Hello everyone, I hope you enjoy my book! 😘
The first three chapters might feel a bit slow, but after chapter four, I promise it will pull you right in. ❤️
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I was in a forest. I lifted my head and looked around, but I was standing completely alone, right in the middle of the woods. The forest was so beautiful that I couldn't take my eyes off it. I stood up from where I was sitting and began examining my surroundings more carefully. Right in front of me was an enormous tree—so large that I looked tiny beside it. Its sheer size left me speechless. The first thing that caught my eye was its thick, sprawling roots. They looked so strong that I felt an urge to walk over and touch them.
While I was focused on the roots, I heard a rustling sound. I turned toward the noise and saw a squirrel on one of the branches. It was nibbling on a hazelnut. It was so adorable that I wanted to reach out, touch it, hold it. I'd always been good with animals. I stretched my hand toward the branch to pick it up, but the squirrel must have noticed me—because it quickly leapt from branch to branch and disappeared deeper into the forest. I stayed where I was and watched it. For a moment it paused, turned back, and looked at me. It was almost as if it was saying, "Come."
I had never experienced anything like this before.
"What harm could a squirrel possibly do?" I thought, and decided to follow it.
As I moved deeper into the forest, I noticed the colors beginning to fade. The air grew darker, as if night was falling. With every step, the cold increased and my breath came out in white puffs. After walking a little further, I realized how quiet everything had become. Too quiet. A forest shouldn't be this silent. The more I walked, the more the forest began to look unsettling. The fear stirring inside me was born from that silence itself. There were no birds—no sound at all.
Those thoughts reminded me that I should turn back. I turned around and tried to take a step—or at least, I thought I did. My legs resisted and forced me forward again. A chill ran down my spine. I grabbed my thighs with my hands, trying to stop them.
"Stop... don't go... I'm scared!" I begged.
But it was useless.
I surrendered to whatever fate was dragging me and kept walking.
It felt like I had been walking for an hour. My feet ached, my breathing was uneven. Then suddenly, my legs stopped on their own. I froze in the middle of the forest. I tried to move, but my legs wouldn't budge at all. I looked around. The same terrifying silence lingered.
And then—a little girl's scream filled my ears. I stood there helplessly, unable to move. The sound had come from behind me. Because of these damned legs, I was probably going to die. I tugged at myself desperately.
A moment later, a cold wind blew. The scream stopped. But something was definitely wrong. My body began to tremble; it felt like all my emotions had been drained out of me, leaving only emptiness behind. Then my legs started moving again, forcing my body to turn around.
Not knowing what I would see, I spun around—and my eyes froze at the sight in front of me. A scream tore from my throat.
A woman was lying on the ground. Motionless.
I wanted to see her face, but it was hidden. She was wearing a red cloak. The pool of blood around her was so large and smelled so strong that it almost made me dizzy. My blood ran cold, and I collapsed to the ground.
I felt something tug at the edge of my dress. I swallowed hard. Slowly, I looked back.
A little girl was holding my dress, staring at me.
I took a deep breath... but the girl had no face.
My entire body turned to ice. My skin prickled with terror. Suddenly, the little girl started screaming. The sound was so powerful that it felt like it was tearing my ears apart. The scream of a faceless child—that was the moment my sanity cracked. When the sound finally stopped, the girl leaned toward my neck and whispered:
"Her death is your fault.
You could have saved us... but you didn't choose us."
Her last words twisted into another scream.
My heart lurched as I tried to pull away.
I looked at my hands—
they were covered in blood.
I looked down at myself—
blood everywhere.
Another scream ripped out of me.
The girl kept repeating the same words, while I shouted,
"No! How could this be my fault?!"
That was the last thing I remembered.
A sudden warmth washed over me, and I jolted awake in my bed. I pulled my legs close and looked around.
Thankfully—
it had only been a dream.
But what kind of dream was that?
"Damn it... I'm losing my mind," I whispered.