“Uh, that's cool and all but what does that have to do with me?” I was still contemplating leaving, but now I wanted answers. “How does this correlate with the fox from my dreams?” 

Mrs. Takoda sighed, “You don’t believe us,” her smile wasn’t stretched as taut-- as if the edges began to fray from being met with disappointment too often.

“But please, my dear,” She placed a warm hand on my arm, “you must listen. If not for my sake, for your mother’s will, please trust everything will make sense when this week is through.” 

And reluctantly, I sat down.

“Your mother was… special, a Moon Child, very blessed, but also burdened.” Mrs. Takoda went on explaining how me and my mother were Moon Children, special people blessed with success in whatever they chose to pursue, their souls were especially bright. But that made them a target for spirits, who devour souls for power. Children of the Moon's souls… well they were brighter than any other. How the yellow was a parasitic demon-made infection that preys on human souls. Mrs. Takoda leaned in slightly, her voice low and firm.

Blessed? Yeah right, I barely had enough friends to make a volleyball team.

“There’s more you need to understand, Aven. These spirits, when they get into something– a fox, a deer, even a bird– they don't just crave souls, they’re centuries old and have gained enough cunning during that time to harvest efficiently. The host is no longer an animal, don’t think there’s still something left in there.”

“And they mimic,” Rowan added, his fingers were now spinning a strand of his cocoa bean hair, he still seemed nervous. I understood why now, I could be leading hordes of monsters to this town as we speak.

Wait, do I actually belive them? Hearing them out is one thing, but joining their cult-y delusions is a trip-around-the-woods sorta diffrent. Just because they predicted my nightmares won't mean that--

“They’ll use the voices of loved ones to lure you out.” Mrs. Takoda continued, “they’ll use just about any memory, any tactic. You’ve been hearing of at least one in your dreams, haven't you, Aven?” My breath caught. She went on further,

That made me stop thinking of why I shouldn't belive them. Last night... that dream... the fox... it used dad's voice.

“If you ever hear someone calling your name when you’re alone, don’t answer. If someone tells you to come into the woods, don’t go. If you’re ever unsure of what's real and who’s not, find Rowan. Find me. Never be alone if you can help it.”

“But…” I glanced towards the window, the shadows in the trees looked so much darker than I remembered. “Why now? Why all of a sudden?” The woman sitting next to me seemed to age a decade thinking of the right words to tell me, as if this conversation was going to hurt her.

“Because your mother’s protection is ending,” She said, “She held them back for thirteen years. That was the bargain, her soul in place of yours, to lay this land as forbidden to them. But on your thirteenth birthday, my dear, the seal weakens. The moon disappears from the night sky, her barrier will weaken. That’s when they’ll be able to cross the threshold, you become… available to them.” Rowan swallowed hard before adding, “They can smell your soul, Aven. And yours is like… a feast,” A deep silence followed, before Mrs. Takoda met my eyes with a fierce determination to protect me, underlaid with fear that determination alone won't be enough.

“The spirits want you, they know you.”

After that heavy conversation, Rowan offered to walk me back to my house, even though I lived on the same street and he was clearly anxious enough to fuel the town’s electricity for a year. Still, I was grateful for his attempt to make me feel better. Now, on the street, I felt like every tree was going to jump out at me.