|𝟏𝟏𝐱 𝐅𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐝| The real monsters hide in plain sight.
It's always been Lena Matthews' dream to work for the Agency and kill monsters like her father. When Lena is sent undercover to the gated community of Atalka, she is given a simple mi...
Even with my eyes closed, I knew exactly where I was. The world around me was pulsating as if it were alive, and everything felt sharper somehow. There was a tree to my left that I was about to collide with, so I stepped out of the way.
"Are you cheating?" Jacob asked.
"My eyes are closed." I assured him. Despite that, I didn't feel restricted in a place like this. Even though I couldn't see, I knew that this place was overflowing with nature. Maybe I was in a garden.
"Okay." said Jacob. He moved his hands so I could take in the view. I wasn't sure what to expect, but this place was gorgeous.
"How did you find this place?" I asked.
We were in a secret alcove of downtown that had been cut off from the rest of the world by a moss covered stone. Within this small patch of Eden, everything was carefully designed like a Japanese garden. I could see a small pagoda that peacefully sat by a purple Japanese maple. Everything here was buzzing with a story that was begging to be told. I wasn't sure how to interpret everything yet, but I knew that there was something powerful here.
"Completely by accident." Jacob admitted. After helping me bandage my leg, Jacob had made me promise not to look as he guided me here.
My eyes rested in the one thing that looked like it didn't belong. It was a violently white obelisk that contrasted against the moss that surrounded it. The structure stood stoically with the somber aura of a gravestone. I inspected its carvings, which I suspected were Japanese characters. I had no way of knowing what they actually said.
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"Do you know what this means?" I asked, staring at the kanji characters intensely.
"Um... wind, between?" Jacob guessed, struggling to decipher the words.
"Seriously?" I asked, giggling at the gibberish.
"Wait, I think it says 'Kazama'" said Jacob.
"What does that mean?" I asked.
"No idea." Jacob admitted. "I never actually learned Japanese. Just some individual characters."
"Because of that Japanese episode?" I asked, the words slipping out before I could stop them. In my brain, the show Spellbound and the person standing right in front of me were still separate entities.
"Good memory." said Jacob, not elaborating.
"You know, you probably could have chosen anywhere after that show ended. Why here?" I asked.
"It's..." Jacob paused. "Okay, have you ever thought that you had an incredible idea that turned out to be terrible? But then you don't want to admit it was a failure so you make yourself ride out every second of it?"
"When I was in middle school I tried to Home Alone my house to protect it from invaders. But I ended up getting my brother Finn instead." I said.
