I felt so tired, to me I had done so much in one day.
Today really did a number on me. It started with Aaron and his mysterious and vague replies to my questions then seeing an unlikely figure which I could swear I saw.
Then there was kind stranger –whom I forgot to get his name.
And to top it all – my now sprained ankle which all added together –wasn't my day.
I sighed wearily as I just laid on my bed staring at my room ceiling.
Was my perception of Halewoods false? Because from what I found –although the city is really nice– I couldn't seem to stop this feeling brewing in me that Halewoods lies so many secrets hidden.
I just seemed to be lost in thought till sleep finally enveloped me in its arms.
That night, sleep took me fast. The exhaustion, both physical and emotional, pulled me under like a tide.
---
In the darkness, something shimmered — a pair of icy blue, glowing eyes. They pierced through the void, fixing on me with an intensity that made my breath catch.
The shadows peeled back to reveal him.
A man.
Not just any man — impossibly beautiful, tall, with sculpted features as if carved from stone, hair dark as midnight and tousled just enough to be sinful. His skin held a pale, ethereal glow under the strange moonlight, and his lips curled into a faint, unreadable smile.
He stepped closer.
I couldn't move.
My body felt weightless, like a feather caught in a windless world. The air buzzed around us, thick with unspoken desire and something darker. The closer he came, the more alive I felt — every nerve lit, every sense sharpened.
Then I heard his next words
"MATE"
Without a word, his hand cupped my cheek, his thumb brushing gently against my lips. I shivered. The touch was cold… yet it burned.
Then, he kissed me.
Soft at first, a teasing, lingering press of lips, tasting of frost and wild earth. My heart pounded against my chest. The kiss deepened, hungry, desperate — like a man starved for centuries, and I, foolishly, willing to be devoured.
A warmth bloomed within me, chasing away the shadows. At that moment, I felt whole. Alive. Like every broken part of me had been sewn together by that kiss.
But it didn't last.
A sharp, gruesome snarl tore through the dreamscape — so visceral it felt like it split the world in half.
I gasped, pulling away, my heart pounding.
Behind us, a shape lunged from the darkness — something feral, massive, and twisted.
The man's eyes narrowed, and with an inhuman growl, his form began to shift. Bones cracked. Flesh rippled. A blur of black fur exploded where he stood.
Where the man had been now stood a colossal wolf, easily bigger than a car, its fur a deep, unholy black. Striking blue and crimson markings glimmered on its ears and around its eyes like war paint, ancient and powerful.
It let out a low, earth-rumbling growl that shook the ground beneath my feet.
I wanted to scream, to run — but the dream fractured into shards of darkness before I could.
And then, nothing.
---
I bolted upright in my bed, gasping for air, my throat bone-dry and my chest heaving as if I'd been drowning.
I reached for the glass of water by my bedside table and drank greedily, trying to steady my trembling hands.
But those icy blue eyes and that otherworldly kiss lingered — haunting, unforgettable.
Somehow… I knew this wasn't just a dream.
I checked the time and found it was just 11:24 PM, I must have slept longer than I expected.
I tried going back to sleep but nothing worked, so I decided to head to the kitchen and make myself some snacks.
No matter how I tried to forget the dream I just had, it still felt surreal.
Like it really happened –the sparks and the feelings I got felt too real to be a dream or an imagination.
Done with my chips –yet I'm still not sleepy –drank a cup of warm milk –yet nothing.
I sat on my couch and had a thought to check on my phone –yet no notifications. Not even a spam message.
A wave of sadness washed through me.
Ever since my parents died that night, it felt like I lost everything… including myself.
I didn't have friends or at least someone I could confide in.
Everything became so hard on me. Life had become a constant uphill battle at sixteen – a little while after the accident happened… after I lost my former self.
My mum's little sister Lyra took me in but in my parents house.
She was my only guardian, but we didn't really have much which made me start looking for part-time jobs and luckily found one.
Everything was fine and good till the day she left me –alone in this wicked world of a mysterious disease.
We were happy although we didn't have much but I guess fate had other plans for me.
It felt like adding salt to an already opened wound.
Everything was perfect that morning –she smiled, we talked about boys, she was happy.
I didn't detect anything wrong with her that day till – I came home that fateful evening.
I couldn't remember anything else but the sounds of sirens and a memory of her body covered in a white bedsheet.
Since then I was just closed off alone in the house.
Nobody took me away… all on my own.
I hadn't realized I was crying… again and wiped my tears away.
I headed back to my room and just laid on my bed.
The moon was shining ever so brightly bathing my room in a soft silver glow – which very much comforted me.
I felt so worn out from my thoughts and the dream –and fell asleep.
The next morning I woke up at dawn, the sun was still rising in its beauty.
I still felt so tired but dragged myself out of my bed. The pain in my sprained ankle had lessened and wasn't that significant.
I made my way to the bathroom, did my morning routine and put on anything I could find in my wardrobe.
Making my way downstairs I had this chill feeling like someone was watching me, but I just shrugged and headed to the kitchen to have a light breakfast.
I sat on my cushion after breakfast and decided to watch a movie because I had nothing else to do today.
Yesterday really taught me a lesson –always stay indoors.
The house was already pretty much neat –not like I had any child around.
I didn't really pay any attention to the movie I put on. Instead my mind was still lingered
The dream I had last night still lingered on my mind refusing to let go.
Not that I'm complaining –just the ending part really shook me to the core.
I don't know if there is any library here where I could find some research on Halewoods.
I don't have anyone's contact I could call to ask.
So google it is.
I didn't even know the movie had already gone halfway through but finished watching it anyway.
I headed back to my room to really see if I could find something on Google, but the shocking part of it was there was no library –what do you mean?
I literally read and watched everything again and again but to no avail.
Strange.
I checked the time and found that the day hadn't gone far.
Maybe I might use it to stroll Halewoods –last time gave me a scare though but still.
I walked to my closet to put on a light sweater and my old black jeans — my favorite pair, even though the knees were already starting to tear a little. I threw on a pair of sneakers, not caring that one lace was fraying at the edge. I tied my hair up in a messy bun, grabbed my phone and keys, and made my way out of the house.
The sun had fully risen now, though the air still carried that early morning crispness, and the streets of Halewoods were — as usual — calm. It was strange for a city this beautiful to feel so… empty. Like everyone knew something I didn't.
I walked past the little bakery down the street.
Yesterday the bakery was smelling really nice of nice loaves and cakes with a hint of chocolate and coffee but there was this old woman there who sat in front of the bakery and gave me side-eyes, like I was a stray cat about to steal from her.
But she wasn't there today.
Not that I cared.
The shop was shut, the blinds drawn, a little wooden sign hanging crookedly that read Closed for family emergency.
Weird.
I kept walking.
The farther I strolled, the more I noticed it — Halewoods was quiet. Not the peaceful kind of quiet. The eerie, ominous kind you hear in horror movies right before the monster jumps out.
The streets felt like they were holding their breath.
It gave me goosebumps.
I know I was meant to start heading back home at this point but I still continued walking.
I passed the community park where little kids usually played on the swings. Empty. The café by the corner? Dark, with no sign of life inside.
I was about to turn back when something caught my eye.
There. Tucked between a laundromat and a hardware store I swear wasn't there yesterday — an old, wooden shop with faded gold lettering on its door:
"The Hollow Archive."
A bookstore.
Or maybe a library?