Amina

Shadowing

September 16

I couldn't stop myself. After yesterday, I kept replaying the scene over and over in my mind—Amina sitting alone in the park, the sun sinking behind the trees. I felt like she was waiting for something, like there was something I hadn't seen. Or maybe, something I needed to see.

After school, I found myself trailing her again. This time, I didn't hang back. I kept closer, just out of sight, moving fast enough to keep up but careful enough that she wouldn't know. I kept telling myself it wasn't weird. I just wanted to see where she went.

She took the same path, slipping through the school's back exit and crossing the side streets without hesitation, moving like she already knew where she was going. Her footsteps were soundless, even when she passed over gravel and dry leaves, as if the earth itself refused to make noise under her feet. I tried to keep quiet, too, even though I wasn't nearly as good at it as she was.

She led me back to the park. Today, though, she didn't sit on the bench. Instead, she walked deeper, past the open clearing and into the darker, denser part of the woods. I didn't know how far she'd go. The trees thickened, and the air grew cooler, filled with the scent of pine and damp earth. I felt the ground shift under my feet, the roots and stones making it hard to stay steady. But I couldn't turn back.

September 17

I was late to school today. I barely slept last night, my mind still buzzing from what happened in the woods. I almost feel like it wasn't real, like it was some feverish dream. But it was real. I know it was.

Amina stopped when she reached this small, overgrown clearing hidden deep in the woods. She stood there, unmoving, her back to me, her face turned toward something I couldn't see. I wanted to call out to her, but I knew I couldn't. Not yet.

Then, suddenly, she turned around, like she sensed me. I froze, pressing myself against the trunk of a tree, my heart pounding so loud I was sure she'd hear it. But she didn't seem to look right at me. Her gaze swept over the trees, searching, almost like she knew someone was there but couldn't quite see them.

For a split second, I thought I saw something in her eyes—this flicker, like a spark of recognition, or maybe even... anticipation. Like she'd known all along that I'd followed her. But then she turned away, and that flicker was gone, replaced by that same calm, detached look she always has. She stayed there for what felt like hours, and I kept hidden, just... watching.

It wasn't until the last of the light was fading from the sky that she finally left, slipping back through the trees as silently as she'd come. I stayed behind, staring at the spot where she'd stood, wondering if I'd missed something important. Maybe I'll go back there tonight. I need to see it again, whatever it was.

September 18

She looked at me today. In the cafeteria, during lunch. I was sitting a few tables away, pretending to do homework, glancing up every few seconds to see if she was there. And then, just like that, she was. She looked up from her tray, her eyes locking onto mine with this intensity that made my heart stop. I tried to look away, but I couldn't. I was stuck, caught in her gaze like a fly in a web.

She didn't look away. She didn't smile or nod or even blink. She just looked at me, her eyes unblinking, focused, like she could see right through me. I felt exposed, like she was peeling back every layer, seeing parts of me I hadn't even known were there. And then, as quickly as it began, it was over. She looked down at her tray, and I was left there, my face burning, my heart racing.

I don't know what's happening. I don't know why she looked at me like that, or why I felt like I'd been waiting for her to do it. I just know I can't stop thinking about it.

September 19

Today, I tried to focus on anything but Amina. I sat in class, took notes, even went to gym without looking for her once. But it didn't work. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw her face. Every time I heard footsteps behind me, I thought it might be her. It's like she's everywhere, even when she's not.

I decided I'd follow her again tonight. I don't know what I'm expecting to find. Maybe nothing. Maybe just her sitting in that same clearing, staring at nothing. But I need to see her again, to figure out what it is about her that's pulling me in. It's like there's this thread connecting us, something I can't break, no matter how hard I try.

September 20

I went back to the park tonight. I waited, crouched behind a tree, feeling the cold seeping into my bones, watching the edge of the clearing. And then, just as the last of the light was slipping from the sky, she appeared. She walked into the clearing, her face hidden by shadows, her steps as silent as always.

This time, she wasn't alone.

There was a man with her, someone older, maybe in his thirties, with dark hair and eyes that looked... wrong. Even from a distance, I could feel something off about him, something that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. They didn't say a word to each other, didn't even look at each other. They just stood there, side by side, staring into the woods like they were waiting for something—or someone.

I don't know how long I watched them, but it felt like hours. I felt trapped, too afraid to move, too afraid to stay. Just as I thought I couldn't take it anymore, the man turned, his eyes landing on me. It was like he could see me, even though I was hidden in the shadows, tucked behind a tree. His eyes glowed, faintly, like the last embers of a dying fire, and he smiled. It was a small smile, but it chilled me to the core.

I ran. I didn't look back. I don't know if they followed me, if they even cared that I was there, but I ran until I couldn't breathe, until my legs were numb and my heart was pounding so hard I thought it might burst.

September 21

I can't get that man's face out of my head. His smile, his eyes—they're burned into my memory, haunting me every time I close my eyes. I keep wondering if I imagined it, if maybe the darkness played tricks on me, if maybe it was all some bizarre dream. But I know it was real. I can still feel the fear, that cold, crawling dread that I haven't been able to shake.

Amina didn't come to school today. Part of me is relieved, but part of me... misses her. I don't understand it. I shouldn't want to see her after what happened, after the way that man looked at me, the way he smiled. But I do. I want to see her, to talk to her, to ask her who he was, what he wanted.

I want to know what she's hiding. Because I know now—there's something she's not telling anyone. There's something about her that's... wrong, something that feels like a puzzle I need to solve, no matter how many pieces are missing.

I know I should leave it alone, but I can't. I need to know. And I think, somehow, that Amina wants me to know.