The Forgotten Town

I wandered through the dense forest, the thick canopy of leaves blotting out the sun and casting eerie shadows on the ground. With each step I took, I felt more lost—not just in the woods, but in my life itself. Disillusioned and weary, I had sought relief in nature, hoping to escape the burdens of reality. But as the trees closed in around me, I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was simply running away.

Just as despair began to creep in, I stumbled into a clearing. In front of me lay an unfamiliar town, vibrant and alive, seemingly untouched by the darkness of the world beyond its borders. The streets were lined with colorful cottages, blooming gardens, and cheerful banners fluttering in the gentle breeze. Laughter and music spilled from open windows in the town, and the captivating aroma of freshly baked bread wafted through the air, promising comfort and warmth. For a moment, I felt a flicker of hope. Perhaps this was the fresh start I was desperate for.

As a traveler who had grown weary of exploring the same well-trodden paths, I was captivated by this town, particularly because it wasn’t marked on any map I had ever seen. It felt like a hidden gem, a place that had evaded the modern world and its relentless pace. With no hesitation,  I wandered the charming streets, enchanted by the friendly faces of the townsfolk. They greeted me with genuine smiles, inviting me into their homes and sharing stories filled with laughter and joy. It was a dream come true—or so it seemed.

On my first day, I made a friend, a lively young man who showed him the quirks of the town. 

“You’ll love it here!” he had said with enthusiasm. “We’re all about living in the moment. No one needs to leave when everything you want is right here!”

However, as days passed, I began to notice something was off. Conversations often halted when he approached, and laughter could quickly turn to silence. One morning, I woke to find my friend I made in the village missing. I panicked and desperately asked around for help, but the townsfolk shrugged it off as if it were meaningless. 

“People come and go,” an elderly woman said dismissively. “It’s just the way things go here.”

Determined to find my friend, I sought out another villager, a girl I met on my second day in the town. She had a knowing look in her eyes, and when I explained my situation, she nodded somberly. 

“You’re not the first to notice,” she whispered. “My cousin disappeared a while ago, and no one seemed to care. It’s like people forget.”

That night, drawn by an unexplainable urge, my friend and I roamed the quiet streets. 

“Let’s see if we can find out what’s going on,” I suggested, my voice filled with determination. She agreed, her eyes shining with a mix of fear and curiosity.

As we wandered, we stumbled upon the town’s church. Inside, we saw a group of men in long black coats, their voices low and conspiratorial. 

“They can’t keep living this way,” one man declared, his voice trembling with a mix of anger and despair. His fists clenched at his sides, the weight of unspoken frustrations evident in the tightness of his jaw. “If they find out the truth, they might try to leave.”

“We must keep the portal closed at all times no matter what. These are our people, we provided them with space and hope where they escaped from their boring lives, and yet they can’t just leave us without giving us something in return,” said the other man.

“Let’s start planning for a better future for these people in this village and keep them here forever!” Exclaimed the man.

The girl and I exchanged glances, their hearts racing with the unsettling realization that something was indeed very wrong. We overheard snippets of conversation about how the village was a refuge for those tired of their monotonous lives—a place where they could escape reality but at a cost.

“So that means, people don’t leave. Those who try… they just vanish,” She whispered, her face pale with understanding.

“Wait! That means your cousin and the boy I met earlier had already found out about this before we did, and they vanished because they got caught midway they were escaping,” I exclaimed in fear. 

Fueled by this revelation, we hurried back to the girl’s cottage and planned all night for a plan to escape this village that was surrounded by a portal. However, on their way home, a sudden strike of curiosity boomed in my mind. 

“Hey, how did you get to Eldridge? I only got here because I was bored of exploring things that are already explored, but how about you?” I questioned with curiosity. 

“Oh well, my cousin and I were tired of living the same life every day so when we were on a walk one day, we came across Eldridge, then captivated by its beauty and lifestyle, so we stayed, leaving the world we were living in behind us.” 

After a moment of conversation between the two, they began brainstorming a plan to escape their controlling surroundings.

“We need to find the boundary of the town,” I suggested. “If there’s no way out in front of us, we’ll have to find it ourselves.” 

She nodded, her resolve strengthening. “We can do this. We’ll stick together.”

“If the friend I made on the first day disappeared during the night I arrived, that means the men ruling this place are guarding the portal at night time, meaning that we can’t leave during that period.” 

“And if my cousin disappeared during the early morning a few weeks ago, it means they are still guarding the portal at dawn,” the girl said, her brow furrowing with concern as she glanced anxiously toward the horizon.

The girl and I exchanged a sudden glance, realizing that the only time we could leave this forgotten town was in the afternoon when the rulers were off guard.

We set out during midday, determined to uncover the truth. As we slowly crept out to reach the town’s outskirts, the vibrant colors of the houses began to fade into dull grays, and the laughter they had once heard morphed into echoes of despair as we turned their heads.

With each step, the illusion of the town began to wane, revealing the cracks in its facade. Finally, they reached the boundary where the cheerful streets ended abruptly, replaced by a dense fog that obscured everything beyond.

“Just a little further,” I urged, with my heart pounding.

With one last push, we broke through the fog, leaving Eldridge—and its illusions—behind. As we stepped into the light of a new dawn, I felt a weight lift from their shoulders, the burden of denial finally released. 

At that moment, they understood the true meaning of freedom, and they vowed never to forget the lessons learned in the forgotten town.