He wakes up with no memory or identity but sees a file on his desk with the information of a mysterious case. Based on a true story…….
Blake Marlowe, a detective living at 22 Narusawa Grove, 日本 (Japan), woke up at 7 in the morning but couldn’t remember his past; he even forgot his name! After putting a lot of effort into remembering something, he couldn’t recall anything. Then he analyzed his room and noticed a black file lying on his desk. He went up to it and found a note that read: The Lost Case. He opened the file and read the report, which was about the place 青木ヶ原の森、富士山 日本 (Aokigahara Forest, Mount Fuji, Japan), also called The Suicide Forest because of the high number of suicides attempted there. The report said that in ancient times, the people living there practiced 姥捨て (subacute) during times of famine, which meant leaving elderly relatives in distant places to die; this may have left the place linked with death and sorrow. The forest is extremely dense, with many old trees and an eerie silence, as the lava rock beneath absorbs the sound. Even compasses and GPS devices can behave strangely due to the magnetic rocks created by past volcanic eruptions on 富士山 (Mount Fuji).
After reading the report, Blake was left curious and speechless. While he was deeply immersed in his thoughts, he suddenly noticed a piece of a packet sticking out of the file. He turned to it and saw that there was evidence included as well, which contained suicide notes written by humans and pictures of skeletal remains. Blake’s curiosity reached its limit, which made him decide to investigate the forest. But he also needed a team, so he called up some people—even though he didn’t remember them, as he had no memory. As soon as Blake heard the doorbell, he went to the door and opened it. He saw two unknown people, but they knew who he was and asked him, “Hi! Are you well? Yesterday, you felt very drowsy in the office and went home early.”
He replied, “Hello! Can you introduce yourselves?”
They were both very shocked and said, “What has happened to you?”
He said, “Nothing has happened to me. I’m fine, but may I know your names?”
They looked at each other, surprised, but quickly composed themselves. Victor said, “I’m Victor, and this is Rhea.” Blake took the file from the desk and said, “This file has the report and evidence of the 青木ヶ原の森 (Aokigahara Forest).” He told them what he had read and said, “I want to investigate it, and I’ll need your help.”
Rhea said, “We are always here to help you.” Victor nodded and added, “A few years ago, we got a case about 青木ヶ原の森 (Aokigahara Forest) and did some research. We found out that people have been disappearing there under strange circumstances for decades. We even lost two of our members there.”
As Blake was thinking about the two lost members, Victor was going through the evidence when suddenly a paper fell out from the back of the file. It was old, stained, and torn at the edges. Blake picked it up. The handwriting was faded, but the message was clear: If you're reading this, it's already too late. The forest remembers you.
A chill ran down his spine. Suddenly, he had a flashback of a kid who looked somewhat like him and a woman playing with him in a forest that resembled 青木ヶ原の森 (Aokigahara Forest). He tried to see the woman’s face, but it wasn’t clear. He snapped back to reality and saw Victor and Rhea trying to wake him up. When they saw he was conscious, they let out a sigh of relief.
They asked him, “What happened to you?” They were beginning to think he was possessed.
He said, “I saw a flashback of a kid and a woman playing in 青木ヶ原の森 (Aokigahara Forest), and some of the kid’s features matched mine.”
Victor and Rhea went deep in thought, and Rhea said, “If you think the kid is you, then the woman must have been your mother.”
Victor agreed. Blake turned the paper over, hoping for more clues, but the back was blank. Victor took the paper from Blake and held it up to the light.
“This doesn’t feel like ordinary paper,” he said. “Look at the texture—it’s almost like bark.”
Rhea said, “Yes, he’s right. And the message: The forest remembers you sounds like a connection. The forest knows who you are.”
Blake stared at the message again. His mind sensed the truth, but his heart didn’t want to believe it.
He said, “I think the forest wants to tell me something, and the only way to get answers is to go back.”
Victor looked at him, puzzled. “You’re not suggesting going back to 青木ヶ原の森 (Aokigahara Forest), are you?”
Blake said anxiously, “Yes. Whatever happened to me or my mother, it all started there—and it’s not over.”
Rhea said, “But it’s too dangerous, and you don’t even know the directions. What if you get lost?”
Blake said, “I don’t know. But there’s one truth I have to tell you both: this morning, I forgot everything—even my name. I only learned all of this today, and I found this file on my desk with all the information.”
Both were speechless and astonished. “You never told us something so important! But why?”
He said, “At first, you both were strangers to me. How could I trust you?”
Rhea said, “We’ll forgive you on one condition—if you let us come with you. It’s too dangerous to go alone. Do you agree?”
Blake said, “Okay. But we have to name our group first.”
Rhea suggested, “Team 幽霊 (Yūrei)? It means ‘spirits’ in Japanese folklore.”
He said, “It’s good, but it sounds like the spirits are the team. No. Should we call it The Black Grove Unit? It suggests the dense woods of 青木ヶ原の森 (Aokigahara Forest). Victor said, “Yes, that’s good and thriller as well” and Rhea agreed as well.
