Yuw had awoken in the early morning, sitting up and gasping for air. “Every night. Every. Single. Night.… Why? …I don’t need this.” Yuw mumbled, turning back over to sleep. She was annoyed at the constant reminder of that day, accompanied by the disappointment of those close to her. The nightmare-filled nights will always come to greet her whenever she attempts to get some rest. 

After groaning for a couple of minutes, she turned to lay on her back and stared at the ceiling above, knowing that she’s most likely not going to get any more rest for the night. As she shifted in her sheets, Yuw felt the touch of cold air, and didn’t want to imagine how much cooler it was outside. The sound of the raindrops accompanied the city hums of the early morning. The warm blankets embraced her as she looked around her apartment, thinking of what was to come from her day.

Wyse always felt like a thorn in Yuw’s side, and got everything she wanted. The smaller acquaintance climbed the ranks as soon as she arrived, especially when she gained the favor of a specific friend, all while the giant had to work her way up. Yuw only found the soldier to be non-observant and too hasteful to be running into situations. She didn’t just put herself in danger, but also everyone around her. Still, as much as the giant disliked the woman, that didn’t stop her from trying to save her. 

If it was Wyse sucking up to any other person, Yuw could’ve ignored it. But this wasn’t just some commander, it was Ryahno. A long time friend of the giant’s. They were childhood friends, they did everything together. They even applied to train and work in the military together. Their support for one another lasted through their career, with Ryahno lifting her spirits during the darkest time. It wasn’t until this one mission when the friend went MIA and came back as a completely different person, did they start to grow distant. 

Yuw tried everything she could to become friends with the woman again, to be as close as they once were, but nothing worked. The more distant they became, the more she felt like a bother to Ryahno. And ever since Wyse’s death, Yuw quit the military to try for other jobs like the police, a security guard, even as a personal gym trainer. It didn’t go as smoothly as she hoped for, so she tried for a teacher in a local elementary school. She found this job more satisfying and stable, but she wished that her friend was there to support and spend time with her.

When it came to Wyse, there wasn’t much she knew about them. All that was known was that the woman worked in some isolated mansion as a security personnel.  It was then that Ryahno had found the woman while out on some mission, and brought her back to Dikuda. It only took a few weeks for Wyse to bring out the more positive sides of Ryahno.  It felt impossible. It confused the giant and made her jealous. 

One day after Wyse’s death, without warning, the nightmares started happening and continued without fail. After weeks, the blue-haired woman thought she would be used to the scene by now, but all it brought back were the memories of that day, along with every emotion that came with it. 

Nonetheless, she continued about her day as an educator at a local elementary school, teaching the students the lessons she had planned, grading the children’s homework, and kept trying to ignore the presence of the nightmares. Yuw then started to grow anxious as day turned into night, and made a vain attempt to stay up. It all felt endless, and filled her with dread of the possibility that this is something she’ll have to live with for the rest of her life. 

Just as things seemed to normalize, she started to hear something call to her deep into the night. The words were incoherent, and it was hard to make out where it came from. “Hello? Who is there? What do you want?!” Yuw’s eyes scanned the room, looking from one end of the exposed brick wall to the other, counting the pipes that ran along the ceiling. Her hands subconsciously grasped the sheets. With no answer, she passed it off as a loud neighbor or a passerby. 

As the night went, she was constantly woken up, hearing the distant voice made her more annoyed with each rude awakening. It didn’t take long for Yuw to get up and burst into the hallway to investigate. 

She expected the area to be packed with drunk people. There was always this one neighbor who loved to host parties that extended way past midnight. He often invited all his friends over, and things would get loud. But to her surprise, the hallway was empty. With an annoyed sigh, she went back to bed, remembering the long day of work ahead of her.

After a restless night of voices and nightmares, Yuw hoped to escape from it all as she went to work. Very soon, she started to hear the murmurs as she walked down the empty halls. This only caused the giant to constantly look over her shoulder, trying to find the source of her paranoia. It felt like someone was watching her, trying to get her attention. Conveniently, when the sensations came up, it was always one of the children asking if she was okay. No matter when it happened, the feeling persisted.

By the third day, Yuw was found in her seat during lunch with her head on the desk, wanting to get rid of this sickly feeling. It felt like something, or someone, was breathing down her neck, pressing themselves on top of her. It wasn’t until she heard a faint voice, inaudible, but right in her ear, did she finally have enough. 

“Back off!” Yuw yelled, waving her arm to swat at the perpetrator. When she lifted up her head, she realized her co-worker was meters away from her.

“If right now is a bad time, I can come by later if you like.” The man, who was the history teacher for her students, was carrying a small bag that seemed to carry his lunch.

“Sorry…” Yuw apologized to the man, while also relieved it wasn’t a student that she had snapped at. It was then, she decided to take the rest of the day off, wanting to have some private time to calm down from her outburst. The last thing she wanted was to have her co-workers think she’s crazy.

That very night, she was shocked awake by the nightmare, but this time the emotions felt more intense than before. Yuw looked around the dark corners of her apartment, paranoid of what’s lurking in the shadows.  

Voices scattered around the room and filled all the empty spaces. It was all too warped to recognize who they were, all she knew was that they were speaking to her. 

“Where am I?” “What did you do?!” “This is your fault, isn’t it?!” “You did this!” “Am I trapped?!” The questions were endless and came one after another. It didn’t sound like the children at the school. They were much older, around her own age. Like an angry parent, constantly berating her. 

The giant tried to cover her ears, but the sound only slipped between her fingers, becoming distorted with their emotions. Quickly going from angry to sad, and even hints of curiosity, making it hard for Yuw to determine if it was one voice or many. 

“Why did you do this?” “What do you want?!” The loud whispers cut through the others, stopping her attempts to suppress it all. “It was you, wasn’t it?” “Why?” “What kind of dark magic is this?!” “What did you do!?”

“...Wyse?” Yuw asked, her voice shakened by the thought of being haunted by the soldier. She felt like it was no coincidence, with the constant nightmares of her death, that it had to be that woman. “W-Why what? What did I do? I tried to save you, but it was too late! Please!” With her plea, the voice became quieter, making the giant pause for only a few moments to wonder if they truly were gone, hoping it was the end of it. But as they came back, it filled her with dread once more.

“Why do you deserve forgiveness?” The voice sounded cold, distant, and disappointed. It was accompanied by low mumbling sounds, as if they were trying to recite some spell.

“I…” Yuw was at a loss, stumped by why the question of forgiveness was brought up. As far as she knew, it was all an accident. Perhaps she could’ve warned Wyse before letting her just impulsively dash forward. However, if forgiveness could rid her of torturous nightmares and haunting whispers for the rest of her life, then she would gladly ask for it. 

The murmur started to become louder, even more than before, causing the fearful giant to back into a corner. It was like the words were pushing her, pressuring her. 

“I tried!” She pleaded once more, but the voice only grew violent. With nowhere else to go, Yuw bursted out of her bed to grab her phone. “3:46 am… Fuck it.” The woman quickly dialed the only person she can think of, “Please, pick up. Pick up. Please, please, please.”

There was a soft click on the other side as someone answered the phone. “Hello..?” Autumn, the tired friend, let out a yawn as she spoke. Yuw knew she would be the only person she could call in a situation like this.

“Autumn? C-can you please come over? I need help…” She couldn’t even hear what the other woman had said over the voice screaming at her, piercing into her head. All Yuw could do was continue to beg and ask for the woman to come over. “Please… Please, please, please.”