The girl's eyes locked onto the message, and the world around her dissolved into an oppressive darkness, like the shadows themselves had come alive to snuff out the light. The silence was disorienting, a heavy weight pressing down on her. Then, in a dizzying snap, she found herself back in the cozy café, the hum of chatter and the rich aroma of coffee enveloping her like a warm blanket. Her boyfriend leaned in, his brow furrowed in playful concern, "Hey, you okay? You zoned out on me." His smile seemed a little too smooth, a subtle hint of a lie lingering in the air. She blinked, her mind still reeling, but her fingers locked around the crumbled letter, its edges a sharp reminder that this wasn't just a dream. The whispered words echoed in her head: _The night holds the key..._ She forced a weak smile, wondering how much he wasn't telling her.
As she drifted off to sleep later, the girl couldn't shake off the feeling that she was trapped in a fragile glass cage, her boyfriend's face pressed against the transparent walls, his eyes filled with a mix of longing and desperation. She tried to speak, but her voice was muffled, and he couldn't hear her. Suddenly, his expression changed, and he started frantically gesturing to her, pointing to something behind her. She turned to see a shadowy figure looming closer, its presence making the glass cage tremble. The whispered words _The night holds the key..._ grew louder, and she felt a chill run down her spine... The figure's dark outline began to take shape, morphing into a person with eyes that glowed like embers from a dying fire. The air inside the cage grew colder, and she could see her breath as she gasped, her heart racing in sync with the pulsing glow. The boyfriend's face twisted in a silent scream, and the glass began to crack...
She jolted awake, her heart pounding, and fumbled for her phone. She dialed his number, her fingers trembling as she waited for him to pick up. "Come over," she whispered, her voice barely audible. The phone buzzed in her hand, and she knew he was on his way. But as she waited, the shadows in her room seemed to grow longer, and the whispered words lingered in her mind: _The night holds the key..._