Winter


“It was just a dream.” They said. “You’re being childish.” They said. 


Have you ever experienced reacquiring dreams? Have you ever wondered why? What if it was a message from the dead? What if it was trying to warn you of something? 


Click. Click. Click. I tapped my pen until the ink spilled on my desk. I saw it again. That dream. It kept coming back to me. I just couldn’t seem to shake off the weird feeling that the dream actually meant something. My dad just told me to stop watching childish movies. Ugh! My mind was a mess.


“I’m here, Winter,”. “Come and get me.” The voice whispered. It was her. The voice from my dreams! I followed the voice to my backyard, where I found an old letter underneath the willow tree. There was something written on it.


I KNOW WHAT YOU WANT, WINTER. COME TO THE WOODS AT 12 PM IF YOU DARE.


Fuck! I screamed throwing the letter on the grass. Everybody knew there were two rules in this town. 


  1. Close the curtains after 7 pm
  2. Never go to the woods at night


We grew up knowing these rules. We were told that people would always go missing in those woods, and those who broke the rules, were never seen again.


I was convinced that something or someone was definitely trying to tell me something. Those dreams I had for the last few days. I… I was in the woods. That voice, it told me that my time had come. I didn’t know what they meant. It was creepy, I was losing my mind. Now I get it. It’s all connected. I had to find out what this town was hiding. I’m going to the woods!


Tick, tick. The clock ticked slowly. It was currently 11:55 pm. I sneaked out my window quietly, my dad in his room, and he couldn’t care less what I was doing as long as I was at home. Ever since mom went missing, he didn’t seem to care about anything. He just watched television all day long and not take care of me. Well, sucks for you, but I’m out of this damn home.


I was sneaking silently, when I saw Mr. Johnson, my neighbor. He was staring at me through his window. It was really creepy, but I decided to ignore him. I kept walking until I reached the woods. 


I was standing in front of it. Towered trees surrounding me. No lights, no nothing. The silence was creeping me out the most. 


Thwack. I looked back to see a boy who looked like he was a few years older than me, holding a flashlight. He was wearing a tracksuit type of cloth. And carried a small backpack.


“Fuck, you scared me.” I exclaimed. “The fuck are you doing here at this hour?” I murmured, making sure no one else heard me.


“I should be asking you the same question, kitten. You shouldn’t mess with the dark forces.” He smirked.


The fuck did he mean? Kitten? That was so ridiculous! 


“The name’s Winter, weirdo.” I replied.


“I’m a mythologist. Heard some weird stuff that happens in these woods, came to check it out. You?” He added.


“I- I got a letter asking me to come here.” I said shakily. 


Why was I even telling him these things? I didn’t even know the dude’s name. 


“Smart thinking, kitten! You got an anonymous note, and decided to break the rules.” He chuckled.


“Umm… excuse me mister, I have a perfectly good explanation, so don’t judge me.” I added.


“Let me guess, you had the same dream everyday, and heard voices. Also, the name’s Hunter.” He said.


I was so shocked, how? How did he know? It was so weird. 


“How- did-?”


“Cause, it happens to me too. That’s why I decided to become a mythologist.” He said calmly.


As much as I was confused. I was glad that I wasn’t the only one. Even if it was a freak, who kept calling me kitten! 


Suddenly, a dark shadow passed in front of us as quick as the breeze. I couldn’t distinguish what it was, but it definitely wasn’t a person. 


“Did you see that too?” I asked Hunter.


“Stay back, it might be a dark spirit.” He said pulling me behind.


He flashed his light in front, when suddenly it turned off. It was all dark, I was starting to freak out. What did he mean spirit? Ghosts!?


I started hearing loud whispers. “YOUR TIME HAS COME!”. “YOUR TIME HAS COME!” 


My head was hurting real bad, I couldn’t stand it. I quickly kneeled down covering my ears. Hunter kneeled down next to me.


He took my hand and pointed his fingers at my forehead. He started chanting something in a weird language. 


“Tsin thamak tum tum.” 


It stopped. Thank god. 


“We better run, whoever that thing was, possessed you, seems like they want to do something with you.” Hunter said while picking me up.


I didn’t question him any further and decided to tag along. At this point I think we were already at the middle of the woods. We had been walking for an hour already, but it was still dark as hell. Just the sound of our breaths and footsteps.