The Awakening

CHAPTER ONE: The First Fall Wind

Cambry Keller sat by the window, her fingers absently tracing the rim of her mug as she watched the golden leaves swirl down from the trees. There was a crispness to the air, the kind that only appeared in late October, just as the last whispers of summer gave way to the long stretch of fall. For most, it was the season of endings. But for Cambry, it felt more like a beginning.

Thirty-seven. She was thirty-seven, and life had been a steady, predictable march of days, one blending into the next. But beneath the routine, there was always something—a quiet hum in her chest, a restlessness she couldn't explain. She had tried to ignore it for years, convincing herself it was nothing more than a fleeting feeling, a symptom of the passing seasons. Yet this year was different. She felt it in her bones, as though the very air was charged with something unseen. And as the first cold wind of the season slipped through the crack in the window, Cambry shivered—not from the cold, but from the sudden certainty that everything was about to change. A loud creak echoed from the hallway, pulling her from her thoughts. The house had been making strange sounds lately, but that was just the house settling, wasn't it? She stood, mug in hand, staring at the dim hallway. "Get a grip," she whispered to herself. But deep down, she knew. This wasn't just the house. It was something else—something ancient and powerful. Something that had been waiting all along.

Cambry hesitated, the mug warming her palms as she weighed the decision to investigate. The creaking continued, a rhythmic whisper that seemed to beckon her forward. Taking a deep breath, she set the mug down on the windowsill, her heart racing with a mixture of curiosity and apprehension.

As she stepped into the hallway, the shadows stretched and danced, the dim light casting eerie shapes against the walls. With each cautious footfall, the sense of something otherworldly intensified. The air felt thicker, charged with a presence that made the hairs on her arms stand on end.

When she reached the end of the hallway, she paused before a door that had always been locked—an old wooden door she had inherited with the house, its key lost to time. But now, something urged her to try it. Cambry's fingers trembled as she grasped the handle, feeling a pulse beneath her skin as though the door were alive.

With a deep inhale, she turned the handle. The door swung open with a groan, revealing a dimly lit room filled with dust motes swirling in the golden light. In the center stood an ornate mirror, its frame intricate with carvings of vines and mysterious symbols.

As she approached, Cambry caught her reflection—yet something was different. Her eyes sparkled with an intensity she had never seen before. Eyes she once thought plain and dull, now appeared to glow. Vibrant flecks of amber danced like molten gold in her chestnut brown eyes. The mirror shimmered, as if it were a portal to another world, beckoning her to delve deeper into the mystery that awaited her.

"Is this what you've been waiting for?" she whispered to herself, heart pounding with the ultimate thrill of discovery. She reached out, fingers brushing against the cool glass, feeling an inexplicable connection—a promise of change, of transformation. Cambry took a breath, ready to embrace whatever lay beyond.