Nine o’clock alters into ten and then one , with each passing minute , only the clock hands move with my time stuck .I keep trying to sleep by opening my eyes wide and rubbing them , I close my eyes again that they almost sting , but the pain in my neck could not let me sleep even for a minute . you cannot imagine the craving for the rest that I feel , the hunger , the thirst. It was a strange pain that I had never experienced before , I kept changing sides but I could not sleep at all. I was lying on the bed in my pathetic state when all of a sudden I heard a strange sound downstairs , a sound of someone’s footsteps slowly approaching the stairs. I did not make a single sound and pulled the blanket over my face. There was something strong enough for me to open my drawer and reach out for the hammer , The footsteps stopped. I took a deep breath and got out of my bed. The pain in my neck was immense at this moment , I stood up and wore my slippers , then without making a sound ,I opened my bedroom door and slinked out of my room , I could no longer feel any presence but I kept searching for a clue. when I reached dowstairs that mysterious person had vanished before I could even catch a glimpse of him. I felt a little scared , but the pain in my neck was gone , I walked up to my room , let out a huge sigh and laid back on my bed , before I knew I was sleeping soundly.

Narrators P.O.V

The early morning sun was already well risen and the spring grass shone like it had its own gentle glow from within. She was walking slowly , almost robotically , still in her sleep , as if her brain was struggling to tell each foot to take the next step , it was as if she were in a stupor , she turned her helpless heavy still half asleep body towards the kitchen and put the frying pan on fire , taking out the eggs from the fridge “brown? Why are they brown? well I don’t care if they’re brown or black ,I really want to feed these dying whales.” she said and started to mix the ingredients to make the omelette , she then put it on the stove.

“oh yeah , I forgot to check my savings” she says and runs to her room upstairs while the omelette is still on the stove.

“alright , I have enough for this month , that’s great!” she sits comfortably on her bed with her legs crossed and her arms wrapped around her chest.

“I don’t have anything to worry about now!” she says to herself and lets out a sigh of relief. Her stomach growled and she squirmed on the bed trying to silence the rumbling.

“now something for my gnawing , black hole in the stomach.” She says and gets up. Her eyes and her mouth froze wide open in an expression of stunned surprise. “My omelette!” she shouts.

A black rubber wheel ready to get fixed onto a car. It slipped into the dustbin with a thunk.

Emma’s P.O.V:-

Now I got out of my cottage and was heading towards Ivyhood , the town which comes after I cross the forest , and in the town lived my best friend sophie , we are childhood friends , when I feel helpless and worthless , I need to let my thoughts explode where they wont do any damage , that’s why I have sophie. That’s why she has me , we do things together , the one and only person always giving me a shoulder in my rough and tough times is her , all my good memories , all my best memories , all the worst memories , shes always there. Well she is not quite as nice as you would have imagined , she should be called miss mischievous , she’s quite the wicked one , well in a mood way , always brightening up my mood when its off.

I reached ‘Beans&Snacks’, the café I always go to , round tables , wooden light brown chairs , chopin’s nocturne playing in soft volume , ceiling fans slowly turning , the menus lying flat on the table, large windows. I walked in and sat down on the chair resting my hands on the table. I flipped the menu pages aimlessly thinking about last night. I started to look around . A weak , frail waiter with light brown hair that covered his forehead always took my order. He was very tall approximately 180cm , he wore glasses and had acne scars all over his face , he always wore the apron that was a part of his uniform.

“What would you like?” he asked.

“ I would like vanilla espresso and my regular toast.”

“It would be 4 dollars”

“here you go.” I took out the four dollars from my hand-made cloth purse and handed the money to him. After finishing, I checked my pocket watch , it was 8:45am , at this time sophie wakes up and waits for me at the door. She has a flower shop that is the only flower shop in town , so she has quite the good running business.

“Hey! Come over here quick!” says sophie.

“What’s new? What happened? Hey lefty before that , you remember the pain in my neck , its not going away.” I said.

“ oh really? It will go away soon , but if HE goes away , I wont be able to recover , don’t worry , leave that and check THAT out.” She pointed at the shop next to her flower shop , it was a café.

“What’s so special in there?” I asked.

“don’t you see that crowd?! Now listen , there’s a really cool guy in the middle of the crowd , he is the new barista , my eyes land on him and then I cant take my eyes off him , my heart stops skipping a beat when I see his black hair that complements his aquamarine eyes and pale skin so beautifully.”

“stop it freak , where’s Juliet?” I asked.

“that ugly girl left yesterday saying she had found a better job. Well good for her and lucky for me.” She said as she smiled and then gave the maniac laughter like a retarded person that she always gives when something really good happens in her life. It was a cruel laughter that ripped my ears off.

“Why are you telling me that?” I asked.

“Because you have a role to play! A job to do!” she kept laughing.

“What?” I slowly stepped back from her.

“You have to go to the shop , grab my darling and bring him to me. Ha ha ha ha ha” she started to creep me out , her shoulders shaking in silent laughter as I asked “ wait what? Darling?! You don’t even know him and how will I do that?”

“Just go in and tell me everything you see” she replied.

“why don’t you go yourself?” I asked smiling.

