The forest did not feel like a normal forest.
Kayal knew forests.
She had climbed tamarind trees, chased goats through thorn bushes, hidden inside mango groves during summer games.
Forests usually felt alive in a friendly way.
Birds arguing.
Leaves clapping.
Squirrels jumping like tiny comedians.
But this one…
This one listened.
The moment she stepped past the old wooden gate, the air changed.
Cooler.
Heavier.
As if she had walked underwater.
The sounds behind her — the village, the wind, even the morning birds — faded away.
Only silence remained.
Not empty silence.
Waiting silence.
Kayal adjusted her backpack and pulled the notebook out again.
Its cover was warm.
Like it had a heartbeat.
“You brought me here,” she whispered. “So… what now?”
As if answering her, the next page slowly filled with ink.
Letters forming like ants marching across paper.
A new riddle.
I have no tongue,
yet I tell you secrets.
I have no ears,
yet I hear your fears.
When the wind touches me,
I speak a thousand voices.
What am I?
Kayal looked up.
The trees.
Tall.
Close together.
Leaves shivering.
Whisper whisper whisper…
When the wind passed, the whole forest seemed to murmur.
She smiled.
“Leaves,” she said softly. “Or trees.”
The page glowed.
Leaves.
Immediately, a breeze rushed past her — though the air had been still seconds ago.
The leaves rustled loudly.
Not random.
Rhythmic.
Like applause.
And then—
The path ahead cleared.
Thick thorny bushes pulled back slowly, as if invisible hands were parting them.
“Okay…” Kayal breathed. “That’s definitely magic.”
She stepped forward.
The deeper she walked, the stranger things became.
Roots twisted across the ground like sleeping snakes.
Some trees had bark shaped like faces.
Not real faces.
But almost.
Eyes.
Noses.
Open mouths.
She told herself it was just her imagination.
Still… she walked faster.
Then she heard it.
Footsteps.
Behind her.
Crunch.
Crunch.
She spun around.
Nothing.
Only trees.
She waited.
Silence.
She shook her head and laughed nervously. “Don’t scare yourself.”
Crunch.
Again.
This time closer.
Her heart jumped.
She opened the notebook quickly.
“Please don’t tell me the answer is ‘monster,’” she muttered.
Ink spread across the next page.
I follow you all day,
copy every move you make.
I grow long at sunset,
and disappear at night.
Run if you want—
I will always chase you.
What am I?
Kayal blinked.
Then slowly looked down.
There it was.
Stretching beside her feet.
Dark.
Thin.
Moving when she moved.
She laughed out loud in relief.
“My shadow.”
The page flashed gold.
At once, the footsteps stopped.
Completely.
Like something had been caught.
Kayal glanced back.
For just a second, she thought she saw it—
A darker shadow between the trees.
Not hers.
Something else’s.
Then it melted away.
Her skin prickled.
“Okay… that’s new,” she whispered.
This forest wasn’t just asking riddles.
It was testing her.
Watching her think.
Like a teacher.
Or a guard.
After a while, the trees grew so thick that the sunlight barely touched the ground.
The path ended at a small clearing.
In the center stood something strange.
A circle of ancient stones.
Tall as doors.
Covered in moss.
And wrapped in roots like sleeping ropes.
No path forward.
No gap.
Blocked.
Kayal stepped closer.
The notebook grew hot again.
Almost too hot to hold.
The final riddle of the page began to write itself.
Slower than the others.
Like it mattered more.
I have keys but open no locks.
I have space but no room.
You can enter, but you cannot go inside.
Without me, your story stays silent.
What am I?
Kayal read it twice.
Keys…
Space…
Enter…
Story stays silent…
She frowned.
Not a house.
Not a door.
Something with keys…
Her fingers moved in the air unconsciously.
Tap tap tap.
Like typing.
Her eyes widened.
“A keyboard…”
She paused.
Then shook her head.
“No… wait… something older… for stories…”
She imagined books.
Pages.
Writing.
Letters.
Then it clicked.
“A book,” she whispered.
“No… a page… no…”
Her eyes fell to the notebook in her hands.
She smiled slowly.
“A pen.”
The page glowed brightly.
But nothing happened.
She bit her lip.
“Think, Kayal…”
Keys… space… enter…
Suddenly she laughed.
“Keyboard was right!”
The moment she said it—
The stones trembled.
Deep grinding sounds filled the clearing.
The stone circle slowly split apart, sliding aside like giant doors.
Beyond it…
A staircase.
Leading down.
Into darkness.
Cold air rose from below.
Old.
Ancient.
Like something sleeping for centuries.
Kayal’s heart raced.
She should go back.
She knew she should.
But her feet didn’t move.
Curiosity pulled stronger than fear.
She looked at the notebook.
A new sentence had appeared on the fresh page.
Not a riddle this time.
Just words.
First Gate Opened.
Six remain.
Her breath caught.
Six?
How many places was this book planning to send her?
And then—
From deep below the stairs…
She heard something.
A soft sound.
Almost like…
Someone calling her name.
“Kayal…”
She froze.
No one here knew her.
No one should.
Yet the voice came again.
Faint.
Waiting.
She tightened her grip on the notebook.
Swallowed.
Then stepped onto the first stair.
The darkness swallowed her slowly.
And the forest behind her closed its stone doors with a heavy, final thud.
Review Riddle Roads – Story 2 – The Forest That Whispered Back.