Yamlok: The Realm Of The Dead

Chapter 1

'I think Ma and Pa are stressing themselves out,' the tiny boy spoke as he swept his dark brown hair across his forehead with his hands, 'Dada told me that he will be fine in a few days.'

He pursed his lips as he watched his parents pace in the dining room. They had sent him out for obvious reasons. It was annoying- the fact that they didn't want him around when they were discussing 'important' things. They shoved him off saying he was too young to understand- but he knew better.

His grandfather had always told him that he was too bright for his age.

No matter how hard he tried to be a part of those serious conversations, his mother's glare would win and he would find himself sitting outside the house.

The neighbourhood didn't have many kids if he didn't count the nasty bully and his little sister that lived next door.

He did not want to play with either of them.

He made sure his parents didn't know he was a lonely kid. He didn't want them to worry. Someone at school had told him that parents who know their children are lonely worry too much; and if they worry too much, they die sooner. That was the last thing the boy wanted. He had already assumed that his parents were ageing a lot faster than normal because of Dada's health.

So he made up an imaginary friend.

This 'imaginary' friend didn't have a name as the boy never had to call him. He was always there. This friend was a little older than him. He was as strong as the bully next door (maybe stronger) and a very pleasant person to talk to.

'And I believe Dada. He would never lie to me.' The boy paused to look at his imaginary friend, 'He does not lie.'

His friend nodded.

The boy was glad that his friend was taking the conversation seriously.

He tried not to think about the times when his Dada would cough continuously till he spat out blood or when he would sleep for hours together with a needle sticking into his flesh.

It used to scare the boy.

A scary word always caught his attention. Cancer.

Thinking about all of that, he spoke again, 'He will be fine. Am I right?'

The friend nodded again.

The boy opened his mouth but the words died in his throat.

Something caught the boy's attention- or rather someone.

A tall man in hideous clothes, like the ones that he had seen on TV shows with poor CGI effects, was walking toward them. The man wore a black dhoti with golden borders. He had a big moustache that curled around his cheeks.

The boy watched the man as he marched confidently toward the house. He found it strange that the man was not walking toward the door. Instead, he was steadily marching toward a wall.

The boy quickly realized that it was the wall that separated the outside world from his Dada's room.

The boy wanted to warn the man but his friend told him otherwise.

The man walked into the wall and simply vanished.

The boy was amazed.

This man is fantastic for he can walk through walls!

The boy decided he wanted to know how the man did it. The child's curious mind demanded the secret.

So despite his parents' orders, he went inside. He passed the dining room where his parents were shouting at each other.