Chapter 2: The Endless Circle

The sky darkened.

One by one, the last traces of sunlight disappeared beyond the horizon.

Avrila stood motionless in front of the grocery shop.

Her heart pounded loudly inside her chest.

“No…”

She looked around desperately.

The tea stall.

The banyan tree.

The broken lamp post.

Everything was exactly the same.

She had already passed this place three times.

Or maybe four.

She wasn’t even sure anymore.

Taking a deep breath, she forced herself to stay calm.

“Think, Avrila. There must be a logical explanation.”

She turned and started walking again.

This time she paid attention to every detail.

Every turn.

Every crossing.

Every house.

Yet after fifteen minutes of walking, she found herself standing before the grocery shop once again.

The same signboard creaked softly in the evening breeze.

A chill ran down her spine.

“No… no, no, no…”

Her voice trembled.

For the first time, real panic began to settle in.

She took out her phone.

8:02 PM.

There were several missed calls from her mother.

Avrila quickly dialed her.

The call connected for a moment.

Then—

Static.

The screen flickered.

The call disconnected.

“What?”

She tried again.

No signal.

She looked up.

Strangely, every other part of the town seem normal.

Yet the roads around her felt deserted.

Not a single person was visible.

Not a single vehicle passed by.

Even the usual sounds of evening had vanished.

The silence felt unnatural.

Heavy.

Oppressive.

As if the darkness itself was listening.

***

An hour later.

Avrila’s legs hurt.

She had tried every possible road.

Every shortcut.

Every alley.

Every path led back to the same place.

The grocery shop.

Again.

And again.

And again.

The clock on her phone now showed 8:57 PM.

Suddenly a familiar voice called out.

“Child?”

Avrila looked up.

The woman from the grocery shop was standing outside.

Beside her stood Riku.

The man frowned.

“Haven’t you gone home yet?”

Relief flooded Avrila.

Finally.

Another human being.

She hurried toward them.

“Auntie, I think I’m lost.”

The woman looked confused.

“Lost?”

“I know it sounds strange, but every road leads me back here.”

For a moment, something strange flashed across the woman’s face.

A look that disappeared almost instantly.

Then she smiled.

“Oh dear. You must be exhausted.”

Riku looked worried.

“Didi, are you okay?”

Avrila nodded weakly.

“I just need to reach the main bypass.”

The woman turned toward her son.

“Riku, take Didi to the main bypass.”

“Okay, Mom.”

***

For the next thirty minutes, Riku guided her through several streets.

The boy seemed confident.

“This way.”

“No, maybe this way.”

“Wait, I think it’s here.”

But eventually—

They stopped.

Avrila felt her blood run cold.

The grocery shop stood before them.

Again.

Riku stared.

His face turned pale.

“What…”

He looked around.

Confused.

“We were just over there.”

Avrila felt her stomach twist.

So it wasn’t only her.

Even Riku couldn’t leave.

The boy grabbed her sleeve.

“Didi…”

His voice shook.

“I want to go home.”

Without saying a word, they walked back into store.’

The woman seemed surprised to see them.

“You’re back already?”

Riku immediately hugged her.

“Mom! We got lost!”

A flicker of concern crossed the woman’s face.

She looked toward Avrila.

Then toward the dark road outside.

The expression in her eyes was impossible to read.

“You poor child.”

She sighed.

“It’s already late.”

Avrila looked outside.

The streets were completely dark now.

“Maybe…”

The woman hesitated.

“…maybe you should stay here tonight.”

Avrila froze.

Stay here?

Something about the suggestion made her uncomfortable.

She couldn’t explain why.

The woman seemed kind.

Riku seemed harmless.

Yet…

Something felt wrong.

“I’ll be fine.”

“Nonsense.”

The woman smiled gently.

“You’re just a schoolgirl.”

“I don’t want to trouble you.”

“It isn’t trouble.”

For a few seconds neither spoke.

The woman glanced toward the dark road outside before letting out a quiet sigh.

“It’s difficult managing everything alone.”

Avrila looked at her.

“Just you and Riku?”

The woman nodded.

“Yes. His father hasn’t been with us for years.”

“Oh.”

“Life goes on,” the woman said with a faint smile.

Riku lowered his head and remained silent.

A few moments later, while waiting near the sitting room, Avrila’s eyes wandered toward a nearby hallway.

Then Avrila noticed something.

A pair of muddy slippers near the entrance of the corridor.

Large slippers.

The slippers looked recently used.

Fresh mud clung to their soles.

Her gaze lingered on them.

If Riku’s father hadn’t been here for years…

Then whose slippers were those?

Before she could think further, Riku suddenly spoke.

“Mom, should I tell Baba—”

The woman’s expression froze.

“Riku!”

The boy immediately fell silent.

An uncomfortable hush settled over the room.

For a fleeting moment, something resembling panic flashed across the woman’s face.

Then she forced a smile.

“He means his grandfather.”

Avrila nodded.

But she wasn’t convinced.

The explaination had come too quickly.

Too rehearsed.

As though the woman had prepared it beforehand.

The silence that followed felt strangely heavy.

Then—

A cough echoed from somewhere deeper inside the house.

A man’s cough.

Low.

Rough.

Distinct.

Avrila’s head snapped toward the hallway.

The woman noticed immediately.

“What happened?”

“I thought I heard someone.”

For the briefest moment, the woman”s fingers tightened around the edge of her shawl.

Then she smiled.

“The television.”

Avrila listened carefully.

No voices.

No music.

No sounds of a television.

Nothing.

Only silence.

And the memory of that cough.

A chill crept down her spine.

“I should leave.”

The woman looked at her for a moment.

Then nodded.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

“You can stay if you want.”

“I’ll be alright.”

The woman remained silent for a few seconds before reaching behind the counter and handing her a flashlight.

“Take this.”

“Thank you.”

“Be careful.”

Avrila forced a smile and stepped outside.

The cold night air greeted her immediately.

As she walked away, she glanced back one last time.

The woman was standing in the doorway.

Watching.

Her expression unreadable.

The beam from the store illuminated only half of her face.

She turned away and continued walking.

Yet the uneasy feeling refused to leave her.

The muddy slippers.

Riku’s words.

The cough.

The forced explanations.

None of it made sense.

And as the darkness swallowed the road ahead, a troubling thought settled into her mind.

The woman had lied.

About something.

She just didn’t know what.

Far behind her the grocery shop remained lit like a lone beacon in the darkness.

Avrila tightened her grip on the flashlight and continued walking.

The road ahead was empty.

Silent.

Endless.

And no matter how hard she tried to ignore it, she couldn’t shake the feeling that unseen eyes were following her from somewhere within the night.

The darkness seemed deeper now.

Heavier.

Almost alive.

Avrila fought back a shiver and quickened her pace.

She needed to find a way home.

Unaware of what the night still had in store,

Beyond the veil of darkness, fate was quietly at work.

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