All three friends were packing their bags to head to the 青木ヶ原の森 (Aokigahara Forest), and then they left. The air was filled with silence as they stepped into the shadow of the towering trees. Blake glanced around anxiously; the strange message found in the file was still lingering in his head. Victor checked his compass, but just as Blake had told, it spun wildly without settling on one place. Rhea was holding the flashlight tightly, its light was slicing through the darkness showing the branches of the trespassing trees; then she warned, “We need to stick together because being alone here… it’s like the forest waits for it.” Every step deeper into the forest felt denser as if the trees were closing around them. The bark of the trees had strange markings carved into it as if done by someone or something and then left. Suddenly, Blake stopped and said, “Wait, he whispered, pointing at something half-buried under the leaves it was a scarf muddy and vintage, like it had been dropped several years ago. He said, “This could be the scarf of my mother” but Victor said, “Many people came here and must have also camped so maybe someone must have left it here” Blake suddenly heard the laughter of the woman and the kid he had seen in his flashback and asked both Rhea and Victor, “Did you hear the laughter of the woman and the kid?” They both said, “No, why?” Blake said surprisedly, “You didn’t? It was so loud!! Rhea said, “It could be because you are thinking over your flashback too much and your ears are ringing because of it.” Blake said, “I think you are right, maybe my ears are ringing, anyway did you guys see anything while we were coming on the way?”
Both of them said, “No” Blake said, “ Let’s keep going then” Then after walking about a mile Rhea stopped both of them and said, “ See this is the same carving we saw on the barks of the trees but this one is on a wall of stone.” but as soon as they were about to touch it they all heard the laughter again and it was coming closer and growing louder as well and suddenly they all felt dizzy except Blake and both Victor and Rhea fell to the ground and Blake started to panicking but he couldn't do anything. Unexpectedly, he started to hear footsteps as he sat down on the ground beside Victor and Rhea they were coming closer and stopped when they were just behind Blake and as he turned back slowly he also felt dizzy but before falling to the ground he saw the person who was behind him and it was again the woman from his flashback she was a tall and beautiful woman with deep and piercing eyes that seemed to hold forgotten secrets. After some time, Rhea and Victor got conscious but Blake was still lying on the ground Victor asked Rhea, “What had happened?” Rhea said, “I don’t remember, we all woke up but why didn’t Blake wake up? Meanwhile, Blake was again seeing a flashback of his childhood but now everything was clear he could see everyone’s face. He was five years old and lived with his mother and father in a small cottage near the 青木ヶ原の森 (Aokigahara Forest). One sunny afternoon, his mother took his hand and said with a smile, “Let’s go in the forest and play just for a while” They laughed and played amongst the trees chasing butterflies and imagining clouds as objects. But then, they both were so busy playing that they didn’t keep a watch on the time; the shadows grew longer it had started to get darker and Blake’s mother left his hand and as soon as he turned around, she was gone. He called out for her again and again but his tiny voice only echoed through the trees, but there was no answer. Only silence. Days later a research team found Blake wandering alone, silent, and shivering deep inside the forest. He didn’t know how he survived; he only knew that they couldn't find his mother. When he woke up, he saw that Victor and Rhea were worried and were talking about how to get him awake. As soon as they saw that Blake was awake Rhea questioned him, “Blake did you see another flashback? You looked like you weren’t here at all. Victor also concerned asked him, “What did you remember now?” Blake took a shaky breath and told them what he had seen. Victor and Rhea exchanged a troubled glance. Victor asked gently, “Do you remember anything else? Something she said or where she went? Blake closed his eyes to focus on the image he said, “There was a big tree…. It was very old so its roots were coming out twisted and as I turned around, she was gone. Rhea said, “If your mother disappeared here, maybe she’s still trying to tell you something.” A sudden rustle of the leaves made them all freeze. Victor warned, “We are not alone”. The rustling grew louder and all of them stood up, Blake stepped in front of Rhea and Victor, his eyes scanning the woods.
From behind the thick trunk of an old tree, a shape slowly emerged it wasn’t human fully but its form was faint, almost like mist but the figure resembled a woman…her face blurred, but familiar. Blake slowly whispered, “M-Mother?” The figure didn’t respond, instead, it pointed deeper into the forest towards a path none of them had noticed before. Rhea whispered, “Should we follow it?” Blake’s voice was steady and said, “We’ve come this far if the forest holds the truth…I need to face it.” He started to follow the figure and Rhea and Victor stayed close behind the path that led to a small overgrown clearing. In the center was a broken locket, half buried in the dirt. Blake picked it up and inside was a photo of him and his mother. His eyes filled with tears, she was real and was here. Just then the forest fell eerily silent and the figure appeared one last time at the edge of the clearing, smiling, and then vanished into thin air. Blake whispered, “Goodbye, Mom.” Victor placed a hand on his shoulder and said, “Let’s go home”. And without looking back, the three walked out of the forest, finally with answers.
Written By: - Dhruvika Parida
Class: VIII~E
School name: G. D. Goenka Public School, Vasant Kunj, New Delhi.