The Diary Keeper ["The Dark Legacies" Series]

Chapter 7: Here lies Mia Lancaster

I was sitting on the ground somewhere in a dense forest, surrounded by towering trees that seemed to stretch endlessly towards the sky. The air was thick with a damp mist that obscured everything beyond a few feet, and a cool breeze stirred the leaves, making them rustle and whisper to each other. The eerie atmosphere sent shivers down my spine, and I felt a sense of unease creeping over me.

The fog was so dense that it felt like a living thing, enveloping me in its chilly embrace and muffling all sounds except for the occasional snap of a twig underfoot. It was like being lost in a dream world, where the only reality was the mist that swirled around me, obscuring everything else. The world beyond the trees seemed like a distant memory, and I was trapped in this shadowy, otherworldly realm.

How did I get here?..

Suddenly, somebody's voice came out from nowhere:

"Liandra, you've already made your choice. Your task is to help the forgotten ones, the ones who were outcasts."

It was a voice of a girl. She sounded so frightened, but I couldn't see her.

Despite the eerie atmosphere, there was a strange beauty to the scene. The mist gave everything a soft, ethereal glow, and the forest seemed to take on a magical quality that was both enchanting and terrifying. It was as if the veil between the mundane world and the supernatural had been lifted, and I was caught in the middle of something that I couldn't comprehend.

"Who are you?" I asked carefully. "Where are you? How can I help?"

"Liandra, please... Let me out... Just let me out... Just..."

The fog absorbed me completely, not leaving any chance to breathe, any opportunities to see the surroundings and what's happening in it.

And then I woke up.

***
Oh God, I'm going insane. I'll end up being hospitalized in a madhouse, suffering from hallucinations and taking some serious medicine - not so happy and desirable future.

I know it's just a dream, but what a dream! So natural, so real. And this girl... She was begging to save her. She's trapped somewhere that nobody could get into. Her voice was not too loud, but I felt she was scared and surrounded by something unknown.

I hadn't believed in any supernatural stuff earlier and I'd considered it kind of nonsense. But when this nonsense happens to you... how can you judge it now?

And what if this girl was Mia Lancaster?

***

"Well, this girl lived a few decades ago," I thought. "There are two versions. The first one: she is an old woman now. The second one: she has died already."

This morning I decided to check my hypotheses. Let's start with... local graveyard.

***
The graveyard behind Di Flores Manor was a place of complete solitude. The air was still, with an almost suffocating weight to it, and the only sound was the distant cawing of a crow. The graves, old and weathered, stood stoically in the dim light, as if waiting for something that would never come.

The trees surrounding the graveyard were gnarled and twisted. It was as if the mist had a life of its own, creeping silently through the graves, obscuring the names on the headstones.

As I walked deeper into the graveyard, the feeling of unease grew stronger. The old graves were at the very back, separated from the newer ones by a line of tall, wilting weeds. It was clear that no one had been tending to this part of the graveyard for some time. The stones were broken, the inscriptions worn away by time and weather.

Yes, it was sunny morning on Sunday. Everyone was hanging out with friends and just having fun while I... I was visiting local cemetery. Perfect weekends. What went wrong in this life?..

I couldn't shake the feeling that I was being watched, that something was lurking just out of sight. The air was thick with a sense of foreboding, as if the spirits of the dead were angry at my intrusion.

The fog was thick and clung to my skin as in my last nightmare. As I walked deeper into the graveyard, the graves became older and more weathered, until I reached the very end.

And there it was - this old grave. It was a simple stone marker, but it seemed to exude a sense of sadness and loneliness. I knelt down in front of it and traced the letters of the name with my finger:

Mia Lancaster
(1953-1970)

Yes, it was she. Mia died at 17. I couldn't imagine what it must have been like for her to die so young, with her whole life ahead of her.

As I sat there, lost in thought, the fog seemed to thicken even more. I could barely see my own hand in front of my face. It was as if the atmosphere of the graveyard was closing in around me, and I couldn't help but feel a sense of unease.

I stood up and brushed off my knees, feeling a chill run down my spine. I knew it was time to leave the graveyard, but I couldn't help but feel like Mia Lancaster's presence lingered there.

I will read the diary till the very end. I have to know everything connected with the manor. My manor, to be exact.

The sun was rising, making everything happier, except for my thoughts. The words from the recent dream echoed in my head:

Liandra, please... Just let me out...