ECHOES OF THE SINGING FLUTE: chapter 7

 Chapter Seven – Into the Forest

The next day at school, I could no longer keep the secret. The dream still burned inside me, and the whispers had not stopped echoing in my mind. At last, when we were alone under the cashew tree, I turned to Annie.

“Annie,” I whispered, clutching my bag tightly. “I need to tell you something… something strange.”

I pulled out the blue, golden-swirled book. Annie’s eyes widened.

“Where did you get this?”

“In the library,” I replied. “It’s called The Echoes of the Singing Flute. Annie… I read it, and when I played the notes inside, I heard voices. That night, I dreamed of the stream — glowing like silver — and the forest beyond it.”

Annie’s face paled. “Lyra, that sounds scary. Are you sure it was just a dream?”

I shook my head. “It felt too real. And the voices keep calling me to the stream.”

That afternoon, instead of going home, we walked together toward the stream on the edge of the village. The closer we got, the heavier our steps became. When we reached the water, it was exactly as I had seen in my dream — calm, silver-like, as if holding a secret.

Both of us hesitated. Annie clutched my arm.

“Maybe we shouldn’t be here. What if it’s dangerous?”

I swallowed hard. “I’m afraid too. But the book… it brought us here for a reason.”

Slowly, I opened the book to the page with the ancient melody — the Song of Light. The strange symbols shimmered faintly in the fading sunlight.

I raised my flute, my hands trembling. “Stay with me, Annie.”

My friend nodded nervously, though her eyes darted toward the forest.

I began to sing softly, whispering the melody as the flute carried the tune into the air. The sound was unlike anything we had ever heard — it seemed to ripple through the stream, making the water shimmer brighter.

Suddenly, the ground beneath our feet quivered, and a narrow path of glowing stones appeared across the water, leading straight into the forest.

Annie gasped. “Lyra… don’t go! Please don’t go!”

But my eyes were fixed on the glowing path. The whispers filled my ears louder than Annie’s pleas:

“Come closer… the secret waits within the trees.”

Almost as if in a trance, I stepped onto the stones. Annie tried to hold me back, but I pulled free and crossed the stream.

“Lyra! Stop!” Annie cried, her voice breaking.

But it was too late. The moment I entered the forest, the glowing path vanished, leaving Annie alone, trembling with fear.

Tears stung her eyes as she turned and ran as fast as she could back to the village. Bursting into my home, she shouted between sobs:

“Uncle! Aunty! Something terrible has happened… Lyra—she’s gone into the forest!”

My mother froze, her hands trembling. “The forest? No… not my daughter.”

My father grabbed a lantern, his jaw tight with fear. “Show me where.”

Soon, neighbors gathered, and a search party followed Annie back to the stream. But when they arrived, the water was still and ordinary, with no sign of glowing stones or me.

My mother fell to her knees, weeping. “Lyra! Where are you?”

The villagers exchanged uneasy glances. Everyone had heard stories of the forest, but none dared to enter. And so, while my parents cried out in despair, I was already walking deeper into the unknown, guided only by whispers only I could hear.