Prologue.

Everything's hazy... I'm running through the forest from something, but I don't know what it is. I can hear it breathing behind me, bloody and feral... The twigs and thorns that litter the ground scrape the soles of my feet, dig their teeth into my ankles and calves... The pain barely registers; I'm too propelled by fear to notice anything else. A howl rips into the night and I trip and fall. Suddenly, the stillness presses against my eardrums. All I can hear is the sound of my own ragged breathing, clouds of misty white enveloping my face. It's so cold... Something warm touches my fingertips and I look down. A red-tinged lake is in front of me, its mirror-smooth surface unmoving, despite the light wind that attempted to strip my flesh to the bone. But I don't notice the strange coloring, the strange heat of the water. A face is staring back at me- like mine, but with wild, blood-shot yellow eyes, razor-sharp teeth, and blood all over my face, dripping from my lips...My reflection.

I scream.

My eyes flew open. The duvet was strewn on the floor. My skin was covered in a cold sweat, and the sheets were tangled around my limbs. As my breathing slowed down, I untangled myself from the bedclothes, hands shaking. I groaned. "Snap out of it," I muttered, slapping myself a couple of times. A gentle knock on the door coaxed me out of bed.

"Lali?"
I opened the door. "Carmen." The frown on my face smoothed out. "What are you doing up, sweetie?"
"I heard you scream..." She rubbed her eyes.
"Oh..." I smiled. "It's okay, I just had a bad dream. See, it's alright to have bad dreams. Even your big sister has them sometimes."
She yawned and smiled sleepily.
"Alright munchkin, time to go back to bed," I told her, picking her up.
"Lali?" her voice chimed as I tucked her in.
"Yes?"
"What do you do when you have bad dreams?"
"Well, first, I take lots of deep breaths and I look around my room so that I know I'm home, and there's nothing to be afraid of. And then I fix my bedsheets, and go back to bed."
"Oh..."
"What's the matter?"
"I thought it was different when you're big... I thought maybe you had something special you did."
"Silly girl," I ruffled her hair. "I'm big, but I'm not magic."
She cuddled her stuffed monster to her chest.
"Good night, baby."
"Good night, Lali."

I walked back to my bed, reflecting on the nightmare. It had felt so real... I shivered uncomfortably. Gazing through the window at the moon, my mind cleared and I was left thoughtless, skin drained of color by the silver wash of the moonlight.