It Will Always Be A Game

11: Xenization

The blessed are always under surveillance.

Every single nerve ending in my body is electrified and my brain is paralysed. My mind shifts back to the party last night. Where I found the same envelope lying on the floor after being locked in the restroom. Where I was so shaken that I could barely stop myself. I could barely stop until every shard of glass was shattered into fragments and fragments. Until my hand bled and bled.

The honking of the car barely snaps me back into the moment and a gasp escapes my lips. With a dumbstruck face, I turn around and look at Ethan.

He's watching me.

Sweat beads start forming on my temple and a huge wave of panic washes over me.

Gathering myself, I have to make a huge amount of effort to put on a timid smile. My nails pierce into the skin of my palm as I see his gaze fixed on me. Shane's words keep ringing in my ears. I quickly scan the street. Nothing out of the ordinary.

Then, out of the corner of my eye, I notice a figure seated on the park bench, their face obscured by the shadows.

I swiftly, but calmly turn around and steadily reach for the envelope. I take it into my hands, grab the keys from under the pot, and try to unlock the door, but my trembling hands fumble with the lock, refusing to cooperate.

Focus

Focus

Focus

Godammit, focus!

I take in a deep, shaky breath before finally unlocking the door and rushing inside. My heart pounds in my chest as I lean against the door, trying to steady my breathing, the adrenaline still coursing through my veins. My eyes scan the withered rose on the seal. I pull my pocket knife out and slit the envelope open. Hesitating for a moment, I slowly unfold the letter.

It's the same cursive handwriting which was on the previous letter, etched onto the paper like intricate lace, sending shivers down my spine.

My eyes slowly scan each word.

"Darkness is what I confide in.
You are the light that shines through."

A light gasp escapes my lips. My fingers slowly graze over the words, tracing the elegant curves of the letters. I know in an instant that it's dried blood.

"You are the light that shines through..." I whisper in a mixture of awe and dread, my voice barely a whisper. My finger traces the lines of the calligraphic letters as I think deeply.

Somehow, in some unfathomable way, it bestowed a sense of tranquillity, unsettling yet unexpected.

But it was overshadowed by fear.

Disgust.

I look up in horror as I realise, my heart pounding. I keep the letter in my hand and open the door. The freezing air sends chills down my spine, making the hair on the back of my neck rise. My eyes scan the park and land on that bench.

Empty.

Someone was there. Two minutes ago.

No.

I'm not ready to convince myself it was just a fragment of my imagination, because I know what I saw. I'm not crazy enough to hallucinate.

"Yet," the voice in the back of my head says.

I shake my head. If there's someone who believes they can threaten me-
I read the note again.

It didn't feel like a threat.