Act II: Scene I882Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0xTRsfkDm1
"Long ago in the days of the ancestors, some of the children of the people were having strange, frightening dreams."882Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcbqAVYV6io
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. 882Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOKtKDmx0ba
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.882Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhWTxiRvrDL
You need to leave. 882Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlDiNUpuNeF
Wait-what? The voice resounds over the house, like it's talking from every angle there is.882Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFoeOqbn872
Just go. Pack your things. Leave.882Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy43VFaEoVo
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-882Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIKGLsdsUF5
Wenonah, GO!882Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3oZC4RCTSX
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.882Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkX8LXcZ8iJ
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.882Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGsdul4maoP
It'll be okay, Wenonah. Just hurry up.882Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC16qKgdPRW
The voice is too demanding for my taste. But still I follow the voice like a lost kitten. 882Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgQQXxObxs1
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. 882Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCjhtRlJUWO
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. 882Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU2Rfw5NnDU
The knock gets louder, more impatient. 882Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfFf8qSb5Jk
So, I grab my bag, run downstairs, ignoring the hallway and to the exit near the kitchen. 882Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1fDfs8fdsy
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. 882Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtPNSl3vrqU
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. 882Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfdVqSTvUAe
I run until I find myself in an empty alleyway.882Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8akBzCm4BU
Good. 882Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxuMNL1kq5j
That voice again. 882Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwRcgKL60U5
"Did you know that the police would be here?" I ask, not sure where to look. 882Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkzpcvLV2jp
In a way, yes. I did.882Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA8nvI0xsoK
"And why were they here?" 882Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYVGLSpz8gG
That, the voice pauses. I'm not sure.882Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7g2T4vWgq0
"You're not sure," I repeat. 882Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqWmxNaS4KU
Wenonah-882Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxeaXN7Rv0n
"It's Wendy," I correct. 882Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKtor90H8Uj
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.882Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfSgR91aHMH
"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."882Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWarDT3qvg3
Wen-882Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi2r3cAvKLo
"There are about thousands of dreamcatchers in that house! All of them glowing! Glowing! Can anyone explain that to me?"882Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlZ6S0dh5e2
Wenon-882Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFN8gSJVnMy
"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!"882Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMKkxZiqHXP
Weno-882Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7hII8hq7f4
"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."882Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡedeOky53Zu
Wenonah!882Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC7tbdcjSXY
I stop. 882Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡadCXaydMXs
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. 882Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCSzCMmz9t6
"Do you- do you understand?"882Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkXBT9uXTKc
I do, Wenonah, the voice says softly. And I need you to trust me on this. 882Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtryoAQKTxy
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. 882Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcdcFmBa77z
"Now here are the rules, Wendy," my mother smiles. "One, don't tell anyone about the dreamcatchers, alright?"882Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmlCbXkuNz8
I nod, not knowing what was going on. 882Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkBhNrVtcdR
"Two, don't break any dreamcatchers, okay?" 882Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn0LzQeM7fg
"I won't, mom. I promise."882Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtzBX8DpFZV
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.882Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYJ9aGG1gjI
"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."882Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxtyDKZDdK5
I gulp and I nod.882Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMOcbfakVba
"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."882Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt7X6QRfSja
"Why not?" I ask.882Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9UlvMnFJD6
"She just won't. So, that time- I need you to trust yourself. I need you to trust the voice."882Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdrJP29aYe0
The pain in my stomach grows and I puke. I hold my stomach, and take support in the nearby wall. 882Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiSSW77BQhH
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.882Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB3LcOorb3g
That's enough to make me realize that I'm alone. Again. 882Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfwylRmrLwS
