In the following days I mostly buried myself in work and before I knew it, three weeks already passed by since the move. I went to visit Josh’s parents every Saturday and gradually he and his family became an important part of my life.

If I’d ever had a brother, I’d wished he would be as kind and caring as Josh.

Alasie visited me almost every day, basically whenever her busy schedule allowed her to take some time off.

I never went back to the Iñupiat association after that one night, but I did miss it. Alasie’s grandfather was nowhere in sight and after the long hours of pondering what should I ask him about Tapeesa, I decided against it.

The old lady has never really bothered me again and I also haven’t seen her outside of her cottage.

The odd feeling in my chest that chilled me to the bone was gone, and I knew the stress was probably the main reason what caused my imagination to burst out.

So, I took a few steps back and rethought every single unreasonable theory that went through my mind.

The bear hadn’t bothered me anymore, nor anyone in the town for that matter, which meant this must have been only accidental occurrence.

I once again lived in peace and I relished it with my whole heart. Life was never better than in this right moment.

Or so I thought.

I locked the house behind me - it was an old habit, imprinted on my mind since I lived in a city filled with wrongdoings.

I was supposed to meet Alasie and go down to the hardware store where Josh would be waiting for us.

Trailing down the road, buried deep in my thoughts I suddenly felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned around with a smile on my face, ready to acknowledge the person who wanted to speak to me.

And I froze on the spot.

I found myself staring into the eyes black as a coal. Tapeesa was studying my face, almost as she was trying to figure something out. Her wrinkled face turned down into a deep frown and finally, she opened her mouth to say something.

I noticed she was missing half of her teeth and the rest of what was left of them were covered with yellow, tobacco stains.

“Tikigak.” She gripped my sleeve with surprising force, pulling me back.

“What is it? What’s wrong?” I said completely perplexed by her strange behavior.

“Tikigak.” She said once more, pointing at something behind me.

I swiftly turned around to see what was she indicating at. But there was only a deep forest behind us, no one else.

“I am sorry, I don’t understand,” I told her with pleading eyes, willing her to release her deathly grip.

“Stay out.” She said with a broken accent, her raven eyes widening with horror.

“But … Out of what?” Now I was thoroughly disturbed. This woman was completely out of her mind.

“The forest. Stay out.” She leaned in, staring deep into my eyes. Like once before, I felt as she was sucking the life force right out of me, feasting on my energy.

“I don’t know what are you talking about. Please let go of me.” Panic was filling my chest when I unsuccessfully tried to pry her bony fingers off my hand.

She just started at me with her black, rounded eyes, not loosening her hold on my upper arm.

And then I felt it, dark vines creeping up my spine and into my mind. For a second everything fell into darkness. The only thing I felt was a powerful force invading and stealing my memories. The memories of my hometown, my father … my mother.

Tapeesa slowly leaned in, whispering “He’s watching you.”

“What is this? What are you doing to me? Release me this instance!” I said with a lower, warning tone, which seemed to hold no effect on her.

“Run.” Her stale breath fanned my cheeks and I felt my stomach churning.

“Run!” She said louder, pushing me away from her.

“Run!” She was screaming now, slowly walking behind me.

I broke out into a full sprint, hearing the whooshing sound pulsating in my head as I struggled to fill my lungs with air.

I only stopped when there was a safe distance between us, glancing at her over my shoulder.

She still stood by the road, her eyes fixated on me.

“Death is coming,” she mouthed. A high-pitched cry tore out of her chest and I knew I saw and heard enough.

I raced towards the cafe, horrified by this odd woman. Some would laugh at the fact that an old lady unnerved me, but I had the right to feel so. You wouldn’t understand the ghastly sensations I felt when she touched me.

This was not natural, it couldn’t be.

I collided with a feminine frame and the person had to grab me by my shoulders to prevent me from falling.

“Faina?” Alasie said, but my mind was completely messed up. My head and lungs screamed at me and I felt like I was drowning.

“Faina, what happened?” She gently shook me to get my attention, but my mind was still on Tapeesa.

“You’re scaring me! Please!” She grasped my face in her hands, staring into my eyes.

“I …” I was still breathing hard from the strange encounter. I swallowed the lump in my throat “I need to speak to your grandfather Alasie.”

“All right. I’ll ask him if you can visit him tonight, OK?”

“No!” She winced at my harsh tone “I need to speak to him right now.”

She stared at me with puzzled expression on her face but caved in “OK. He’s probably at Betty’s, I’ll take you there. Just calm down, all right?”

I nodded watching her as she pulled out her phone “Josh? Can you come to Betty’s? Yeah, change of plans. All right then, see you there.” She ended her call, clasping her hand in mine “Come on then.”

I trailed behind her like a sleepwalker, my body cold from the shock.

“Will you tell me at least what happened?”

“I need to talk to Amaruq first.”

“But I don’t understand. What my grandfather has to do with this?”

“He knows something; I am sure of it,” I mumbled under my breath, earning a strange look from her.

“We’re here.” She announced, pulling me to the small blue house, almost identical to mine.