Brushing her cloak, she got up. A tried groan escaped her lips, as she stretched her skinny legs. Tiny blades of grass clung to her cloak, as she started walking.

The ground was uneven. She stumbled a quite few times. The night was cold and slight fog covered the skies like a blanket. After a good ten minutes walk, she finally reached the road. Glancing around, she tried to focus. A yawn escaped her lips as she searched for the signs her friend Nitara could have left behind. Nitara, just like her, had sneaked off. But unlike her, she knew where the fair was exactly. So they made a deal. Nitara would leave small trails that would tell her the location.

Occasionally a car or a motorcycle crossed her, but otherwise the road was deserted. Walking slowly, she tightened the cloak around her, shivering slightly.

The silence was eerily haunting, as the trees which dotted the road whispered the stories of people who crossed this same road.

She traveled through the same road, but just during the day. The road even though completely different at night; more scarier and darker, reminded her of why her parents won't allow her to go the night fair. She had been nothing but a perfect daughter, yet they wouldn't feel allow her to do one thing she desired the most since she was six. Visit The Night Fair. She could still remember their reactions when she broke them the news.

"It's dangerous," her mother shrieked.

"Are you insane? Or wait do you want to go insane?" her brother yelled.

"We. Are. Not. Going. There." her father shouted.

She closed her ears, feeling as if she was there. Everyone thought she had gone crazy when she announced that she was going to visit The Night Fair.

Her ten-year-old self knew that elders were more experienced and smarter. Her fifteen-year-old knew that adults even though experienced, sometimes they forgot what it is to live. Breathe. Feel. Take risk.

Inhaling the musty smell of road, she continued walking. Her legs not accustomed to such long distances screamed. She slowed down but continued walking. Seeing a pattern made from leaves lying, she smiled. Her first clue. She saw the leaf pointing in north direction. Immediately she took the turn in north.

A thrill passed through her spine, just thinking about it. Her fingertips itched, and she could barely contain her excitement.

Shrugging, she tried to quell her emotions down. She remembered the first time she heard about the night fair.

Her great grandmother Naanai, clutched the stick painfully. Even though she was sitting, she still held onto to it. She loudly coughed spitting saliva over the new cushions. Her saree was really faded yet had a traditional look to it. Usually, Avika would feel disgusted by saliva, but today the urge to know about The Night Fair was greater than getting covered by saliva.

She bounced on her feet, waiting for Naanai to begin. Her Nani said, her voice raspy and thin, "The Night Fair is one of the biggest fairs held in the world. But, but, no one knows how big it really is." Naanai eyes had a childlike excitement, as words danced on her tongue. Leaning towards her, she continued, her voice lower yet shriller, "The night fair goes on for 12 nights. Each day, the land is empty as if the fair, the rides, the food everything disappeared with the crack of the dawn. But every night, it comes back." She whispered spreading her hands, trying to increase the suspense effect. Her veins bulged, highlighting the wrinkles more than ever. The room was dark, and the dim lights just added the effect.

Clutching the chair hands, she shouted, "How do you know? You said no one who had visited it ever tells anything." Naanai leaned back. Sitting on the sofa more comfortably, she said, bringing her wrinkled fingers to dry lips and glancing sideways, "Shush. This is what I have heard people say." Seeing no one around, Naanai clutched her hands painfully, bringing her to eye level. Naanai eyes dug in hers, and she said, her voice a mere whisper, "If you ever visit the night fair, remember--"

Before she could drown in her childhood memories, she collided with something big, and fell down. The road was jagged, and the stones dug her skin even though she was wearing a thick cloak. Raising her head, she gasped realizing who it was.