Three months later – The Human Realm
Blinking in the darkness, I strolled to the window and looked outside.
The moon was high, illuminating the yard with its silvery light.
But that wasn’t what caught my attention.
It was the woods. Something about them gave me the chills.
I felt them staring at me, dark and foreboding.
Whispering to me. Whispering of secrets. Of lost souls.
I’d been warned. Stay out of the woods, especially tonight.
A cold breeze swept through the room, pebbling my skin and making my shoulders twitch with unease.
I pushed the window closed, certain I had done so earlier.
Certain I had pulled the curtains. But now…
I frowned, watching as those trees swayed in the wind.
What was that?
Something had awoken me. A dream? A nightmare, perhaps? I’d been having more of them of late. Sinister dreams of evil men shrouded in darkness. I believed I’d finally worked through them, the last one being more than a month ago now. But…
A noise! I had heard a noise. Of that I was sure, but somehow my mind had twisted it. Warped it. Changed it. A roar. It had sounded like a roar. But that couldn’t be right. My heart was still pounding, though, so I turned away, searching for my robe.
I tried to shake off the feeling of unease as I tiptoed down the hall, my eyes trailing up the stairs as I passed by. The house was quiet. The only noises were the soft hum of the refrigerator and the tick, tick of the clock in the lounge, the hand counting the seconds as they slipped on by.
The kitchen was dimly lit, the moon casting a feeble glow through the sole window.
I didn’t turn on the light. Instead, I crossed to the sink and filled a cup with water before running the cool glass across my forehead.
Before I could take a sip, another shiver ran down my spine, causing me to look around again.
I was not even sure what I was looking for, just that something was off.
An inexplicable tension hung in the air.
An almost electrical charge that prickled along my skin.
It felt like the calm just before a storm hit.
I’d had the same feeling once before.
Twenty-five years ago.
My mind turned to her. As it almost always did.
Memories of all the times we had spent together over the years continued to haunt me.
They invaded my dreams. I could hear her laughter, the giggly sound she made before she burst into joy.
Could see the way she would talk with her hands when she was excited or animated.
But when I awoke, I was cast back to reality.
She was gone, and I was still here, waiting for her return.
Sighing at my heavy thoughts, I took a sip of water, turning when a sound came from behind me.
My mobile phone vibrated on the table at that exact moment, the sharp noise so loud in the stillness it caused me to jolt.
Water splashed out of the glass and trickled down the side.
The screen lit up with an incoming call, brightening the ceiling above it.
My heart stopped. My eyes widened in disbelief. The room seemed to narrow around me, freezing me in place. Until, with a burst of panic, I launched forward and hit the accept button.
“Hello?” Barely a whisper.
“Sarah? Is that you?”
Her voice was so full of emotion that I barely recognised it. My throat seized and the breath I tried to take in became stuck in my throat. Tears filled my eyes, and my gaze flew to the hall. I stood there, unable to respond, my pounding heart booming in my ears.
“Hello? Sarah?”
A lifetime slipped by before I could answer.
“Rowan?”