Beyond the Veil

Chapter 11

The following days were empty.

Sera ran to school the next day. She was in a hurry only to find that everything had returned to exactly how it was before.

There was no 'aura' anywhere on her walk to school. Tyler wasn't waiting for her in the library. The students walked to class as nothing had changed at all. The normalcy of it all solidified the idea within Sera. It was really over. They were gone.

Sera went to class and only became more lonely when she discovered that Quinn wasn't able to make it to the class that day.

It felt void of meaning. Everything that used to be her entire life, all of her worries and concerns, now it just felt like what life would look like on autopilot.

What was Sera even doing with herself? Did she even have a plan after college? Why doesn't she have any goals, any dreams?

Maybe that's why she latched onto this so quickly. It was fulfilling. It gave her something to get out of bed for, and for the first time in a long time, she had something that excited her. Saul excited her. The idea of him. The prospect of discovering him.

It drove her mad, made her wild, she acted in ways she never would have imagined, but the change felt good. It made her better.

She had never stood up to anyone and pushed herself the way she did with Saul.

Maybe those changes weren't for the best, but it didn't really matter now. They were gone.

She wasn't sure if she would ever see them again.

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Sera set out to get her coat from the forest. She wasn't eager to run back into the forest after yesterday, but she couldn't leave her coat there.

It was a solemn walk to the forest, a trip that previously had filled her with so much joy and mystery. Despite it all she secretly hoped that she might run into him.

What did he mean she had gotten too close? Too close to what? She didn't feel like she had gotten any closer to any of the answers she needed. Did he mean he almost came clean and told her what was going on in this town?

That definitely wasn't it. He has more self control than she had ever seen from anyone. What other person would go after some type of strange beast and come back like nothing had ever happened and not say a word about it to anyone?

She wasn't sure if it was extreme humility on his part, or if he had something to do with it being there.

Unfortunately, it was more likely the latter.

Sera arrived at the forest's edge, and strangely it felt as though it was pulling her closer. Seeking her to enter and be enveloped inside its depths.

Sera noticed a sign that she had never noticed before. It looked weathered, it definitely had been there before. It was a small sign that said simply "Shadow Woods" in scratched out text on an old piece of splintered wood.

She only noticed the sign now, because her shawl was neatly folded, resting right on top of the sign. She walked over and examined it. It was definitely the one she left in the forest, and it was perfectly clean. She put it on quietly and stared deep into the forest, still feeling its pull on her, and her gravitation towards it.

How did it get here? Could it be that Saul moved it here? He wouldn't do that right?

The forest's pull on her weight on her heart. She couldn't tell if it was a genuine feeling or if she missed being within it. It seemed to be mourning her. Simultaneously pulling her closer but warning her to stay away.