Act II: Scene I638Please respect copyright.PENANAVwbjAiQoLj
"Long ago in the days of the ancestors, some of the children of the people were having strange, frightening dreams."638Please respect copyright.PENANAlcu9VzkhJF
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. 638Please respect copyright.PENANAGjh2hfjBnz
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.638Please respect copyright.PENANA6zkkIGbWgF
You need to leave. 638Please respect copyright.PENANAMq1GS2j3pe
Wait-what? The voice resounds over the house, like it's talking from every angle there is.638Please respect copyright.PENANAzzOTHqbLeR
Just go. Pack your things. Leave.638Please respect copyright.PENANAk0vcJCzif7
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-638Please respect copyright.PENANAtLYHVYFPbt
Wenonah, GO!638Please respect copyright.PENANAF2QVZNLCkv
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.638Please respect copyright.PENANAPMUiAwoRIe
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.638Please respect copyright.PENANACnWpkk0yD5
It'll be okay, Wenonah. Just hurry up.638Please respect copyright.PENANA2ZxGBhPoRU
The voice is too demanding for my taste. But still I follow the voice like a lost kitten. 638Please respect copyright.PENANAWJwBDZIPol
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. 638Please respect copyright.PENANAvpv8tumTqR
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. 638Please respect copyright.PENANAUgDUwtd1k3
The knock gets louder, more impatient. 638Please respect copyright.PENANA44ciQHXDvS
So, I grab my bag, run downstairs, ignoring the hallway and to the exit near the kitchen. 638Please respect copyright.PENANAGY1NzBSOCl
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. 638Please respect copyright.PENANATZGp8jCyiX
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. 638Please respect copyright.PENANAq1ZpvnjDaG
I run until I find myself in an empty alleyway.638Please respect copyright.PENANAL5SHFlmkxW
Good. 638Please respect copyright.PENANAy6UKNynC8P
That voice again. 638Please respect copyright.PENANAdyKoKaE2Gm
"Did you know that the police would be here?" I ask, not sure where to look. 638Please respect copyright.PENANAqbdTxUNV9P
In a way, yes. I did.638Please respect copyright.PENANAByDk0uvy18
"And why were they here?" 638Please respect copyright.PENANAafoOaPBVsP
That, the voice pauses. I'm not sure.638Please respect copyright.PENANAlU8TKDLvQB
"You're not sure," I repeat. 638Please respect copyright.PENANAyWj0i1dhq6
Wenonah-638Please respect copyright.PENANAABzTbf5LRE
"It's Wendy," I correct. 638Please respect copyright.PENANAkTIiahcTdG
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.638Please respect copyright.PENANAlvBfcPjlD3
"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."638Please respect copyright.PENANAYZZFYAXQFa
Wen-638Please respect copyright.PENANA6MGYo5lDV5
"There are about thousands of dreamcatchers in that house! All of them glowing! Glowing! Can anyone explain that to me?"638Please respect copyright.PENANAzY6AyHDw6E
Wenon-638Please respect copyright.PENANAqN7ylrkVJy
"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!"638Please respect copyright.PENANAKEFosDtIcc
Weno-638Please respect copyright.PENANAXCHYVRaCkx
"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."638Please respect copyright.PENANASiGEV95gzC
Wenonah!638Please respect copyright.PENANAAzj1tWtx3L
I stop. 638Please respect copyright.PENANAAhy71w9iSG
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. 638Please respect copyright.PENANAj1lD8i1quV
"Do you- do you understand?"638Please respect copyright.PENANAeLbBXawph9
I do, Wenonah, the voice says softly. And I need you to trust me on this. 638Please respect copyright.PENANASb1VJ7ZFfV
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. 638Please respect copyright.PENANAsobZZwbnUU
"Now here are the rules, Wendy," my mother smiles. "One, don't tell anyone about the dreamcatchers, alright?"638Please respect copyright.PENANAe0U0LsKMYT
I nod, not knowing what was going on. 638Please respect copyright.PENANA03Kk4XjZeF
"Two, don't break any dreamcatchers, okay?" 638Please respect copyright.PENANAHCv4nlvElc
"I won't, mom. I promise."638Please respect copyright.PENANAytUBNukaKe
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.638Please respect copyright.PENANAcbgqfUGJQr
"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."638Please respect copyright.PENANA3GAWrkpldl
I gulp and I nod.638Please respect copyright.PENANAvHlTi2CVYY
"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."638Please respect copyright.PENANA2wf0WPTxDC
"Why not?" I ask.638Please respect copyright.PENANAUXvJiowd4B
"She just won't. So, that time- I need you to trust yourself. I need you to trust the voice."638Please respect copyright.PENANAvzcDDkWbNk
The pain in my stomach grows and I puke. I hold my stomach, and take support in the nearby wall. 638Please respect copyright.PENANAkRtCajnH3O
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.638Please respect copyright.PENANAv976nFtR6R
That's enough to make me realize that I'm alone. Again. 638Please respect copyright.PENANAOadWG8PUiw