“Please!” I said eagerly, ideas for my new novel spinning through my mind.

“It was the year of 1640 when Astanik was only a small village. There were no houses here, only small, rounded cottages made out of wood, covered with animal skin. It was a small community of twenty people or so,” he cleared his throat, continuing with the story “There lived a strong man that village people looked up to and respected deeply. His wife was believed to be a shaman – a healer that mended every wound. Some said she had magical powers and could talk to the spirit world.

The man, Aput wished to have a son, but his wife seemed to be barren. They tried to conceive for a long time and finally, they succeeded. The little boy was born on the especially stormy night when the lightning blasted through the sky and threatened to rip open the heavens. But they survived and named their son Kalluk – the thunder.

Kalluk grew into a strong man and proudly passed his rite of passage, killing the biggest caribou in the herd and proved he could provide for his future family.”

I looked around, realizing everybody listened intently. The children’s eyes gleamed with excitement.

“Aput was delighted to have such strong and wise son. Unfortunately, his happiness didn’t last long. When Kalluk was twenty-eight years old he still refused to settle down with a woman who bore him a child. He became self-centered and arrogant, thinking he was invincible.”

“I’m sure he dies in the end!” Said a young boy sitting beside me.

Amaruq put his finger to his lips “Shh. Just listen. The short-tempered man was suddenly buried in fury, for he wished to be free as a bird, tired of listening to what he should and shouldn’t do. He took his anger on animals, enjoying slaughtering them. Sure, the village didn’t starve anymore, but the balance between life and death was hanging on a thread.” Amaruq stopped to take a breath “Kalluk’s temper worsened in time and his mother became worried. She decided she had no choice but to ask for help. She used her abilities and begged Qailertetang, a deity who cares for animals, fishermen, and hunters to show her son the right path. But things didn’t go as expected.” The older man looked at us, sighing.

“The deity didn’t think Kalluk was worthy of redemption. She said his soul was evil and tainted and he should be what he really was – tuungak, a demon. One day men returned from a long hunt, but Kalluk wasn’t one of them. The hunters said there was an accident where the bear mauled him to death, but this wasn’t entirely true.”

“What happened to him?” I inquired curiously.

Amaruq smiled at my impatience “Some say they saw him lurking in the woods or around the lake. But he wasn’t the same anymore. He was turned into an evil spirit, his appearance horrifying to the human eye - half human, half monster. He prayed on the innocent hunters until nobody dared to enter the woods anymore. The villagers were so afraid they packed their belongings and moved to the north, abandoning their homes. Over two hundred years later some returned and to this day some still hear Kalluk’s cries in the night.”

Even though I knew this was only a story, I still felt goosebumps rising on my forearms.

“I am not afraid of him! It’s only a made-up story. I’ve never heard him at night, only wolves.” Said one of the boys.

“You’re the lucky one, boy. Others weren’t.”

“Have you heard him, Amaruq?” Asked Betty’s granddaughter, appearing less unnerved than the boy who claimed he wasn’t scared.

“I haven’t. But my grandfather did.”

“What has he heard?” The girl leaned forward; her mouth slightly ajar.

“A loud shrill that chilled him to the bone.” Josh jumped in, wiggling his fingers.

Alasie gave him a scolding look “You’re scaring them.”

“So? They wished to be scared. Didn’t you?” He turned to the kids who sat there in deathly silence, their faces paled with horror.

“I guess not,” he smirked, chuckling at how fast their courage vaporized.

“You all right?” Alasie nudged my side.

“Yes, it’s just your grandfather is very convincing. That reminds me,” I said, turning back to Amaruq “Sir, may I use this story in my novel?”

“You liked it that much, huh? Go ahead, it would be nice for it to not be lost and forgotten when we old ones won’t be warming the earth no more.”

I nodded gratefully “Thank you. I must ask, is there more to the story? Or is this the end of it?”

“There is more. But not tonight, kids are exhausted. You can come by whenever you’d like and I’ll tell you the rest. Alasie will show you where we live,” he promised, leaning in “Just don’t go wandering in the middle of the night.”

I gave out a breathy laugh “I think I won’t, I would get lost pretty easily.”

