Act II: Scene I623Please respect copyright.PENANAJBRDdySNaY
"Long ago in the days of the ancestors, some of the children of the people were having strange, frightening dreams."623Please respect copyright.PENANAGizDojAnhz
I clutched onto the red dreamcatcher with all the might I've got. It's forming red marks on my hand. But the glow it's emitting is brighter than any red I've ever seen. 623Please respect copyright.PENANAlaM1vXEN7w
The dreamcatchers, they're glowing still. And there are million of thoughts whizzing past my head but not one that could reason with what I see right in front of me. I'm tempted to touch but instinct tells me not.623Please respect copyright.PENANAkDB4FJi4Ti
You need to leave. 623Please respect copyright.PENANAdNzlMirUAF
Wait-what? The voice resounds over the house, like it's talking from every angle there is.623Please respect copyright.PENANAyAIUZFyPGn
Just go. Pack your things. Leave.623Please respect copyright.PENANA2ajNOulaHB
I hear it again and I look around. There's no one. I look down at the dreamcatchers, the glow- soft and steady, and for a second I think that maybe-623Please respect copyright.PENANAMrVMTY19Qk
Wenonah, GO!623Please respect copyright.PENANAwXxlVJGu6v
I don't think twice. The urgency in that voice is too strong to ignore. So I run upstairs and throw the things I think I'll require. A toothbrush, a couple of clothes, and money. I take in my mother's credit card, her diary, And for some reason I can't explain, I throw in a few dreamcatchers as well.623Please respect copyright.PENANAqMoJHs6sih
To be honest, I don't even know for sure why I am packing my things when I don't have any reason to run, when I don't have anywhere to run.623Please respect copyright.PENANA89YdEyCsTg
It'll be okay, Wenonah. Just hurry up.623Please respect copyright.PENANAZSd03Qbu2c
The voice is too demanding for my taste. But still I follow the voice like a lost kitten. 623Please respect copyright.PENANAI84hfZqLkt
I'm done with getting my things ready and before I can hear the voice order me around again- there's a knock on the door. And my heartbeat quickens. 623Please respect copyright.PENANA4xROVLeiq1
It could be anyone out there. The police, the neighbors, the lawyer. It could be anyon And yet no one would be able to explain the glowing dreamcatchers or this voice that I hear, other than accusing me of witchcraft. 623Please respect copyright.PENANAw7vI4SCnR1
The knock gets louder, more impatient. 623Please respect copyright.PENANAduDfGPVpzp
So, I grab my bag, run downstairs, ignoring the hallway and to the exit near the kitchen. 623Please respect copyright.PENANAkdOSm3pIza
When I'm out, I don't wait for the flashing red lights to notice me. I'm running. I don't know where to. Or what for. But I am. 623Please respect copyright.PENANA7m8D2j0r75
And I allow myself to look back just once, and the house is completely dark. Like no one lives there. Like no one ever lived there. 623Please respect copyright.PENANAzw0FRVzUSu
I run until I find myself in an empty alleyway.623Please respect copyright.PENANA4fPNnIDzMZ
Good. 623Please respect copyright.PENANA13tcoH3bt1
That voice again. 623Please respect copyright.PENANAfP92rsPuoz
"Did you know that the police would be here?" I ask, not sure where to look. 623Please respect copyright.PENANAzguPSyHhAo
In a way, yes. I did.623Please respect copyright.PENANAtlumPdUt7d
"And why were they here?" 623Please respect copyright.PENANAEVpkP7A7wN
That, the voice pauses. I'm not sure.623Please respect copyright.PENANAWzL5h3Ury9
"You're not sure," I repeat. 623Please respect copyright.PENANAEcuMkexFc6
Wenonah-623Please respect copyright.PENANAthzRdWvZu0
"It's Wendy," I correct. 623Please respect copyright.PENANAo6NrPe6Qx9
Wenonah, the voice continues. You needed to get out of there. I helped you do that. You don't know what was going to happen.623Please respect copyright.PENANA6uunT9HDJP
"I don't even know what just happened!" I exclaim, a bit too loud for a person talking to herself. "They were glowing! The earthquake. Everything. I don't know."623Please respect copyright.PENANA9pzmBwbl7I
Wen-623Please respect copyright.PENANAp8lb7jnBga
"There are about thousands of dreamcatchers in that house! All of them glowing! Glowing! Can anyone explain that to me?"623Please respect copyright.PENANAKt9BJRAzUC
Wenon-623Please respect copyright.PENANARJyFWAlW9l
"There has to be a reason, right? Maybe I'm hallucinating. I'm seeing things and I'm hearing voices. I must be going crazy!"623Please respect copyright.PENANA7mdo02VXxu
Weno-623Please respect copyright.PENANAuCo5337W02
"Do you think craziness is genetics? I mean my mom was crazy, wasn't she? I could easily inherit the madness. Oh god, I'm going crazy."623Please respect copyright.PENANAcVLEkKigG0
Wenonah!623Please respect copyright.PENANA7YhC3UadE3
I stop. 623Please respect copyright.PENANAg3qydAj7Gv
It's okay to be scared, the voice reassures. And I understand things went too fast for you to grab hold of what was going on, or even the time to panic about it. I understand. And I'm sorry. 623Please respect copyright.PENANA46fcX6GnL0
"Do you- do you understand?"623Please respect copyright.PENANANnapGshsvG
I do, Wenonah, the voice says softly. And I need you to trust me on this. 623Please respect copyright.PENANAjKQEVO79dy
Before I could say a word, a flashback hits me in the guts. It's so painfully physical that I cry out in anguish. My stomach hurts, my head spins, and I can't seem to stand straight. 623Please respect copyright.PENANARuxyWzyUKI
"Now here are the rules, Wendy," my mother smiles. "One, don't tell anyone about the dreamcatchers, alright?"623Please respect copyright.PENANAPHiM0Slz04
I nod, not knowing what was going on. 623Please respect copyright.PENANA0j3EJ9i9m3
"Two, don't break any dreamcatchers, okay?" 623Please respect copyright.PENANAQGydoIRGLB
"I won't, mom. I promise."623Please respect copyright.PENANAcg2yOm49cl
She smiles. "Now, this one's a bit important." She bends down on her knees so that we're on eye-level with each other.623Please respect copyright.PENANAVYJ6r20agp
"Don't trust anyone with the dreamcatchers," she tells me. "No one. Whether I'm dead, alive or lost. Don't let anyone make you use them."623Please respect copyright.PENANAYEfH0wwGuV
I gulp and I nod.623Please respect copyright.PENANAGLNjDuRQeZ
"Wendy," she whispers, bringing me close for a hug. "There's more to the dreamcatchers than you know. It'll protect you, guide you, and save you from harm. And there will come a time, in the future, you'll find yourself alone and scared. Mom won't be there that time."623Please respect copyright.PENANAhUSKSO1kdE
"Why not?" I ask.623Please respect copyright.PENANAoxSKhY60AB
"She just won't. So, that time- I need you to trust yourself. I need you to trust the voice."623Please respect copyright.PENANA3hbxCJC3IL
The pain in my stomach grows and I puke. I hold my stomach, and take support in the nearby wall. 623Please respect copyright.PENANAhhLwsLZWOb
I vomit out the pain, one by one. Until the pain's gone completely. I look at the empty alley and look to see if someone saw me. There's not a soul in sight.623Please respect copyright.PENANAjr4pz1mvap
That's enough to make me realize that I'm alone. Again. 623Please respect copyright.PENANAquRYvGPCen