Selene woke up from the continuous slaps on her shoulder. She blindly shakes off the hands of the perpetrator, but her hands are firmly captured by it.

 “Selene, wake up! Can you hear me?” a distressed voice of a lone female calls out to her.

In agony, Selene lets out a groan. She is apprehensive to open her eyes because of how heavy they feel. But her ears are being irritated by the constant, high-volume noise. As her eyelids gradually reopened, a hazy image of Dorothy's face materialized.

“Are you okay? What happened? Wait! I will call an ambulance.” Dorothy starts asking her a lot of questions. She is immediately haunted by the events of last night, especially the terrifying sight of the pale, bleeding hands reaching out from the mirror and the eerie eyes peering directly into her. It would be nice if it were only a dream and not her reality. When Selene touches her forehead gently, she experiences a pulsating agony and notices that her fingertips are stained with blood.

“No, don’t call an ambulance. The wound is not that deep.” Selene replies weakly. “Help me up.”

Dorothy comes to her side and gently sits her up while supporting her back. Luckily, her back doesn’t hurt much compared to last night, aside from her throbbing forehead. It feels like tiny pinpricks of needles are relentlessly stabbing it.

“Are you sure? What if you have an in—”

“Did you call Patrick?”  Selene asks while slowly standing up with Dorothy’s assistance. Her legs feel too weak, but she can still take small steps until she reaches her bed.

“No. I didn’t call Patrick yet,” she replied worriedly. Selene breathes a sigh of relief. She doesn’t want to worry him.

“Don’t call him,” she pleads to Dorothy. “I’m fine. I just hit my head and slipped.” Selene added nonchalantly. However, she doesn’t look even a tiny bit convinced. She looks at her doubtfully. Dorothy gently sits her on the edge of the bed and thoroughly examines her from head to toe.

Selene groans loudly. She understands that she’s worried, but she doesn’t have to be overprotective, just like Patrick. She needs her as a best friend, not as a caretaker.

“Don’t call an ambulance, and don’t call Patrick. Let’s just go to the hospital for a check-up after our appointment.”

Dorothy arches her almost too-perfect eyebrow. “You got the sequence wrong. Let’s have you check into the hospital first before going to our appointment.”

Selene raises both her hands in defeat. “All right, let’s have it your way. Just let me rest for a little bit since my knees still feel weak.”

Dorothy folds her arms and stares down at her. “I know you’re clumsy, but tripping and passing out? What happened?”

“I think I saw something last night. Though I don’t know if it’s related to my nightmares.”

“Something? Like a Gho—ghost?!”  Dorothy’s gaze frantically wanders around the room, and her eyes are glued to the opened bathroom door.  She unconsciously rubs her bare arms as if to chase away the sudden cold that shrouds the surroundings.

“Precisely speaking, I saw eyes staring right through me from the mirror and a pair of hands trying to reach out to me and asking for help.”

Dorothy’s eyes grow wide, and when her bedroom door suddenly opens, she shrieks and jumps in surprise. She immediately hides behind her when Selene sees a black snout and whiskers at the door. She smiles widely. 

“Stop scaring yourself. It’s just Snow.”

“What?!” when Snow finally manages to open the door wide enough, he thoroughly squeezes in his enormous body. He swiftly runs towards her, his black tail wagging adorably.

Dorothy angrily points towards Snow. “Are you sure that’s just a dog? It looks like a wolf to me, and what kind of dog can open a door like that?”

Snow jumps at her and starts licking her hands. “What are you saying? He’s been trained to do that.”

Snow yawns exposing razor-sharp teeth, and Dorothy squeezes in further to hide. She’s not the least bit convinced. “Anyway, get dressed. I will wait for you outside, and please hold your dog while I’m going out. I think he’s getting ready to eat me.”

Selene shakes her head in disbelief. If Snow had plans of eating her, she wouldn’t be able to come inside the house unscathed. However, Selene lifts and carries Snow while Dorothy nervously leaves the room to soothe her. Snow stares at her; his ice-blue eyes almost look like they sparkle with mischief. Selene grins and starts cuddling with Snow. How she wishes everything would go back to normal, just like always.

A huge, terrifying blood-red moon dangling dangerously near Selene's head is the first thing she notices upon opening her eyes. She believes she can reach out and touch it if she stretches out her hand slightly. The idea leaves Selene speechless. While taking stock of her environment, she detects the scent of dirt and the feel of cold, hard ground, indicating that she is likely lying on her back.  Her skin gets chilly as the cold penetrates through her barely-there clothing. Selene straightens her back and takes stock of her appearance. Wearing a white slip-on dress, she stands apart from her usual attire before dozing off. Selene must be dreaming, she thinks, as she notices her naked feet. A hollow sound resounded in her ears as she couldn't suppress her laughter. She wouldn't even describe it as a dream if I told her.  She should have been in the car with Dorothy, but the level of detail makes it seem like she was whisked away. As planned, they are en route to the shaman's residence.

Selene thought that nothing would surprise her even more. Still, a sudden blast of wind blew in her direction, and it brought about a tangy scent of sulfur mixed with the mustiness of the earth. The strong waves slam hard beneath her, and she can feel its impact reverberate through her body. Selene’s body recoiled with her laugh coming out in broken gasps. Her mind is utterly gripped with fear. She doesn’t need to have another confirmation to accept that she is dreaming. There's no way she will be stupid enough to go anywhere near the sea again.

