𝕯𝖆𝖗𝖐𝖓𝖊𝖘𝖘 𝖎𝖘 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖓𝖊𝖜 𝖙𝖞𝖕𝖊 𝖔𝖋 𝖑𝖎𝖌𝖍𝖙

★𝔑𝔦𝔤𝔥𝔱𝔪𝔞𝔯𝔢𝔰★

꧁༺꧁☬꧂༻꧂

People are not scared of the dark itself. They are scared of what's hiding in the deep pitch-black world. You never know when a hand, probably of the devil himself, is going to pull you in and all you can do is let the darkness consume you.

Stars in the sky are covered by clouds, giving them no chance to show themselves in their full glory. A cold breeze flows through the silent streets of a small village, hidden from society.

A silhouette, covered in a cloak goes down the street, almost merges with the dark cover which is enveloping every single inch of the place breathing with mystery. They slowly exit the gates leading to the village and make their way down the rock-made road.

As they slowly continue, the road ends and in front of them appears a forest. If it was not for birds that flew across from tree to tree, it would appear as if the forest is empty, lifeless even. The person takes their hood down to reveal a woman with unnaturally red-colored hair.

She makes another move closer to the forest, tilting her head to the side. A voice, familiar in some way, lures her closer, promising to fulfill all her deepest desires. And she believes it. She realizes she is acting foolishly but that does not matter to her. Hypnotized by the sweet promises, she follows the voice.

Red eyes appear in the darkness. They are looking at her hungrily as if they were a predator and she was their prey. A hand stretches to her and wraps its clawed fingers around her hand and pulls her in. Suddenly she cannot breathe. A realization that she is completely hopeless in their embrace hits her as she gasps for air and yells her last plea for help.

Davina cries out as she wakes up. She looks around frightened, studying her surroundings. A dream. It was just a dream, she thinks as she realizes she is back in her room. Sun shines through her window, filling her cozy room with a beautiful honey light.

Davina gets up from her bed, making her way to the bathroom. She washes her face with cold water and takes a deep breath. She has been having these nightmares for 3 months now. And each time, they get more and more realistic.

Changing her clothes, she gets out of her house and goes to the center of the village to a small herb shop. She opens the door and the sound of the bell rings through the place.

"Good morning Davina!" Says cheerily the old lady behind the cash desk, also known as Nora, the village's healer.

 "Greetings Nora!" says Davina with a smile.

"Have we got the new herbs yet?" Davina asks while tying her apron around her waist. Nora nods her head and points to the boxes full of jars with different plants. "There they are. How about you lay them out. I still have a lot of paperwork to do." The old lady points to the files on her desk.

"Sure thing!" Davina nods and takes one of the boxes to the back room, where they store all their herbs. She starts to get the jars out when suddenly an all too familiar sensation of uneasiness and anxiety rises inside of her chest. She looks around, trying to find the source which causes her of this feeling.

Then she spots it. The red eyes in the dark corner of the room, burning their gaze into her soul as if trying to call out to the startled girl. A scream escapes her lips as she let the jar in her hands fall and break into millions of pieces.

"What is happening?!" Scared Nora bursts through the door, looking around, searching for any possible danger which could harm Davina. Davina shifts her gaze to Nora but not a word is willing to leave her lips. As she looks at the corner again, the eyes are gone.

"Davina, what is wrong?" Nora asks, but to Davina, the voice sounds so far away, as if it were just a mere whisper. She could not wrap her head around what just happened. She swore she saw the eyes. They were right there. Suddenly everything starts to spin.

Davina puts her hand down for extra support when a sharp pain goes through her palm. Only then she realizes the shards on the ground are now painted with the crimson color of her blood.

Nora quickly takes her shaking hand and slowly pulls out the shard. "What is wrong with you my child? You have been acting strangely for some time now." She says, worry dripping from her voice.

Davina wanted to tell her about the dreams but she was way too terrified to do so. The images of the dream or the red eyes were too much for her.

Nora patches her injured palm with a sigh. She knows that Davina won't tell her anything unless she wants to. That girl can be really stubborn sometimes. She stands up and dusts herself off. "If you will need anything, you know where to find me." All she gets from Davina is a small nod.

As Nora makes her way out of the room, she stops at the door frame and looks at Davina, still sitting on the floor, probably lost in her thoughts.
She gives her one last sad look and then exits, leaving the girl alone in the silence of the room.

When Davina finally wakes up from her trance, she stands up and starts to clean up the mess. When she cleans the rest of the herbs, she looks at the corner again. Her curiosity gets stronger than her fright and she goes closer to the spot.

To her surprise, she finds nothing. Or does she? A small feather, white as snow, is lying on the ground. Davina takes the feather into her hands, studying it. Davina shakes her head, laughing softly to herself. She is just being delusional.

Davina hides the feather in the pocket of her skirt and continues with her work, trying to push away any unpleasant thoughts.

Yet, in the dark, the same eyes are following her every move, calling to her, reaching out to her, but without any success.