Dark
Md Mahiuddin
Question Marks in the Dark
by Md Mahiuddin
Copyright © 2025 by Md Mahiuddin All Rights Reserved
First Digital Publication April 2025
Cover Design by Finnialla Wright Published by PULP Literary Magazine pulplitmag.com
Hidden by green vines is the entrance of a mysterious cave.
It is well bright outside but inside it is dark, so unrealistic that it feels like a portal to the dark world. A young daring adventurer is closely observing the entrance, he opens his bag takes out a candle and a lighter turns the lighter on and shows it to the candle a flame comes into existence. He gulped his fear down and began entering the cave as he brought the flame closer to the entrance a luminous entry appeared in darkness he slowly went in and was soon completely gone, engulfed by the darkness.
As he continued to move in he found out the only sounds in the cave were his shoes tapping rough craters on the cave floor. he lifted his candle towards the ceiling large pointy reddish structures ready to fall and pierce through his skull. The candle gave some visibility but about only an arm ' s length beyond that only darkness lies. He felt as if he was swimming in an ocean of darkness with his candle being his lifebuoy that he must hold tightly for his dear life. But still, he continued.
As he went deeper into the cave he began shivering more he brought his candle close to his body and hands on his chest his legs stuck together, ankles barely apart allowing small movements only. He then felt winds blowing from darkness first a freezing touch on his cheeks then cooling in into a tight cold embrace, the winds were beginning to blow wild he stopped “Maybe an exit is close by?” he thought and again continued moving.
Blood in his veins began staggering he couldn't feel his hands and his feet had frozen and began anchoring his movements his candle would soon be diminished into nothing but he kept on going, and suddenly he saw a pinhole of light like a minute source of sunlight in a dark room.
Adrenaline rushed into his veins blood began to flow life came from lifeless legs and like a drowning survivor swimming to the rescue boat’s searching lights, he too flapped his limbs to reach to the light he ran and ran the small opening in the dark got bigger and bigger until it became an exit. When he stepped outside he was warmly welcomed by a freezing blizzard.
“How could this be possible?!” he exclaimed as he looked around to observe a greyish whether hiding the sun, he could see nearby large snow-covered pine trees and large icy mountains even further.
Frost began freezing on his face his heart beating erratically death froze in close, he must go back but he didn't even have candles left. His numb mind couldn't think of a way to survive but suddenly he realized an awful smell of hot rotting meat he turned to his left and saw a blue eye creature, his both legs on a carcase, winds blowing his scarlet feathers and his head moving abruptly in amusement on caughting his sight, seeing him man got thunderstruck what it will do to him?
He knew one thing, he must run he drifted his eyes to the cave, its dark waves ready to engulf him he took a peak at the right, tall trees with tiny dark interstices in between waiting. The man swung his body towards the pine trees and began running, noticing his movement the thing turned and chased him in. The man got into the forest, zipzapped from one tree to another, and leapt on rocks, jumped off fallen logs, cold closing on his life but he kept on running, the creature kept on chasing its scarlet feathers flying all over the place trailing the white snow as he chased. The man reached into a forest clearing while running he looked back, the creature had stopped at a distance man felt a bit relieved, but while running looking backwards he bumped into something and fell on his back.
He had to stretch his neck to its limit to see the face of the standing creature, a giant black creature, with thin long legs and extra long humanish hands all coated in thick fur a giant long stickman figure, he stretched his hand towards the man, grabbed his jacket collar with his tiny fingers and dragged him towards his face, the man looked down he felt as if hanging from a tree, the creature stared his face in amusement the man stared him too, its large red eyes, many dark scars on his white face, his large curvy moustache and all of his fine features. The man identified his face. The creature identified him too. The man knows what he is looking at but what to make out of it?
“Why do you look like me?!” exclaimed the man in disbelief the truly horrifying being began to speak, “I wanna know too, but is there a way to know?”
The man ' s heart began to pump wildly he began shaking out of fear but the creature calmly continued, “Can we know everything?” he paused “ To exist, does everything have to have a meaning?” he touched his cold cheeks and wiped frost from his face and continued “ And even if it’s true, how many of them can we understand?” he looked up into the sky dark blood coloured aroura glowing in the sky its light illuminating the whole of the forest.
It began moving and shifting and creating patterns spirals, lines, and waves and then it formed the man ' s face, dark red curvy moustache with light faded red scars, big red eyes and a big smile, the creature showed its blood-stained teeth as he smiled and looked on the man, his eyes closed and his lips open showing his white teeth, the creature shook him but he gave no response he then sniffed him and declared “dead”.
He lowered his hand and slowly dropped him and continued to gaze the aroura in the sky for some time when he had enough turning his back on the man he said “I too want answers but where are they? What if the answers themselves are just new questions? Then we should hold onto these question marks because simple questions are always better than complex explanations.”
He began walking away and vanished into thin air.
Mahiuddin is an 18-year-old Indian-born boy. He writes as a fun hobby. He is currently in the last year of his school and likes to try new things.