She stares at her feet as she walks down the path leading to the hospital, trying hard to keep herself focused on her surroundings. Even though she knows that she isn' t going to get far without someone noticing her. She glances to her side every now and then, glancing at the clock on the wall. She knows that she needs to hurry but she also doesn't want to leave her mother. Not right now. She still hasn't gotten any word from her father yet. She has no idea whether or not he's going to wake up at all. He could die, she thinks to herself. He could die and she won't even notice. She shakes her head furiously, trying to stop those thoughts from running rampant through her mind. She needs to focus on finding her mum so that maybe she can help him. She can't afford to lose herself thinking about her father. She has to find her mom.Eventually, the building that's in front of her comes into view and she decides to turn her attention towards it instead of her worries. Her eyes land on the
"You look familiar. I think I may have seen you around town."She nods. "I work at the cafe near the hospital, remember?"His brow furrows as he continues to stare at her."Do I know you?" He asks.She smiles lightly. "I think you're forgetting who I am. My name is Serena."His eyes widen. "Oh yeah, sorry."She giggles softly. "Don't apologise. I'm just glad that we ran into each other.""I guess I owe you an explanation, huh?" He says."Sure thing, what did you want to tell me?"He takes a deep breath. "I know that you know about me."She looks up at the sky again, suddenly feeling a little shy. "A couple of weeks ago I found out that my father was ill and he told me that he would tell me more once he felt better. Unfortunately, he never woke up again. He died yesterday afternoon, and now I'm left wondering how I'm meant to take care of myself now. How do people live like this?""I'm sorry, Serena." He says sincerely. "This is definitely not the life for me either. I'm only doing thi
"I was always scared. I hated the woods. But every time I returned home, after I had eaten and drank and watched the stars, my parents would still be waiting for me.""They made me feel safe. And then one summer...my parents decided that I shouldn't come here anymore. One day, they said goodbye to me and drove off, leaving me all by myself. I ran for miles and miles and I ended up here.""I tried to find my way back to England, but I lost track of where I was and eventually, I wandered around aimlessly in the forest for three days. By the time I finally managed to find my way back home, it was completely dark and I couldn't even see my feet in front of me anymore.""The next morning, I realised that I was so tired that I couldn't even move properly. I thought that I had died or become a ghost or something. So instead of going back home, I decided to sleep for a while. When I woke up, everything looked exactly as it usually was except for one thing.""There were five people in the clea
She looks around and sees a small rock. She picks it up and sits down on the ground in front of him. She takes a deep breath and looks up into his eyes."Remember when I told you that the spirits were the ones who killed your family, right? Well, what you saw last night..." She pauses for a few seconds. "That's a part of it. A part of the spirit's revenge. But I also know something more than that. I know that the spirits are suffering. Their bodies are decaying, but they' re still alive inside, but they' re trapped somewhere, unable to move on, unable to die.""But if they' re trapped somewhere, how do you know that they're still alive?" "Because my friend, my brother, has lived in this forest for almost thirty years. He knows that things here are different, that it isn't normal to walk around and have no memory of the past twenty years. That's why when I first arrived here, he warned me that this place is dangerous and that I should never enter. It doesn't matter how dangerous it m
His gaze falls upon her and he watches as she stands up and walks towards the man, who tells her that she needs to hurry because it's very possible that he'll lose the woman that he's looking for. He then tells her to meet back up with him outside the village."Is everything alright, miss?" He asks her.She smiles, giving him a polite nod. "Everything's fine. Thank you for asking."She turns around and begins walking away from the crowd, heading straight for the exit. Before leaving the clearing, however, she stops. She looks at the people standing around, wondering whether she should try to talk to someone or not. Eventually, she decides to stay behind, knowing that talking would probably lead to trouble anyway.Sergio and Thomas watch as she disappears through the gate."She really seems like a nice girl."Louis shrugs. "Maybe.""She's beautiful!""I agree."They look into the distance and smile at each other, knowing that they could never be like that. Not in any way that matters.
But as usual, he failed, and she was now left alone with him, trying her hardest to ignore how quiet it seemed to be in the room."This doesn't make sense," he suddenly says, staring at the page for a couple of seconds before slamming the desk with his fist. "Nothing!"She sits on the sofa across from him, staring at the papers scattered all over the floor. "There has to be something here." He says, standing up and going over to the window.She follows him and leans over his shoulder, peering at his notes."If it's not here, maybe we should check something else." She suggests.He sighs. "Yeah, yeah. You may be right." He pauses for a second. "Do you think you could find something else?"She furrows her brows. "Of course. Why wouldn't I?"He shakes his head. "Because if you search the library instead, you will find more than anything else that we could possibly need. But you wouldn't find the same things if you searched the archives."She frowns. "Why do you need me for that? Do you
"I told you that you would disobey me, didn't I? And you proved me right. You can't even speak properly yet." He spits out. "But that's fine. At least now I can torture you the way I wanted to."She feels him grab her by the hair and push her head upwards. She closes her eyes tightly and waits for whatever he will throw at her next. "Now, I'm gonna teach you how to talk properly." He whispers.He pulls her to her feet, causing her to stumble forward."Your mother used to say that you were quite good at talking, that you talked well." He smirks. "It took you two hours after each sentence before you could form complete sentences. But since you can't speak anymore, maybe that makes me stronger."She feels herself being dragged through the hallway and down the stairs, toward the living room where the others are sitting in silence, looking worried. It hurts to breathe."Daddy!"The moment that Anna sees her father appear in front of her, she opens her mouth, ready to yell for help. But
As she sits curled up in the corner of the room, she suddenly feels something land on her chest. She opens her eyes and looks down, noticing the stuffed animal she usually carries around with her. She smiles slightly."Are you okay?" Someone murmurs.She glances up.Sergio kneels down beside her, resting his hand on her shoulder."Are you alright?" He asks concerned.She nods silently."That's good." He smiles softly. "Because I heard everything. My dad is very strict with his punishments. He's always been like this, ever since mom passed away. And now you've done something that made him really mad."A tear rolls down her cheek as she stares ahead blankly. She's still confused as to why her father had decided to act this way. She understands why he's angry, and he has every right to be furious, but why did he treat her the way that he did today? Did she really mean nothing to him after all? Maybe her mother was wrong, and her father loved her.She bites her lip. No. That wasn't true