“Good,” he smiled, patting my shoulder “Have a good night and thank you for your presence.” I watched him turn and leave to talk to the others.

“This was fun! I am entirely creeped out, but still.”

“You look it. Even more than the kids.” Josh smirked, placing his hand on Alasie’s waist.

“Just don’t encourage him too much.” Alasie’s eyes landed on her grandfather “Sometimes he can be a little nostalgic about the old times…To an extent where he believes the stories are true.”

“I understand. Well, thank you so much for the invite. It’s really late and if I don’t want to be eaten by Kalluk, I’d better get going.”

“Wait!” I heard Josh call me “I’ll drive you.”

“What about Alasie?” I was ready to protest that it was only about fifteen minutes until I reach my house.

“This is my home,” she smirked, pointing at the house standing not too far behind the building we were in “So I think I’ll manage.”

“Faina.” She pulled out her phone “Are you free tomorrow?”

“Yes, what did you have in mind?”

“I thought we could go for a walk down the lake,” she gave me her number when I agreed “I’ll call you when I finish my shift.”

I awkwardly stood there, pretending not to notice how Josh kissed her. I’ve never given much thought to having a boyfriend or someone to love. This place was turning me soft, melting my frozen heart.

“Ready?” He finally let go of her and turned to leave.

Nodding I took one last look at the people behind me, before I followed him into the night.

He dropped me at my house and drove right back to pick up someone else whom he also promised a ride.

I stood outside, surrounded by darkness and the creaking noises of trees. I felt my hair rising on the back of my neck as a sudden uneasy feeling crept under my skin. The lamppost was flickering in the distance, softly illuminating the snowy road.

I turned towards the serpentine that ran by my house in the direction of the two smaller lakes, hiding deep in the woods. Wasn’t that the place where the sighting of Kalluk happened?

The road appeared infinite, surrounded on both sides by dark, misty forests – so dense it was impossible to see anything else.

For a second it seemed like branches of spruce trees curved in unnatural ways, similar to long skeletal fingers that wished to claw anyone who dared to enter, but when I blinked the illusion was gone.

Exactly this was the reason I never watched or read any horror stories. My imagination was already running wild.

“Get a grip Faina” I shook my head and turned to grab the door knob. I was ready to enter the house when I stopped dead in my tracks.

There was no way the sound I heard next was solely the seed of my imagination.

Slow, soft footsteps resonated somewhere in the woods, dry branches cracking underneath every step.

I whirled around, my heart thundering against my chest. Ever so slowly I took a careful step forward, wincing at the creaking sound of my porch. Narrowing my eyes to see better, I called out: “Who’s there?” But there was nothing but blackness in the distance. Suddenly everything went quiet.

I was feeling silly how every little thing scared me to death. It was only an animal; these woods were filled with them. Probably even a hungry, stray dog or a fox.

But then I heard it again.

Slow, calculated footsteps gradually advancing towards my house.

My heartbeat went into an overdrive as I sprinted inside, slamming the door shut. My hands shook as I locked the door twice, almost dropping the key.

The only thing I heard was my frantic breathing as I stood still, straining my ears to catch anything unusual. But much like before, there was only a deadly silence.

I plastered my body against the wall, pushing myself toward the window that faced the woods. Ever so slowly I leaned in to see if anyone was in my backyard.

The only moving thing was a soft wind, hitting the trees, rocking their tips back and forth with a steady rhythm.

I drew the curtains as fast as I could, exhaling loudly when the thick material finally covered the whole exposed surface of the window.

“This is insane.” I murmured, gulping down the lump in my throat.

“Oh God!” I smacked my forehead “I am so stupid!” Had I really believed that something unnatural roamed the woods behind my house? As I was busy with terror it completely slipped my mind that this was probably a prank Josh and others planned for me. When I thought about it, my conclusion was completely logical.

“Good job, guys! Good job!” I laughed out loud, finally being able to breath “You scared me shitless.” I am seriously going to kill Alasie if she was taking a part in this foolish theatrics.

And as for me, I earnestly needed to get a grip. Living with only myself and my books was doing strange things to my mind.