I live in a small village in the mountains.
I have to pass through the forest everyday, to and from the village.

 

As usual, today also, I was walking by the forest.
But something unusual happened.

 

I heard a sound.

 

Not the birds singing.
Not the winds howling.

 

It was as though...

 

I ignored it.
I continued on my path.
I had to reach home.
I was very much hungry after the days work in the fields.

 

I heard it again.
"May be it isn't just my imagination," I thought.

 

I heard it once more. 

 

Continuously ringing.

 

The sound of a tiny bell.

 

I didn't think cats would come this far from the village.

 

I followed it.

 

Leaving the trodden path, I head deeper into the forest.

 

I could feel the sound getting farther and farther away.

 

Before I knew it, it was starting to get dark.
I had lost track of time.
I thought of returning back.
I turned around.
But alas, 
I was lost.

 

I realized, the sound too had stopped. 

 

I put my hands into my pocket.
I look up at the sky.
It was cloudy. 
May be it would rain tonight.
I pulled out my smartphone as I had that thought.

 

I opened up a compass app.
"All hail the modern world!" I cheered.

 

I followed the arrow showing south.
I found the trodden path.
I reached home to a delicious meal by my mother.

 

I wonder.
"What could have been making that sound?
Did it know I was following it?"

 

I guess, I will never know.