“M-o-o-o-o-M! D-a-a-a-a-D! Its me. Or-r-i-i-i! Where are you? Please come home. Pl-e-e-e-ease!”

Oriko cried out at the top of his voice with all the energy he could muster. The cry could have reached heavens or wherever mom and dad were but alas, it’s Kaijura. The dense meshwork of woods strangles any voice trying to escape, till it chokes and dies.

There was no plan. No clue. No direction. Just the anguish and a child looking for his parents but with the passing hours, the fear of getting lost in the forest was taking over all other emotions.

I should have listened to grandpa! I shouldn’t have come here. They shouldn’t have come here. Nobody should ever come here! Damn it! if the sun sets, I will never reach home and these cowards will give up on me too!

Almost a year ago, Oriko’s parents left for Kaijura and never returned. The officers searched everywhere within the territory of the forest department but did not find any conclusive evidence of them being either alive or dead. They had given up. No one had the courage to go and search deeper into the dark and twisted expanse of trees beyond the official boundaries. It would have meant entering an unknown part of the jungle— A risk no one was willing to take.

His grandfather, Colonel Miyazaki had warned him several times about the forest. For a long time, he was successful in keeping him away but how can you make a child’s heart understand that he should give up on the prospects of seeing his parents again ?

It was an educational tour of Kaijura organized by the university. Oriko did not tell Colonel about it. For someone who did not have a group of friends, it was easier for him to get away.

Now that he was lost, grandpa’s warnings were playing in his mind.

After walking aimlessly for some time, he stopped. With frustration all over his face, he looked at the tree in front of him.

No! No! No! Not again!

Kaijura is like a maze of identical Okibaras. It is so difficult to distinguish between two of them that one might wonder if it’s a forest or a house of mirrors. Oriko had carved an eye with an X on the tree, he started from. This was the seventh time he was again looking into an eye with an X carved onto a tree.

He was tired. He sat under the tree with his back leaning against the trunk. He tried to gaze as far as he could, into the woods — to see if there was a way out.

His eyes stopped at a tree which was a few meters away.

The tree had the same symbol on it just like the first one. He got up and looked around. Every tree around him had it.

Looks like someone is following me.

He gathered all his senses, picked up a stone and stood up alert.

He heard a movement from a tree behind him.

What was that ?

He turned around. There it was — A macaque carving the symbol on the tree.

Oriko aimed the stone at the ape but it jumped to another tree before it could hit it and then kept swinging from one tree to another. Oriko tried chasing but it got away.

He was short of breath. He stopped and arched forward, resting his palms on his knees and started breathing slowly. He was tired, both mentally and physically.

While he was catching his breath, he saw a butterfly. It had white translucent wings with a nerve like pattern all over. It was fluttering it’s wings trying to maintain a constant position in air right in front of him. The color of the pattern was changing after every flutter from one rainbow color to another. It was magical. He had never seen anything like that in his life.

The butterfly started moving in a direction and Oriko started following it without thinking much. After a while, his body gave up and he collapsed. He saw a blurred vision of people in uniform approaching him as he entered unconsciousness

His eyes opened to the familiar sight of his bedroom. His grandfather was sitting besides him.

“I am sorry grandpa. I am really sorry. You were right about the place. I will never go there like this.” “Hmm… It’s fine Ori. What matters is that you are safe. Now, come downstairs. The game is about to start and the supper is also ready.” “Yeah! coming. Let me wash my face first! ”

Oriko got up and and went to the washroom. After splashing some water on his face, he looked in the mirror and turned around immediately.

The same macaque was sitting on the railing of the balcony behind him holding something in its hands. He rushed towards the balcony. The macaque jumped out and ran away.

It dropped what it was holding on the balcony’s floor. It looked like a notebook.

Oriko picked it up. It had his father’s name on it.

The Unexplored Kaijura

A Study by Kairo Miyazaki

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