Act II: Scene I647Please respect copyright.PENANASt8iHi8s2F
"Long ago in the days of the ancestors, some of the children of the people were having strange, frightening dreams."647Please respect copyright.PENANA1UrbRVPxM3
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. 647Please respect copyright.PENANAd22hunv00x
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.647Please respect copyright.PENANAWUCHjYryHa
You need to leave. 647Please respect copyright.PENANAETWVvMAakZ
Wait-what? The voice resounds over the house, like it's talking from every angle there is.647Please respect copyright.PENANAdoCtMnEJvr
Just go. Pack your things. Leave.647Please respect copyright.PENANABnKI2F9r6E
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-647Please respect copyright.PENANAeZZmAZBquP
Wenonah, GO!647Please respect copyright.PENANATElfDRvqNa
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.647Please respect copyright.PENANAmvuSUtPkev
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.647Please respect copyright.PENANAurKu7eDXYc
It'll be okay, Wenonah. Just hurry up.647Please respect copyright.PENANAeLIUyCLaWy
The voice is too demanding for my taste. But still I follow the voice like a lost kitten. 647Please respect copyright.PENANAfjmTYUyUG7
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. 647Please respect copyright.PENANAKSkfZyxkSR
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. 647Please respect copyright.PENANAMtIMtsPbxN
The knock gets louder, more impatient. 647Please respect copyright.PENANAkko0mucQZb
So, I grab my bag, run downstairs, ignoring the hallway and to the exit near the kitchen. 647Please respect copyright.PENANAWGu4qc2gVB
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. 647Please respect copyright.PENANAMZrw7LroPm
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. 647Please respect copyright.PENANA6MYYa78Ij2
I run until I find myself in an empty alleyway.647Please respect copyright.PENANAGcOyG5zRHW
Good. 647Please respect copyright.PENANAvy0rMlORvC
That voice again. 647Please respect copyright.PENANAhtEN6WXXjh
"Did you know that the police would be here?" I ask, not sure where to look. 647Please respect copyright.PENANAgx8P4QXvan
In a way, yes. I did.647Please respect copyright.PENANAHN9HGm4Rcq
"And why were they here?" 647Please respect copyright.PENANAzRmiyNoZi0
That, the voice pauses. I'm not sure.647Please respect copyright.PENANAVndUsGh7t3
"You're not sure," I repeat. 647Please respect copyright.PENANA9nmepl1KIT
Wenonah-647Please respect copyright.PENANAnqLDxJn9g6
"It's Wendy," I correct. 647Please respect copyright.PENANAuqQgfIO06V
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.647Please respect copyright.PENANAMyfUmGEF0H
"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."647Please respect copyright.PENANABl01D0csPc
Wen-647Please respect copyright.PENANAH6B0j7FFwG
"There are about thousands of dreamcatchers in that house! All of them glowing! Glowing! Can anyone explain that to me?"647Please respect copyright.PENANAPUorrojyRD
Wenon-647Please respect copyright.PENANAZ4Xv5cBa0q
"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!"647Please respect copyright.PENANA1CE5iosa1B
Weno-647Please respect copyright.PENANAIaYlHE8tsm
"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."647Please respect copyright.PENANATMG5zfNTIl
Wenonah!647Please respect copyright.PENANA5HHpv1vCmH
I stop. 647Please respect copyright.PENANAlC1qOSHJFJ
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. 647Please respect copyright.PENANAmMVXrOfY3Z
"Do you- do you understand?"647Please respect copyright.PENANAE85e4LPCUb
I do, Wenonah, the voice says softly. And I need you to trust me on this. 647Please respect copyright.PENANAxhz1oOmtFo
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. 647Please respect copyright.PENANALsTMjaCsqC
"Now here are the rules, Wendy," my mother smiles. "One, don't tell anyone about the dreamcatchers, alright?"647Please respect copyright.PENANAhC8oRyHlRW
I nod, not knowing what was going on. 647Please respect copyright.PENANAztZZr3FzcX
"Two, don't break any dreamcatchers, okay?" 647Please respect copyright.PENANAHDAfuYtDqh
"I won't, mom. I promise."647Please respect copyright.PENANAj7MEFHXimd
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.647Please respect copyright.PENANAHDSL5Z6acX
"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."647Please respect copyright.PENANAizn3JP4oNo
I gulp and I nod.647Please respect copyright.PENANAkvHyhDtyYK
"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."647Please respect copyright.PENANAJRCa14Tit6
"Why not?" I ask.647Please respect copyright.PENANAlAVK6bkgLU
"She just won't. So, that time- I need you to trust yourself. I need you to trust the voice."647Please respect copyright.PENANAU54Jw5Djqr
The pain in my stomach grows and I puke. I hold my stomach, and take support in the nearby wall. 647Please respect copyright.PENANAFSuxyxLONx
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.647Please respect copyright.PENANAhsv5cumd2D
That's enough to make me realize that I'm alone. Again. 647Please respect copyright.PENANAJGHNa76LOv