weather was a consequence of the town being situated in a hilly region with dense evergreen forests, while also being relatively close to the sea. While the town did not have a direct connection to the shores, its proximity caused it to appear as if it never saw midday, jumping from early morning to late evening.
A tricky winding road led to this town. Only one road connected it to the rest of the world. Every other way was a long foot trek among the tall green trees and slithering snakes. The town wasn't the most advanced of the places anyone could be in. But it was calm, unlike the other places around it, where one had to look for nature among humans. Here, one looked for humans in nature. Not many people lived here. Not for its ever-long crying sky but for a far more chilling occurrence: the souls that got lost in its forest.
A short and slightly long black car drove past Meojong Hill, the last hill anyone saw before they entered the main town. Inside the car, Lavanya was sitting in the back seat. Her mother, Reydi, sat in the front with her father, Erinjay, who drove. The family was moving into the town and driving to their new house.
Lavanya saw lush evergreen trees passing by. There was not a single life form, except for plants, that she saw on the road. In the three-hour-long journey, the family sighted a mere three cars on the road, two leaving the town and one that overtook them as they entered the town. But for Lavanya, that wasn't bothering. The environment there was so serene that she instantly fell in love with the place. It was like love at first sight.
The car finally made a long stop in front of a two-story house—a Victorian-style house with a highly light green shade to its exterior. The house was situated at a slight elevation, a mound of sorts. It was surrounded by green land, and tall trees were behind it. Low-lying wooden barriers enclosed the area surrounding the house, and a small gate provided access to the area. Lavanya got out of the car. Her mother came to her and held her hand.
"Do you like it?" Reydi said.
"Yes," Lavanya said.
Erinjay took out the luggage and joined the mother and the daughter at the gate.
"Isn't it pretty?" he said.
"It is," Reydi said.
A man approached them. The man was middle-aged and wore a half-shirt and loose grey trousers. He walked up to the family and, putting his hands into his trouser pockets, he said mellowly, "Are you Erinjay Weinok?"
"Oh, yes, that would be me. You must be, Mr Cunchow?" Erinjay said.
"Yes, yes, that is I. Mr Ufi Cunchow. I am here to hand the keys," Mr Cunchow took out the keys from his pocket and handed them to Erinjay.
"Thank You, Mr Cunchow. By the way, this is my wife, Reydi and my daughter Lavanya," Erinjay said.
"Nice, very nice. I hope you like this town," Mr Cunchow took his leave and left the family to move in.
Holding her mother's hand, Lavanya walked into the house. The house had a narrow porch for drying clothes mostly. The door was slightly aged but worked just fine. Upon opening, a narrow corridor was revealed. On the left of the corridor was the kitchen. The space was small, with a dining table occupying much of the area and the cooking area positioned against the wall. To the right of the corridor was a lounge. It had space for a couch set and some other minor lounge things. Then, at the end of the corridor, which wasn't long, there was a narrow staircase almost invisible from the front door.
Lavanya ran up the stairs. The stairs led to a foyer with a large window that overlooked the front part of the house, the road, and the vast, dense green town. On the right of the foyer were two rooms, and on the left, there was only one room and one washroom. This was it. The house. A modest family home for a simple family.
However, everything wasn't simple beneath the surface, and the secrets that lay hidden would soon be uncovered as one event was about to set off a chain of events, bringing Lavanya face-to-face with her true identity.