SOMEONE WAS SCREAMING. My eyes snapped open, rivulets of sweat swimming down my back. I didn't realize it was me until my door swung open and my mother peeked in.
"Vanessa? Are you alright?" she asked, a panicked expression painted over her usually schooled features.
"I think I had a nightmare."
"Another nightmare?" she said, furrowing her perfectly shaped eyebrows. "You've been having a lot of nightmares recently. Perhaps it's time we go see someone."
I let out a sigh as I kicked off my covers. "Mam, we've already talked about this. I'm completely fine. I don't need to see a doctor, or therapist, or-"
"Clair." Mam interrupted. "Her name is Clair.
Vanessa, you have to let me at least try. I think I've found someone who might be able to sort all this out."
"But-"
"No buts. What did I tell you about talking back?"
"Fine." I sighed defeatedly. "But where does she live?"
"In Yce."
I barely managed to keep my mouth shut as my mind drifted to Yce. I had heard all kinds of stories about its frozen plains. Not one living creature for miles. Ghosts of dead explorers pulling people through holes in the ice. Moving shadows where nobody stood. But her expression told me better than to object.
"Good night, Vanessa."
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"HAVE YOU PACKED YET?" my mother called from the kitchen. "We're leaving today!"
"What?!" I said, annoyance creeping into my voice. I was still disgruntled from waking up in the middle of the night.
"Vanessa Sloane, don't take that tone with me." she said sternly. "We're leaving today. Plus, I already have a cottage booked."
I groaned frustratedly as I went to my room to change. A cool breeze blew through my open window as the trees shook outside, their leaves falling on the ground in browning heaps. In the distance, I could see the peaks of Yce's mountains tipped with a fresh dusting of snow.
As I slung my duffel bag around my shoulder, grunting under its weight, I suddenly noticed a leaf sitting on my windowsill. I went to pick it up but paused when I saw something scrawled in crimson red. I edged closer to read the words, "Run while you still can."
I shuddered, a chill running down my spine. The note reminded me all too well of the man that I had seen all those years ago, the man that had changed my life forever.
"Hurry up!" screeched Mam from downstairs. Without much further thought, I stuffed the leaf into my suitcase and headed downstairs.
YOU ARE READING
idiomatic
General Fiction⚠︎ UNDERGOING HEAVY EDITING! READ AT YOUR OWN RISK ⚠︎ • she rues the day he showed up. she resents the way his black robe floated in and out of her life. she remembers how he destroyed it all. • word count: 1918 #79 in "words" cover by @skywrxtes d...
