The path appeared out of nowhere. Megha stopped in her tracks. Where had this trail come from? Every morning she jogged along this same road, yet she had never seen this new path before.
Had it sprouted overnight? Even more curious was the lantern flickering at the trail’s entrance. Who had put it there? It felt intentional—an invitation to stroll into the unknown, leading perhaps to a different world entirely.
Her curiosity pulled her forward, even as hesitation held her back. What was hiding in the shadows? Was there a way out? What if she got tangled in something she couldn’t escape? A million questions raced through her head.
Enough, she told herself. She decided to take the detour. What was better than exploration to satisfy curiosity? She was done turning thoughts over and over in her mind; overthinking was the problem.
I can turn back whenever I want, she thought determinedly.
The lantern’s dim light flickered, matching her mix of skepticism and excitement. She stepped onto the path. The trail was inviting, yet eerie. She took a few more steps until a low humming sound enveloped her, pulling her in. Her curiosity knew no bounds, and she hurried deeper into the woods.
Suddenly, a loud boom echoed, startling her.
Megha gasped, beads of sweat trickling down her forehead. She opened her eyes, pushing the blanket away. Just a dream.
But as her heart rate slowed, the “boom” still echoed in her ears. The woods had disappeared, yet the invitation remained. She looked at her laptop, glowing like that flickering lantern in the dark. She hit ‘Send’ before her hesitation could catch up.
No more overthinking.
This piece is written in response to the two hundredth and eighty fourth edition of Fiction Monday inspired by the word prompt – NEW hosted by yours truly. Do join in if you have a tale to tell.
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Void Thoughts 
I was expecting a fantastical experience as the lantern flickered calling Megha on that path. The ending lines, though, threw me off the chair laughing.
Oh! It was just a dream! What all can happen in a dream!
I am thinking if I press the ‘send’ button on all the posts sitting in my drafts, I will surely have to look for a a similar magical path to vanish from this illusionary word.
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So glad she hit that ‘send’ button. Let’s do more of that this year – sign up for things that we’re afraid of even starting!
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Wow! Just what I needed to read today, Vinitha! It is so essential to push away that fear that cripples us all the time, not just in blogging I feel, but also for the multitudes of things that we do in life where we are not sure of ourselves.
The eerie suspense and the anticipation alongside the fear and the hesitation was brought out so beautifully in the story. Fab take on the prompt, Vinitha!! Well done!
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I’m glad you didn’t overthink this one and hit publish, Vinitha :-). Seriously, it is the most debilitating thing.
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Overthinking sucks the fun out of every such moment that could turn into an exciting adventure, isn’t it?
I loved how you have created the suspence, Vinitha!
I am visiting your blog after so long, but now that we have this WA group, I am sure there will be a regularity to our writing and blog hopping.
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That was wonderful. The scene you created was eerie and I also thought of the new trail that came up. The part about hitting send and overthinking reminded me of the days I use to hesitate to publish after I wrote a post. Well done on the prompt, Vinitha!
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