The summer vacation had just begun. Ned, Eric, Lola and Rita were busy making huge plans for the vacation. The children not only went to the same school but also lived in the same neighbourhood. Rita was so organised that she even went to the extent of preparing an elaborate timetable for what they were supposed to do each day. So, according to the timetable, the children were supposed to visit a bird sanctuary the coming Saturday. “I will pack sandwiches for everybody,” volunteered Lola. “Great, I will request mother to bake us a chocolate pie,” said Ned. “Hurrah!” chorused the children and waited for Saturday. On Saturday, the children woke up at sharp six and set off for the sanctuary. The children roamed about the place admiring the birds and studying their habits. Eric even took down notes. Soon, they got tired and sat down to have their lunch.
A Lazy Afternoon
Lola opened her basket of goodies and started passing around the sandwiches. “Thank you, Lola,” said the children, gratefully. After having their fill of sandwiches, Ned brought out the chocolate pie his mother had baked and cut out huge slices for everyone. It was delicious. “I am so glad we planned this trip,” said Eric, “It’s a fun way of learning about birds.” After polishing off the pie, the children got out their ball and started kicking it around. When they tired of the ball, Rita produced the board games she had thoughtfully packed. A pleasant breeze was blowing in the park and the grass on which they sat smelt really nice. Tired and drowsy, they rested their heads on the grass and started talking. Soon, the boys and the girls nodded off to sleep one by one. It was quite some time before they woke up and found that it was late evening.
The Stench
It was already dark and the children hurried home. The children stumbled onto a footpath and hastened their steps hoping they would reach the gate soon. Suddenly, a whiff of cool breeze blew into their faces at the same time bringing with it an overpowering smell of rotten flesh. So, they looked around to see what was producing the horrible smell. The children scrambled towards the direction of the foul odour and came to a halt near a tree. The smell was definitely coming from the tree. Rita inched closer to the tree and started looking at its branches. “Gosh,” she cried out in terror. “What happened?” asked the others. “Look closely,” she said, there, on the tree, hanging by a branch was the carcass of an animal. They had no idea which animal it was. Suddenly, they heard the sound of dry leaves and twigs crunching. “I think we should go,” said Ned, and the children hurried along.
The Vanishing Act
As they ran along, the children could hear the crunching sounds behind them. It was as if someone was running on dry leaves. The sound seemed to be getting closer and closer. The children kept increasing their pace. Just then, they ran into a man who was sweeping the ground. Relieved, the children thought of asking him for help. However, just as they got close to the man he disappeared without a trace. Terrified, the children scooted off again as fast as they could. The sound of the footsteps on the leaves just kept following them. Finally, the children reached the main road and looked for some buses or cars. There was not a vehicle or soul on the road. By now it was pitch dark. Thankfully, the crunching sound had stopped, so the children trudged along the road. Finally, a car came along and gave them a lift home. Once home, the children never spoke or went to the eerie sanctuary again.
