I'll Show You Crazy

It starts with the feeling that you're not alone.

A girl appears at the edge of his vision-messy black hair, face swallowed by shadow, a white hoodie that never seems to catch the light. She's always there. Between trees. Across the street. Reflected in windows that shouldn't show her.

And every time the forest goes quiet, his head throbs.
Nausea coils in his stomach.
Like the world itself is watching him breathe.

The woods feel wrong. Alive.
The air hums with something ancient and patient, and the closer he gets to the trees, the worse it becomes. Migraines. Cold sweats. The certainty that something has already chosen him.

Then there's the dog.

A stray he never remembers adopting-too smart, too aware, eyes that linger a second too long. Strange things start happening around them. Missing time. Pages nailed to trees. Whispers that sound like laughter when the wind shifts just right.

He tells himself it's stress. Paranoia. Curiosity taken too far.

But the girl keeps smiling.
The forest keeps calling.
And the chains were never meant to be escaped.

Some obsessions don't chase.
They watch.
They wait.
And when they finally close in...

You don't run.
You belong.