T-B-D

1

Waking up, the first thing Niraka registered was the chirping of birds.

Odd- she had never heard so many various kinds of chipper.

The ground she lay atop felt cold, hard and gritty. Not at all like the coarse wood she aged on.

Sitting up, she rubbed at her eyes, allowing them to adjust to the scintillating sun.

Where am I?

The first thought to ring in her head. The last thing she could remember was waking up in the middle of the night, choking on her own breath.

"Amai!"

Abruptly, all the chirping ceases. Not a sound to be heard other than her own heavy breathing.

Looking around, it seemed as if the trees were paralyzed.

A forest. She was in a forest.

But yet it was quiet. Should a forest not be filled with the sound of natures gifts fluttering around?

"Amai!"

The ground started to shake. One... two. One... two. As if someone were running towards her. Something.

It was getting closer. Closer. Closer.

While her mind began to make understanding of what was occuring, her feet had already swiveled in the dirt, readying to run opposite the direction of whatever was nearing.

But she couldn't run.

Her breath caught. Niraka was looking at her reflection, as if a mirror had been placed right before her in the middle of the forest. How is this possible?

Reaching out to to graze her image, she realized too late it is not a mirror she was facing.

Rather an eye belonging to the most horrid of creatures she'd ever seen.