stless, full of movement and noise. I was running... no, not running, moving swiftly and confident, through

oke up,

lver‑white. My sheets were twisted, damp with sweat, and my heart

lage wa

si

the heat

, clutching my arms as my skin prickled. Every sound sharpened the cr

inside m

nge beneath my feet, every tiny crack and grain a

hispered.

ng inside me exploded into something wild and alive. It felt like my body was

ve to keep fr

a low how

os

rer than ever, its trees bathed in moonlight. I could see paths b

my reflectio

fr

no longer ent

ugh the brown - fai

ashed o

pounded

my mother sho

I didn't want to scare her. But the pull toward the forest intensif

of pain hit s

hands trembled, fingers curling as stren

hift.

echoed in

if

led below, not brea

r came again, c

fe. Don't

sion. "I don't know

. The heat focused, no longe

ly, I pushed

mething like balance. I wasn't changing fully not

touched t

urn

the glass, tall and solid, moonlight glinting across dark fu

gua

ion rooted d

asn't

s a c

yes faded, not gone, just resting. What

it had

clined his he

o

appeared in

t more alive than I had ever felt. The fore

t like

p down,

beginning of wha