The Shortcut

It was night and it was raining so hard that I felt the wipers on my car were pointless. I could barely see the road. All I could see were lights passing me by, and I strained my eyes to see forward. The frequent thunder only made it worse.

Right next to me was Dinu. He was in the passenger seat. We were on our way back to our hotel after a client meeting. He was checking Google Maps to see whether we could take an alternate route.

He said, “I think it's better we take some shortcut. Here, I see one. It doesn’t look like a main road, but it should save us a lot of time, especially with all this traffic.” I agreed with him.

As per the map, I took the turn. It was already pitch dark. I could see that this was a way through the forest.

As I slowed down the car, we saw that the road changed from a paved road to an unpaved path. We could feel it in the sound of tyres pressing against stones and the earth beneath, and the uneven movement of the car. I slowed down a bit since I did not want to skid in the middle of the road.

It was so dark that I could not see the huge trees on either side of the road. I could only see their outlines.

Imagine how it would be if the only bright light was ahead of you, and surrounding you was pure darkness. It was like holding a torch and being alone at night, trying to get back home.

With that thought, as I looked straight and rolled the car, I said, “You know, thank God you're with me. I have no idea how I could have gone back alone in this darkness and rain.”

I did not hear any response.

There was only the sound of the car.

As my eyebrows wrinkled, wondering what Dinu was doing, I turned to the passenger seat.

I saw that there was nobody there.

I noticed that the seat belt was slowly rolling back into its holder.

At that moment, that instant, I felt a chill across my body. I felt my heart racing. I wanted to scream, but I held the steering wheel tight.

I looked at the passenger seat again.

There was nobody there.

I was all alone in the car.

With one hand on the steering wheel, I held my head, thinking, “What just happened? Was I dreaming? Am I dreaming right now? I just don't understand.”

And I told myself that I'm inside my car and I'm safe.

I stopped the car, put on the handbrake, and looked around.

What was going on? What happened? This didn't make any sense.

It was then that I realized there was no rain anymore, no thunder. It was pure silence, and this silence was deafening me.

I yearned for the sound of crickets or at least the howl of the wind.

The silence was far scarier.

The lights of my car dimmed, and I saw three roads in front of me. I had stopped exactly at a junction.

Did I willfully stop the car, or was I brought here?

I struggled to answer that question.

As I searched for my phone to call someone, anyone, in the blink of an eye, I saw three apparitions.

The first was a woman who stood at the start of the first path.

She was in her 80s or so. She had long gray hair. Her skin was drooping. Her ears were hanging by the weight of her long thick earrings. She had a blank unsettling smile. She wore a simple cloth draped in such a manner that it was obvious she was not from around here. At least not from this era.

She stood barefoot, and in her hand was a brass cup.

I couldn't see what was in that cup.

I understood that it was for me to drink.

On the second path stood an old man. He didn't look happy. He looked furious. He did not wear a shirt, and what he wore was dirty. He didn't seem like he was from this era either. He too had something in his hand. A plate. On it was a roti, and that was for me to eat.

His eyes made me look away from him.

The third was not a human. It was an animal. It was a dog. A black dog.

I could only see its eyes.

It was thin but tall. Its eyes were fixated at me. He had no object with him. I felt he wanted me to follow him. I felt he would guide me.

My hands trembled at the sight of these apparitions. I felt a huge weight pulling down on my chest, like my time was running out to make a choice, or a choice would be made for me.

As I stepped out of the car, I clenched my fists and walked forward.

If there was one thing I learned from life, it was to believe in my own instincts.

I felt the dog would not hurt me. He appeared to save me from a danger so extreme that I would be enslaved by time itself to relive my worst nightmares forever.

With uneasy breaths, I walked towards the dog.

Since I had made my choice, I looked towards the left to see the old woman and man, to see how they would react to it.

Both of them stared at me. I saw them slowly fade away. They turned into smoke that I could barely see.

The dog started walking on its path, and I had to follow him as well.

Behind me, my car's light was becoming even dimmer.

Time was indeed running out.

What would happen to me? What would happen to me if I stayed in this place, this place lost in time? Would I be sucked into a black hole? I didn't know.

I didn't want to stay to find out.

I followed the dog hurriedly. I didn't think to watch.

As I followed him quickly, the lights around me slowly faded into darkness.

I could only hear the sound of my breath.

***

The next second, I heard the sound of rain, thunder, and traffic.

Dinu said, “I think it's better we take some shortcut. Here, I see one. It doesn’t look like a main road, but it should save us a lot of time, especially with all this traffic.”

I said, “I think I just had déjà vu.”

Dinu said, “Good to know that, but you need to take a decision, or you will miss the shortcut.”

I said, “Nope, no shortcut this time.”