The place seemed a bit too offbeat. It was completely deserted but very beautiful. Lucas had no idea what awaited him.

Lucas loved to travel. He especially liked unknown, small places. One day, while on a train, he spotted a small station. He liked the look of the place from the train itself, so he got off at the station. He asked a local if there was a hotel nearby and eventually found a small hotel. It was a modest two-story building, and Lucas liked it. He met the hotel manager.

Lucas told the manager that his name was Lucas and that he was a solo traveler. He liked the place a lot and wanted to stay for a few days. The hotel manager agreed. After a long journey, Lucas was very hungry. The food at the hotel was quite good. After eating, he lay down to rest and soon fell into a deep sleep.

When he woke up, it was already light outside. In the golden light of the setting sun, he saw the outside of the veranda. He walked towards the veranda. From the moment he arrived, he noticed that the area outside the veranda was surrounded by dense forest. He liked it very much. Bathed in the golden light of the setting evening, he decided that he would spend quite a few days here, far away from the hustle and bustle of Kolkata.

As evening gradually descended, a pleasant breeze blew from the direction of the forest. Maybe there was a river nearby. He felt even better. But a bit later in the night, he noticed that his body was feeling quite weak. He couldn’t figure out why. He convinced himself that it was because of the long journey. But he couldn’t fully understand the reason.

After dinner, he lay down to sleep. Due to the fatigue, he slept deeply. When he woke up, he saw that it was 11 PM.

He looked outside. Dense forest all around. He felt an inexplicable pull from the forest. He went downstairs and saw that the hotel door was open. It felt a bit strange to him. Nevertheless, he stepped out and walked towards the forest. The moonlight made the trees look even more mysterious. The cool breeze refreshed his mind, but an unknown mystery seemed to envelop him. Suddenly, he felt like someone was talking inside the forest. Goosebumps rose on his skin.

The next morning when he woke up, the good feeling was gone. Despite the beautiful scenery, he couldn’t enjoy it. He felt very unwell. Looking at himself in the mirror, he felt very sick. But he couldn’t understand the exact reason.

He didn’t go outside all day. But in the evening, he felt that he had to uncover the mystery of the voices he heard from the forest. As night fell, after dinner, he stepped outside the hotel. Then slowly, he started entering the forest. Just like the previous night, he heard voices again. The deeper he went, the louder the voices became. But after going a bit further, he realized that what he thought were people talking in the forest were actually cries of agony. He became very scared. For a moment, he thought of returning to the hotel. But thinking that if someone was really in trouble, he moved further into the forest.

But he didn’t have to go far. After a while, what he saw froze his blood.

In the middle of the forest, he saw several trees. The shapes of the trees resembled humans. And they seemed to be continuously crying out in agony.

He was astonished. Were these not trees, but humans who had turned into trees? He was very scared. He tried to run back, but he couldn’t move an inch. It felt like his feet were stuck to the ground. He felt his body slowly stiffening. Looking at his hands and feet, it seemed like he was turning into a tree. The other trees were no longer crying. They were all looking at him and laughing. He realized he was trapped. Gradually, his vision faded into darkness.

Many days passed after that. Lucas stood there, turned into a tree. Morning, noon, evening, night, time passed, and Lucas stood there in one place.

One morning, after many days, he heard human voices. His heart filled with an unknown hope. Could there be a chance of rescue? His heart felt happier when he realized it was the hotel manager. The other trees were silent. Lucas tried desperately to scream, but no sound came out. He realized that they had no power during the day. Anyway, he tried his best to move and signal to the hotel manager. But he was unsuccessful. After a while, he gave up.

The hotel manager noticed something and started to walk away. Lucas made one last desperate attempt to scream. The manager turned back. Lucas saw the manager approaching him.

But to his astonishment, the hotel manager took out a white chalk from his pocket and wrote something on his body before quickly leaving. Lucas noticed the manager had written on his body, “LUCAS – the solo traveler.”