“ are you serious? I am the female lead and the she never stalks the male lead , she just meets him coincidently like fate! , like destiny! you get what I am saying? she asked opening her eyes wide and smiling to me waiting for my reply.

“Wow , you call this destiny? stop that lefty! I will no-“ she made the puppy face in which she looks the ultimate ugliest she could ever look and then after making that face she said “ puweeese? Don’t you pity me? Aren’t I cute? Wont you help this little cute lost puppy?” she kept talking in that annoying tone.

“stop it.” I said.

“wot?” she kept maddening me.

“stop what you are doing at once.” I stopped looking at her face and turned away , she came in front of me with that face.

“stop. I will do it.”

“you are my best friend emma!” she shouted and hugged me.

I went inside the café where I saw the new barista with a red angry face and an annoyed look , girls surrounding him , obsessing all over him , it was not just sophie’s case , I realized. “pests” he murmured and went back to brew some coffee.

“um.. excuse me?” I diverted his attention towards me.

He stared at me as I waited for his reply. He kept staring right into my eyes.

“what is it?” he asked.

“um.. I wanted to..” I was deciding what to order.

“what would you like to order MA’AM!” he said while sighing and calculating something.

“I would like an apple pie” I said.

He opened up the paper bag and put the apple pie inside , his hands moved rapidly but smoothly like he had been doing that for ages. After handing me the bag he said “leave the money on the table”. He took off his apron and hung it on the wall hook. I had never met such a rude and annoying person in my 19 years , I swiftly followed him trying to stalk him , I kept following him but he suddenly vanished before my eyes.

I went back to sophie “he vanished.” I told her putting my flower basket down on the table.

“Vanished? Oh come on! I mean vanished? You mean he just disappeared while you had your eyes on him?” she asked in a surprise.

“yeah” I replied not paying any attention to her. “I have to go , take these flowers , Ill collect the money later.” I handed her my garden flowers and left the shop in the direction of the place I loved the most.

The place where I felt relaxed and refreshed. It was the only mountain in the area , called the whispering peaks , the place where my mom dad and elder brother were buried , I did not know anything about my family , how they were , what they looked like , just the calm , sorrowful , deep soothing voice of my mother telling me to wait for her and remember her everyday , this is why I visit them every week. After talking to my family my worries just fade away, like someone is casting a magical spell of relaxation on me.

“woof! Woof woof!” I heard something behind me and turned back.

It was a pup , I suddenly remembered sophie acting like a pup asking me for a favour earlier , “oh my God just look at the difference between you two , you are so adorable” . the pup sprang towards me in bounding steps that were almost like jumps , as it turned a corner its back legs swung outwards and it almost lost its balance , then it leaped up pawing with its fore paws for attention and its wet tongue licking at the out-streched fingers.it was in constant motion wagging and jumpig , it was a living store of energy waiting to get released on the world. but he was a weak little baby who was hardly one week old. “did you mother abandon you?” I talked to him as I picked him up and placed him on my lap.

I touched his little pink paws and patted him on his head. He was wiggling his tail and then he lied down. I saw a huge circle on his belly like a black ring with a strange sign resembling a star. I was bewildered and surprised at the same time, what was that sign supposed to mean? I wondered to myself. I kept thinking staring at the strange sign , what could it be?

“woof!” the dog suddenly jumped on me asking me to play with him. The sun started to go down , and I remembered heading back home before it gets dark so I put him in my basket and started to walk quickly. i soon arrived at my cottage , I took the dog out of the basket and put on him the sofa.

“I will go bring something for you to eat” I smiled to him and went to the kitchen.

As soon as he started chewing the bread , the strange sign on his belly started disappearing and he started to grow healthier. I found it very strange and intriguing. “this is really strange ,I guess ill tell sophie about it.” I thought to myself and went upstairs.

I lied down on my bed , the neck pain had gone and I felt really peaceful.

I closed my eyes and soon went into deep sleep.

I dreamt of a silent mountain with my voice echoing all around.

Narrators p.o.v:-

“aw you are so cute! I will take you home! I will give you something to eat now! Here you go! Some bread for a little cute pup!” she says to the puppy

“woof”

“wow , you grow really fast!” she claps as she smiles and looks surprised.

The puppy suddenly grows into a huge dog and transforms into an enormous monster with sharp teeth and long pointed claws. That monster was an expert on all fours , he sprang away as fast as any wolf in the darkness , he was so fast that there wasn’t even a scream , just the running of blood and a slumped form on the ground.

she suddenly woke up breathing heavily , her whole body was bathed in cold sweat , the sheets were twisted around her limbs , her heart was pounding against her chest , she trembled , the room was entirely dark , no lights anywhere. The monster that she had seen was still giving her goosebumps , haunting her , she let out a cry and buried her face in the pillow , she swallowed and once again when looked up , the puppy was sitting in front of her giving her a huge scary smile. her palms were sweaty and the adrenaline was coursing through her system shutting down her ability to think logically , the scream tore through her like a great shard of glass ,she felt her eyes widen and pulse quicken. She could not control her reflexes and her hands started to move on her own , she clenched her fists and punched the dog off the bed.