Something had changed

Something had changed.

Not around me, inside me.

“You were never meant to be here.” The words kept haunting me all night.

Everything was the same, and yet nothing felt the same.

The mark was no longer burning, it had gone silent. It was as though nothing was on my wrist.

But I could not say the same about my body, I felt like I was in an ocean and stones were tied around me...constantly pushing me down.

I was in the middle of putting my hair in a pony when my eyes went towards the window. The sun had already knocked on my window and the rays had made their way inside my room. But I never opened my window. After seeing that woman with red eyes, I made sure to keep it shut.

I was sure about one thing, this couldn't be my imagination.

A chill ran down my spine.

Was someone in my room? I shook away the thought, it was not possible. I knew I locked it from the inside.

Just to confirm my suspicion, I checked the locks...and I was right, nothing was wrong with them.

The breakfast was the same, and Mom complained about my sleep schedule, Lily shared the details about the recent club she had joined, and Dad made sure to slip his 'be careful' lines wherever he could.

Sunday was for the family lunch, well, it was called the family lunch, in reality, it was nothing less than a social event. My Mom would hand-pick the guests, the menu, the seating plan, and even the color our family would wear to greet the guests.

The concealer helped me hide the reminder of my sleepless night perfectly, a soft shade of pink on my lips balanced the brown eyeliner on my eyes, creating a soft makeup look with a hint of rosy blush on the cheeks.

Anything too bright for the day would tarnish the image of a perfect elder daughter.

The color for this lunch was yellow. I picked the flowy yellow dress that reached just below my knees. It was not the mustard yellow like Lily was wearing, it was like the rays of the sun on a summer afternoon.

I made sure to keep a smile on my lips while greeting our neighbours and politely asking them about their health, life, and answering their questions about my life.

Just after an hour, I was exhausted.

Kai was nowhere to be found. I left 4 messages and yet there was no reply from his side. His presence was the only thing that would make the Sunday events bearable. His charm would keep the questions and conversations away from reaching me.

I scanned the area once again, Lily was busy chatting with a few people her age. Just like Lily, Mom was also chatting with a group but the only difference was that her eyes were on all the guests, making sure everyone had what they needed. To her relief, everyone had satisfied smiles on their faces and mocktails in their hands.

Even with my family and neighbours around, I felt like an outsider in my own home.

Something snapped inside me, and without thinking, I started walking towards the main gate.

It was as though my feet knew where they were going. I kept walking continuously until I reached an empty park.

The park, just like most parts of our town, shared its border with the forest.

The forest was anything but ordinary...where the trees grew thicker and darker toward the edge like a thick curtain, that was protecting a secret inside the forest. Even during this time of the day, the forest was not safe, just the mere thought of what could be lurking in there was sending a chill down my spine.

Letting out a tired breath, I decided to gamble and test my fate. I walked towards the swing even though I knew I should be heading back home before Mom could notice my absence... that scenario would be far more scary than whatever was hiding in the forest.

I started moving the swing slightly, enjoying the peace and the tiny breeze touching my face gently. I closed my eyes and felt the warmth of the sun giving me a comforting hug.

For a moment, everything felt… quiet.

Too quiet.

The breeze stopped.

A strange chill crept up my spine, slow and deliberate, like a warning my body understood before my mind could.

My fingers tightened around the chains of the swing.

In that moment, I knew I wasn’t alone.

I opened my eyes, and there he was.

My eyes were locked with the darkest pair of eyes...once again, they were keeping me captive. But it was different this time, he was studying me. He was standing a few steps away from me, and neither of us moved from our places. The hard look on his face was as though he was trying to solve a mystery.

For the first time after waking up, the mark started burning once again, but I didn't touch it, I didn't move.

That was not the weirdest part, the stranger's gaze quickly shifted towards my wrist. It was as though he knew exactly what was happening.

But how was it possible?

I quickly stood up from the swing and started walking towards the exit but stopped when my phone started ringing.

It was Kai.

I ignored the call and put the phone back in the pocket of my dress. I was about to start walking away from the man but a gasp left from my lips as I found him standing in front of me.

"Who are you?" The words that were stuck inside my throat finally came out.

He didn't answer. His eyes were studying me once again, it was like he was making sure I was fine.

My brain was screaming at me to run away from him but for some reason, I couldn't walk away from him.

"You shouldn't be here." His velvety voice held authority and a warning.

And then his words made sense to me. A scowl formed on my forehead. "Are you following me?"

Once again, there was no response from his side. His eyes were fixed on my wrist. I was cursing my choice of wearing a dress without sleeves. I put my hand slightly behind my back to hide it from his view, but it felt like he had already seen what he wanted to.

He ran his fingers through his soft hair, muttering something under his breath that I couldn't hear properly but it sounded like, "It has already begun."

I opened my mouth to ask him, but was cut off by the constant ringing of my phone.

Annoyed, I answered the call.

"What, Kai?" I yelled.

"Where are you? Get back here fast, your Mom is looking for you."

I ended the call instead of replying and turned to face the man again but to my surprise, I was alone.

I looked around to check but he was nowhere to be seen.

My eyes focused on the dark trees, and an eerie sensation spread through my body.

I quickly put the phone back in my pocket and started running towards home.

I sneaked inside the gate quickly, hoping to go unnoticed by anyone.

It was almost a success until Kai grabbed my arm and dragged me away from everyone.

"Where the hell were you?" There was only seriousness on his face, which was rare to see.

"I just needed to get away from everyone." It was not a lie.

"You could have told me or answered your phone. Do you know how difficult it was to cover for you?" Kai signalled towards my mother with his eyes. I understood I was not in trouble.

Before I could answer, he started once again, "And since when did you start going somewhere like this?"

"Would you stop talking?" I threw my hands in the air, "I didn't ask you to lie for me.....and for sure I don't have to answer anything to you."

Kai looked taken aback from my words for a while and he opened his mouth to say something but I turned around without listening and marched towards my room.

I closed the door, locked it and leaned against it, inhaling deep breaths to calm myself down.

The window was still open, I rushed to close it but paused when my eyes made contact with the forest.

The forest didn’t feel still anymore.

It felt aware.

A sharp sting shot through my wrist.

I gasped, gripping the edge of the window.

My body leaned forward before I could stop it.

And then it happened....something moved between the trees. I didn't react. 

Somehow, I knew, it was not something... it was someone.