Lucid

CHAPTER 7 - MYSTIC

Every once in a while, we stop and ask ourselves: Is this it? Is this really where we're headed? Is this my purpose? And sometimes, we even question the stories we've been told.

We should.

In a world that answers almost every question, we should still wonder, still question, still look beyond the surface. The answers we hold close are often the ones we understand the least. We live in a world that fears what it doesn't control, that tries to ignore what it cannot tame.

What it cannot control.What it cannot bend.What it cannot break.And you... You, more than anyone, will understand this soon enough.

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Snow.

I don't remember ever seeing it before. Maybe it's because we lived out here, on the farthest edge of the west coast, where the Pacific winds keep the winter away. I'd heard of snow, of course, but it always felt like a far-off dream, something other people got to experience. The kind of thing you read about in books or see in movies. But here I was, standing in the middle of it, in the strange silence of this meadow.

The sun was somewhere above, hidden behind thick, pearly white clouds that blanketed the sky. Not a single hint of grey—just an endless stretch of white. The grass beneath my feet had patches of snow, each one sitting like frozen dandelions, their white petals unmoving. The trees that surrounded the clearing were tall, casting long shadows that seemed to stretch into the unknown.

Everything felt suspended. No wind, no chirps, no rustling. Just the sound of my own breath in the cold.

Dead silence.

I knelt down, unbothered by the chill creeping through my jeans, and hovered my hand above the snow as if trying to sense something. I don't know what I was expecting, but something tugged at me, drawing my gaze to the space between two pines.

There, in the space between light and shadow, I saw it.

The wolf.

It wasn't snarling this time. No growl, no teeth bared, no fear in its eyes. It stepped forward slowly, cautiously, as if it didn't want to alarm me. But it didn't need to. I wasn't scared—not like before.

Somehow, I felt... safe.

Protected.

Its green eyes glowed faintly, reflecting what little light pierced the thick clouds. I watched it as it moved, the soft sound of its paws pressing into the snow almost inaudible in the thick quiet.

I stood up, matching its movement, my eyes never leaving its gaze. There was something oddly familiar about it, something pulling me closer, even though I knew better. The space between us narrowed, and with each step, the line where the light met the shadow seemed less like a boundary and more like an invitation.

I followed, stepping out of the shadow of the trees, into the light above. The coolness of the snow beneath my feet gave way to the warmth of the faint sunlight. I didn't know why I felt so drawn to it, but I couldn't look away from the green in its eyes. They seemed to understand me.

The wolf stopped just a few feet away, our eyes nearly aligned. We stood there, motionless, for what felt like an eternity. I could feel its breath in the air, soft and steady. I could smell the wetness of its fur, the earthy scent of the forest clinging to its coat.

I reached out, my hand trembling slightly, wanting to touch its soft forehead, to feel the warmth of its presence.

But then, something stopped me.