A Ritual Gone Awry
by Mellow_Supernova [published on 13-07-2018, word count: 2064]
Lila and her twin sister Anya felt a sense of peace after relocating to a new village. It was a fresh start, after their father's death. The new village was good enough. Both made some good friends... Everything went well for a few weeks, until Anya caught an illness. And of course, due to the lack of proper medication, her condition worsened.
She grew weaker and weaker, unable to even get out of bed... until she finally passed away. Lila was struck by this loss. For days, she did nothing but cry and cry. She couldn't forget, she couldn't let go.... Her mind only revolved around her beloved sister's death. Could things get any worse?
Yes, it could.
One day, her friend, Radha came to check on her, only to find her crying yet again. Lila opened the door, quickly wiping away her tears. The first thing that Radha did was hug her. Lila closed the door softly and covered her face with her hands, taking a deep breath.
'Life has lost meaning.' She murmured.
'Don't say that! You can't give up...' Radha pressed.
'I'm tired of hearing this..... First, father and then, Anya...' she broke down into painful sobs. Radha sighed. Thoughts flashed in her mind – the temple, the little pond, her father's voice.... She looked at Lila and instantly, felt guilty. How could she not share it with her?
'No, it's too dangerous.' She thought, but looking at Lila pained her. Lila deserved to get some closure.
'What if I tell you that you could talk to your sister one last time, to say your final goodbye?' she asked softly.
Lila looked up, looking confused. 'What do you mean?'
'On the outskirts of the village, within the forest of Bhir, there's an abandoned temple, over a hundred years old... It is said that the barrier between the two worlds – living and dead, is very weak there. Just beside the temple, in the clearing, lies a pond. If you scatter your sister's ashes in it, you can talk to her spirit.' Radha told Lila.
'I don't understand... How is this even possible? How do you—'
'Because I've done it myself,' Radha said with a serious expression on her face.
'You.....what?' Lila asked, utterly confused.
'My father, he died a year ago. He was the one who'd told me about all this. And when he died, I went to the temple.....I scattered his ashes in the pond. And...' she trailed off, deep in thought.
'And what?' Lila asked.
'I spoke to him.' Radha said.
'You...you heard his voice?' Lila asked her, not knowing what to think anymore.
'I saw his spirit. It rose from the pond, and it spoke to me.' Radha said softly.
'Okay....even if this is real; I don't know anything about this place, or what exactly to do. How—' Lila was cut off as Radha spoke up loudly.
'That's why I'm coming with you.'
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The forest wasn't exactly scary in the afternoon but they'd have to remain there till night, which according to Radha, was the only time when one could speak to the spirits of the dead. Lila was beginning to think that it would take all eternity for them to reach, when suddenly it came into view. Just like Radha had said, in the middle of a clearing, lay a dilapidated, worn out temple, with cracked walls, and covered with creepers. And indeed, there was a little pond next to it. The pond seemed quite normal, until they went closer and Lila saw that the water was... black. 'What is this?' she murmured.
'I don't know. It was the same when I came here.'
This place sure was creepy. Lila shivered, looking at the pond apprehensively.
'Let me tell you this Lila.' Radha said. 'When it turns dark, I'll begin chanting the words of the ritual. You'll be able to talk to your sister, but no matter what she says to you, you must not stop me while I utter the words.'
'What happens if I do?' Lila asked her timidly.
'Trust me, you don't want to know.'
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The forest was a hundred times creepier at night. Lila was having second thoughts. 'Can we do it now?' she whispered to Radha in fear.
'Yes.' Radha nodded.
Lila took out the vessel in which she'd brought along her sister's ashes and looked at Radha uncertainly. Radha simply nodded and motioned for her to go on. As she began to light candles, Lila opened the lid and poured the ashes into the pond, her hands shaking.
'Good.' Radha appeared next to her and clutched her hand. 'I'm going to begin. Be careful. And don't interrupt me.'
'I understand.' Lila said and turned to face the pond.
Radha closed her eyes and began to utter some words in a language Lila couldn't exactly recognize. Sanskrit maybe? She waited for something to happen. Nothing did, for a while. Then.... The water bubbled lightly and wispy figure rose out of it. Anya.
Lila could barely contain all the emotions in her mind. 'Anya!' she shouted, tears pouring down her cheeks.
'Hello sister.' Anya's spirit replied, floating on the water. She looked exactly like she had in life, except that she had an unnatural glow around her.
'I can't believe it! You're really here. I miss you so much!' Lila said, half sobbing.
'I miss you too.' Anya replied.
'I'm so sorry for what happened. I should've taken better care of you!' Lila said.
'It's not your fault sister. I'm really happy that you've come.' Anya's spirit smiled.
'Me too. But it's all because of Radha.' Lila said, looking at her friend. She still had her eyes closed and was continuing to chant the words. As Lila turned back towards her sister, she saw a shadow pass across her face.
'I must go.' Anya said.
'What? Why? You can't leave me now! You just got here!' Lila shouted, in a strangled voice.
'I can't stop it. It's taking me with it.' Anya whispered hurriedly.
'What is?' Lila asked desperately.
Anya's spirit didn't answer. She began to sink into the water. 'NO!' cried Lila, desperately turning towards Radha. 'Please! You need to help her!' she shouted at her friend, forgetting what she wasn't supposed to do. Radha's brow furrowed. She began chanting the words faster, shaking her head, gesturing for Lila to stop. But Lila was too panicked to notice. 'Please!' she cried, shaking Radha and looking back and forth between her and the pond.