Habitually, Selene starts taking note of everything she sees. In this dream, she’s sitting on a cliff with gigantic waves ready to swallow her whole. A blood-red moon in her backdrop serves as an omen that she’s about to meet her demise. She can't make out anything aside from that because it's too dark to see anything else.

"This is terrible," Selene murmurs.  Crawling away from the edge of the cliff, she begins to escape before anything else occurs. No matter how foolish she seems, Selene is unconcerned. As quickly as possible, she must leave this place.

Her heart is pounding so hard that it’s too loud. As seconds tick by, she feels her energy slowly fading away. If she wastes any more time, she’s going to lose it. Selene’s mind is barely hanging by a thread when sudden lightning strikes the ground and sets a massive tree on fire. She freezes on the spot, mouth agape. Even though she is aware that this is only a dream, the first thing that crosses her mind is that she will be burned alive before getting swallowed by the giant waves.

"This is the worst dream ever!" Selene screams at the top of her lungs. The fire is already spreading fast and getting nearer. She can feel her skin slowly scorching, and her throat is drying up.

"Am I finally going to die in my dream?" Selene asks with gritted teeth. Just like her dream last night, this one also feels different. She can't accurately pinpoint what's wrong, but she can feel that something is off. Her guts told her that this was just a prelude to everything that would make her life even more difficult than it already was.

"This isn't a dream," a masculine voice whispers, his voice carried by the wind.

"Who's there?" Selene frantically searches for the owner of the voice. The black mist suddenly gathered before her and took the shape of a tall, figured man.

"This isn't a dream. If you don't go back now, you're going to die." the tall figure declares. Its voice sounds so deep that it feels like it came from the very bottom of the earth. All the hairs on her body stand on its end. "Everything is already set. We can't let you die here in vain."

"I don't even know how to wake up from this dream!" Selene complains, purposely ignoring its last statement.

"I will help you."

"How—" her voice dies down when a sharp object pierces through her chest. She looks up at the faceless figure in front of her, stunned, and feels an excruciating pain as the blood oozes out. Selene clutched her wounded chest, trying to stop the bleeding, but it was no use. The wound is just too deep. Selene gasps in pain, and blood comes out of her mouth. She can feel her consciousness slowly fading away.

"You will not die." the black mist declares. Still, before Selene passes out entirely, it leaves an even more sinister reminder that makes her wish she won't remember everything when she wakes up.

"I’ve been waiting far too long. Remember our promise."

Selene wakes up with a gasp, and the first thing she sees is Dorothy's worried face and an intense stare.  "Thank God, you're awake. You were groaning in pain while sleeping." Dorothy remarks while focusing her attention back on driving.

“I'm fine," Selene replies, panting.  "I just had a bad dream.”

Selene tries to put on a smile to ease her worry.  She just hears a small grunt from Dorothy that might be considered her reply.  Selene remains silent and focuses her gaze on the row of tall trees as the car passes.  As they near the top of the mountain, the temperature seems to be getting colder, and the car window starts fogging. Selene sighs heavily. She repetitively replayed her dream in her mind for the whole duration of the trip, trying to decipher the message behind it, but she still couldn’t understand it.

They reach their location before she realizes it since she is so engrossed in her thoughts. A hushed stillness greeted Selene as she stepped out of the vehicle. Similarly, she perceives only grass and trees in every direction. But from above, the vista was stunning. It is a great spot to go for a relaxing vacation because it is surrounded by nature, has plenty of vegetation, and has some chic residences scattered below. The air is crisp and the temperature is just right—the cherry on top. Despite the sun's continued brightness, the weather turned chilly and pleasant, especially given the elevation. Savoring each breath, Selene takes a long breath in.

The shaman's house is located in a mountainous rural area three to five hours away from the city. After her check-up, they grabbed a quick lunch and continued traveling. Dorothy drove the whole way, considering they might get into an accident if she was the one behind the wheel. Though she managed to get her driver’s license with a barely passing grade, Patrick forbids her to drive independently, utterly aware of how hopeless she is when driving. Thankfully, some streets are paved, and Dorothy can navigate easily, although the road is steep.

“Selene let’s go. We still have to climb a hundred twenty steps to get there.” her friend points towards the direction of the stairs. By looking at those uneven, steep stairs, Selene was feeling tired already.

Dorothy grabbed her hand and led her upstairs. However, she’s been actively participating in sports like martial arts to build her stamina, the continuous lack of sleep, and her busy schedule and number on her body. She’s been feeling weak and a bit under the weather these past few weeks and doing a trek at this point will be a challenging job.  When they finally reach the top of the stairs, Selene is panting for breath while Dorothy remains unfazed. She curses silently. She needs to get back in top shape.

Selene focuses her gaze on the house in front of her. The charming and rustic wood cabin surrounded by a well-kept garden, with a grass field and flower patches at the edges, looks striking and warm even from a distance. The house is also built with slightly tall, rounded windows that allow enough light to enter the house.

The intricately decorated door suddenly opens, revealing a tall-dark-haired woman wearing a tiered long-sleeve boho dress that reaches past her feet. She looks completely normal from what she imagined but her presence says otherwise. I felt all the hair on my body stand on end. I couldn't help but be on guard.

 She's not normal. Selene sighed in defeat. Today will be a long day.