Act II: Scene I657Please respect copyright.PENANApzDNmggquL
"Long ago in the days of the ancestors, some of the children of the people were having strange, frightening dreams."657Please respect copyright.PENANAliYhloxxQD
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. 657Please respect copyright.PENANA4p8UnuG5Qb
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.657Please respect copyright.PENANAWNyvnJmGc4
You need to leave. 657Please respect copyright.PENANAGXTNzA9zX8
Wait-what? The voice resounds over the house, like it's talking from every angle there is.657Please respect copyright.PENANAuwuaF22EMx
Just go. Pack your things. Leave.657Please respect copyright.PENANAObTdWlll1m
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-657Please respect copyright.PENANA7ppPdMZ53u
Wenonah, GO!657Please respect copyright.PENANA4meryTnsfn
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.657Please respect copyright.PENANAHe4kKaTCfd
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.657Please respect copyright.PENANAVtn9GdLLB9
It'll be okay, Wenonah. Just hurry up.657Please respect copyright.PENANA5gq3nToTnl
The voice is too demanding for my taste. But still I follow the voice like a lost kitten. 657Please respect copyright.PENANAxt05AjjIz0
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. 657Please respect copyright.PENANA7wvJQQzYi6
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. 657Please respect copyright.PENANAkZdHMa423r
The knock gets louder, more impatient. 657Please respect copyright.PENANARfKZEdsboY
So, I grab my bag, run downstairs, ignoring the hallway and to the exit near the kitchen. 657Please respect copyright.PENANA57QBWWlgyz
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. 657Please respect copyright.PENANAJRLMgp6fpy
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. 657Please respect copyright.PENANAUIitw1bwNW
I run until I find myself in an empty alleyway.657Please respect copyright.PENANAlkK2oA7vbZ
Good. 657Please respect copyright.PENANA7BftRc5303
That voice again. 657Please respect copyright.PENANAmHX6Cjiy2g
"Did you know that the police would be here?" I ask, not sure where to look. 657Please respect copyright.PENANAFNtzmi1L1n
In a way, yes. I did.657Please respect copyright.PENANAtpit77jFgT
"And why were they here?" 657Please respect copyright.PENANAmAmqwfYTR4
That, the voice pauses. I'm not sure.657Please respect copyright.PENANAGzIqyxvHSl
"You're not sure," I repeat. 657Please respect copyright.PENANArbKI0sx4Uy
Wenonah-657Please respect copyright.PENANAfvJf0YZAgO
"It's Wendy," I correct. 657Please respect copyright.PENANAjVoNI35kmB
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.657Please respect copyright.PENANATh4ruKxcfT
"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."657Please respect copyright.PENANAyyO9RAw5oJ
Wen-657Please respect copyright.PENANA5UTJNDfxsP
"There are about thousands of dreamcatchers in that house! All of them glowing! Glowing! Can anyone explain that to me?"657Please respect copyright.PENANAYbywQPqkCi
Wenon-657Please respect copyright.PENANA7eaiisnsU6
"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!"657Please respect copyright.PENANAHpoZ3lSb3V
Weno-657Please respect copyright.PENANARyqRs7XBOc
"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."657Please respect copyright.PENANA2iQ15Nuv6L
Wenonah!657Please respect copyright.PENANAe1YBZUgHas
I stop. 657Please respect copyright.PENANAjdxmDwUlMk
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. 657Please respect copyright.PENANA9zNvIBZd7n
"Do you- do you understand?"657Please respect copyright.PENANALDU291ycoj
I do, Wenonah, the voice says softly. And I need you to trust me on this. 657Please respect copyright.PENANAm31bX4gs2m
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. 657Please respect copyright.PENANAyUHgCCqSYx
"Now here are the rules, Wendy," my mother smiles. "One, don't tell anyone about the dreamcatchers, alright?"657Please respect copyright.PENANARQa6laDTnN
I nod, not knowing what was going on. 657Please respect copyright.PENANAPwJNxcy2hV
"Two, don't break any dreamcatchers, okay?" 657Please respect copyright.PENANAda75GEOfB1
"I won't, mom. I promise."657Please respect copyright.PENANAcDMnTWeDyt
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.657Please respect copyright.PENANAdKdeRoXz3X
"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."657Please respect copyright.PENANAwCCWEsxdYd
I gulp and I nod.657Please respect copyright.PENANADAZ2iU7ijW
"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."657Please respect copyright.PENANA55JyWzJPxT
"Why not?" I ask.657Please respect copyright.PENANAt48ORG7fp4
"She just won't. So, that time- I need you to trust yourself. I need you to trust the voice."657Please respect copyright.PENANATTBOi1IAlQ
The pain in my stomach grows and I puke. I hold my stomach, and take support in the nearby wall. 657Please respect copyright.PENANA4nOo0AskLO
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.657Please respect copyright.PENANAq3W3qFREu3
That's enough to make me realize that I'm alone. Again. 657Please respect copyright.PENANA4PTyiQIwIr