Act II: Scene I631Please respect copyright.PENANASIjq29mb5v
"Long ago in the days of the ancestors, some of the children of the people were having strange, frightening dreams."631Please respect copyright.PENANAlR7fr5Yhvp
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. 631Please respect copyright.PENANAHwIVDTkJjm
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.631Please respect copyright.PENANAQZEpU2AsGT
You need to leave. 631Please respect copyright.PENANAaPteVHCOVd
Wait-what? The voice resounds over the house, like it's talking from every angle there is.631Please respect copyright.PENANAXtErjyLBUt
Just go. Pack your things. Leave.631Please respect copyright.PENANAv0M3sndktP
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-631Please respect copyright.PENANAYsMVJrx8Ti
Wenonah, GO!631Please respect copyright.PENANAyDwK7rB4PW
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.631Please respect copyright.PENANAvamFmM6u6y
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.631Please respect copyright.PENANAVMWHcR4qgg
It'll be okay, Wenonah. Just hurry up.631Please respect copyright.PENANASMbWyqiTUy
The voice is too demanding for my taste. But still I follow the voice like a lost kitten. 631Please respect copyright.PENANARWNWcQrokB
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. 631Please respect copyright.PENANAbFLdsDu4aw
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. 631Please respect copyright.PENANATdMkFTogCk
The knock gets louder, more impatient. 631Please respect copyright.PENANAKXSZ5ioLxf
So, I grab my bag, run downstairs, ignoring the hallway and to the exit near the kitchen. 631Please respect copyright.PENANAEFcElpGDwE
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. 631Please respect copyright.PENANAs0LrMboQaA
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. 631Please respect copyright.PENANA7I71WyUx3k
I run until I find myself in an empty alleyway.631Please respect copyright.PENANAhw488fqjpz
Good. 631Please respect copyright.PENANAR1K9VOGjvu
That voice again. 631Please respect copyright.PENANA2s66ztYLlT
"Did you know that the police would be here?" I ask, not sure where to look. 631Please respect copyright.PENANAMM6zSf3WPf
In a way, yes. I did.631Please respect copyright.PENANA0761NfkW1H
"And why were they here?" 631Please respect copyright.PENANAO23sDpJb1X
That, the voice pauses. I'm not sure.631Please respect copyright.PENANA6pDnXgN0L8
"You're not sure," I repeat. 631Please respect copyright.PENANAJ5xsVMdrB3
Wenonah-631Please respect copyright.PENANArtyWWqSgzG
"It's Wendy," I correct. 631Please respect copyright.PENANA1Iuwu1Elgg
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.631Please respect copyright.PENANAp3z6v69svg
"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."631Please respect copyright.PENANAxjqJMtRSET
Wen-631Please respect copyright.PENANADqz5CQmVe3
"There are about thousands of dreamcatchers in that house! All of them glowing! Glowing! Can anyone explain that to me?"631Please respect copyright.PENANAdZbHSNFjfb
Wenon-631Please respect copyright.PENANAluHjOnUCU8
"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!"631Please respect copyright.PENANA8VlQt8PCbO
Weno-631Please respect copyright.PENANAcihQa3J7Uu
"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."631Please respect copyright.PENANA1jZa403l69
Wenonah!631Please respect copyright.PENANAICXLhVQCQq
I stop. 631Please respect copyright.PENANAEdH8Kb4bBY
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. 631Please respect copyright.PENANAdaoBJ8BVGV
"Do you- do you understand?"631Please respect copyright.PENANAbFWYDX0db9
I do, Wenonah, the voice says softly. And I need you to trust me on this. 631Please respect copyright.PENANANlkI0fueGu
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. 631Please respect copyright.PENANA1sWNK0pPWh
"Now here are the rules, Wendy," my mother smiles. "One, don't tell anyone about the dreamcatchers, alright?"631Please respect copyright.PENANA9qArSl9Eop
I nod, not knowing what was going on. 631Please respect copyright.PENANAFuemdIAue2
"Two, don't break any dreamcatchers, okay?" 631Please respect copyright.PENANAi8EGkqnQD2
"I won't, mom. I promise."631Please respect copyright.PENANAijScLyumi2
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.631Please respect copyright.PENANARYGWhFVzrb
"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."631Please respect copyright.PENANA6Q1mDfcg2f
I gulp and I nod.631Please respect copyright.PENANAw4KcsgiC8U
"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."631Please respect copyright.PENANAbtO0cl5GQB
"Why not?" I ask.631Please respect copyright.PENANAEtYs5QHL9O
"She just won't. So, that time- I need you to trust yourself. I need you to trust the voice."631Please respect copyright.PENANAf1MXEES4Sj
The pain in my stomach grows and I puke. I hold my stomach, and take support in the nearby wall. 631Please respect copyright.PENANAVXbUxkBsYK
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.631Please respect copyright.PENANANzsFPvEBgU
That's enough to make me realize that I'm alone. Again. 631Please respect copyright.PENANAmq5KVbfZYK