Chapter 1
The dreaded first day of school has arrived, and with the rain and wind crashing against my house, it didn't help with the fact that I had to get out of bed. I was fighting with my eyelids. They wanted to close while my brain wanted to get ready for today. It was an easily won battle as I shut my eyes for just a few more seconds...
"Cassandra! You better be up!" I heard my mothers voice carry up the stairs. I sighed as I began slowly pulling off the purple covers of my bed. The cold air hit me instantly, and as my feet made contact with the hard wood floor, a shiver escaped from my chest. Goosebumps radiated from my arms to my toes. I groaned and started walking towards the closet. A rumble of thunder rattled through the house, causing my floorboards to shudder in response. I shook with it. The fact that we owned an old house didn't help, and since it was big that also didn't make the stormy day any better. Thunder echoed along the walls and hallways making a creepy effect that made me turn on my lamp beside the bed immediately. The mood in the room changed instantly.
I rubbed the sleep from my eyes as I picked out my outfit for the first day of school. I slowly picked out a set of clothes before dragging my feet to the bathroom to get ready. The smell of breakfast became noticeable as I crossed the hallway to get to the restroom. My stomach rumbled as if it had smelled the food too. When I flipped the light switch, I groaned. The lights above the mirror were far too bright for my tired eyes. I squinted as I dressed, and by the time I was ready to do my hair, a small headache had made its way into my head.
Something was different about the color of my hair.
I noticed the golden glitter as I was brushing through it. I didn't know where it had come from, I hadn't been using any glitter lately. The last time I had even touched glitter was a few months ago while I was making Christmas ornaments. I was confused. I moved closer to the mirror to examine the sparkles. My long brown hair had specks of gold everywhere. Not enough to make my hair gold, but enough for it to look like I had added glitter spray. A few had fallen onto the floor and into the sink. I picked a pinch up.
It crumbled in my hands. Dust.
I gasped as the little specks of glittery gold began to disappear right before my eyes. The glitter that had been in the sink was gone, there was no sign of it ever being there. And then I looked up at the mirror.
My hair had gone back to normal. There was no glitter. My regular brown color was there, no more shiny sparkles. My breathing became heavier, and the headache I had had was gone. It was now replaced with a mix of fear and surprise. I had never seen something like this in my life.
And then I laughed.
"Mom! Where did you get this glitter? That was amazing!" I said as I opened the bathroom door and went down the steps.
"What did you say?" she asked. When I got down to the last step, I saw her putting plates on either side of the table. Toast and bacon was on both of them. I smiled.
"That glitter you put in my hair? That was a good idea of how to wake me up. Where did you get that stuff?" I asked, my tone light. I bounced to one of the chairs and pulled it out to sit down. I glanced up in time to see my mom bringing toast with a confused look on her face.
"What glitter? Sweety, I have no idea what you're talking about." she said, putting a piece of bread on my plate. My eyebrows rose in confusion.
"What do you mean you don't know what I'm talking about?" I asked, reaching for the butter on the other side of the table. "That glitter in my hair? It was amazing." I told her, then spreading the butter on my toast. A silence made me look up. My mom was standing above me, inspecting my hair like the glitter was still there.
"I don't see any glitter in your hair. Honey, you must've been tired. Maybe you should have went to bed earlier." I heard her say as she made her way back into the kitchen that still held the bacon. I sat there dumbfounded, deciding to just let it go until after breakfast. Another rumble of thunder shook the chandelier above the table, and it made me look up to make sure it wasn't going to fall on me. This old house had been giving me the creeps lately.
The golden light it was giving off made me think of the glitter from this morning. But as I thought of what my mom had said, I started to think of the time I went to bed. It had been ten o' clock. It wasn't that late.
And then I remembered my reason for being so tired.
The forest, the glitter, the man. The voice. The dream.
The fork in my hand fell to the plate, clinking against it and echoing through the dining room. I felt my palms begin to sweat as my heart raced, it's rhythm doubled because of the fear that had begun to run in my veins. My head began to spin with the idea of the voice from last night. What was happening to me?
I didn't feel like eating anymore. Instead, I got up from my seat, the wooden chair making noise against the aged wooden floor. My mom was still in the kitchen, and before she came back out, I quickly climbed up the steps. When I got to my room, the first thing I did was go to my bed. I unraveled the covers, looking at my pillow that lay there with the indentation from my head.
The golden glitter was still there. Mud was at the bottom of my bed where my feet had been, and with the fear thickening in my throat, I heard the voice from last night.
"Sweet dreams tonight, Cassandra."
And then with my eyes and throat burning, I let out a scream that was louder than the thunder outside.