'BRING HER BACK!' she cried into Radha's ear so loudly that she opened her eyes with a start, yelping. 'Do something, please!' Lila shook her, sobbing. Radha turned to face Lila lividly.
'You have no idea what you have done.' She shouted into her face. 'You stopped me from completing the ritual. You have upset the balance between life and death!'
'What are you talking about?' Lila yelled back. 'Someone was dragging Anya away! We need to help her.'
Radha heaved an exasperated sigh. 'Look Lila, this ritual opens the barrier between the two worlds just a little, so that the spirit you want to talk to, can slip over to our world. But it is important to finish the ritual because it's absolutely vital to close the barrier!' she cried hysterically. 'But we didn't! And now----' she broke off as the ground began to shake.
'AAAH!' Lila shouted, trying to keep her balance. The water churned and bubbled and then.... a hand burst out from the pond, followed by a gaunt face and a skeletal body. Shadowy figures began to emerge from the pond. Lila turned to run, but Radha grabbed her hand and stopped her.
'We need to stop this! We must close the barrier!' she shouted.
'How?' Lila asked trembling.
Radha's eyes scanned the surroundings desperately, looking for a sign of hope. And she found it. 'The temple! Get inside!' she yelled at Lila and the pair of them dashed towards it. Meanwhile, the spirits of the dead continued to emerge from the pond, crawling and scrambling their way towards them.
Both of them pushed the heavy doors open and rushed inside, turning hurriedly to close them. 'Faster!' Radha shouted, pushing with all her might. As the doors slammed shut with a bang, she bolted it with Lila's help. 'This will buy us some time.' She told her.
'What do we do now?' Lila asked.
'We need to finish the ritual.' Radha replied, agitated. Some light made its way inside through little gaps in the roof. The inside wasn't exactly nice, but both of them were too tense to freak out about it.
'Then do it, quick!' Lila told her friend.
'It's not that simple. I wasn't even halfway through with the ritual, and I need to start from the beginning again, because the ritual was disrupted. Otherwise, it won't work.' Radha said angrily.
A loud banging of the temple doors made them whirl around in panic. 'The spirits are trying to enter.' Radha said fearfully. 'The temple doors will slow them, but they can't be stopped for long. We must hurry!'
Both grabbed each others' hands and as Radha began chanting the words again, Lila stared at the temple door, listening to the noise of the spirits slamming against it. It creaked and groaned against their onslaught.
Soon, cracks began to form along the door. 'No.' she murmured, shaking her head. The banging didn't stop and neither did the cracking....
And then, the doors burst open, chunks of wood flying everywhere. Lila watched with dismayed eyes, expecting an army of spirits march in, but nothing happened. She stood still, thinking it was a trick, but nothing did happen. She moved forward cautiously, daring to not make a noise. Turning back to check on Radha, she saw that she was shaking her head vigorously, still muttering the words. Lila decided to heed her warning and turned to go back but... a pair of skeletal hands grabbed her from behind, dragging her away from Radha. She squealed and struggled but couldn't free herself. As she turned to look at her attacker, she almost fainted, seeing a horrible, misshapen face, with dark eyes.
Radha was still chanting, now even faster. Lila was dragged out of the old temple and down the steps. Her entire body hurt. 'STOP IT!' she cried but continued to be dragged towards the pond. More of the spirits gathered around her hungrily, watching the spectacle. She was just at the edge of the pond, when suddenly all the spirits doubled over, shrieking. Lila instantly felt herself released, and scrambled away from the spirits, who somehow, were getting drawn to the pond against their will.
Lila understood. Her eyes swivelled towards the temple, and she spotted Radha hurrying down from the steps. One of the spirits tried to crawl its way towards Lila, its eyes blazing with hunger. As Radha rushed up to Lila's side, the spirit was wrenched backwards into the pond like the others. It stretched its bony hand, clawing and ripping at the air, desperate to yank them into the abyss.
The pond didn't seem like itself anymore. It seemed exactly like a dark hole, a hole that was the gateway to the underworld. The last of the spirits were sucked inside, screaming in fury and then there was only silence... They had done it. Lila walked forwards till she was at the edge. 'Burn in hell.' She whispered, and turned towards Radha, smiling.
But suddenly, a hand burst out of the water, grabbing Lila's leg in a vise like grip. 'No!' was the last thing that Lila said, before she was wrenched into the pond. She struggled in the murky water, but couldn't manage to free herself. She felt herself slipping away and then there was only darkness......
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For all eternity, there was only darkness. Then, Lila was wrenched back into light, and found herself emerging through water. She looked around herself. It seemed like.... a pond. She gasped as she saw Radha ahead, with a man, the latter chanting something..... 'Lila!' Radha shouted, looking at her.
Lila realised with a jolt what was happening. She turned to look at her hands and indeed, they were glowing... It was true then.
Yes, she was dead. And Radha was attempting the same ritual to bring her back again.
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Hey guys! So, this was my first story based on a prompt and there'll be many more for sure! This little story was based on a movie called 'The Other Side of the Door' which is really awesome! And so, I can't take all the credit for this.... But I really recommend watching that movie! And let me stop right here now, I've already exceeded the world limit anyway.... So, until next time!
Cheers!
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