Act II: Scene I687Please respect copyright.PENANAWKl1HilDbw
"Long ago in the days of the ancestors, some of the children of the people were having strange, frightening dreams."687Please respect copyright.PENANAb1mcw1fQqB
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. 687Please respect copyright.PENANAtvIuRxmKr0
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.687Please respect copyright.PENANAm3lyaryZRf
You need to leave. 687Please respect copyright.PENANAdMVxI4geND
Wait-what? The voice resounds over the house, like it's talking from every angle there is.687Please respect copyright.PENANAuwWtLHErsI
Just go. Pack your things. Leave.687Please respect copyright.PENANAldshgU3ZzM
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-687Please respect copyright.PENANAeeFdhxml1z
Wenonah, GO!687Please respect copyright.PENANApqMtxnddQE
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.687Please respect copyright.PENANAD1V9rCYf9P
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.687Please respect copyright.PENANAxzUfEZK49R
It'll be okay, Wenonah. Just hurry up.687Please respect copyright.PENANAsJo6MtGA47
The voice is too demanding for my taste. But still I follow the voice like a lost kitten. 687Please respect copyright.PENANAD3YUZJWNYB
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. 687Please respect copyright.PENANA4qmzQ1cgxr
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. 687Please respect copyright.PENANAMpWyg4T62I
The knock gets louder, more impatient. 687Please respect copyright.PENANAI1nptT0Omi
So, I grab my bag, run downstairs, ignoring the hallway and to the exit near the kitchen. 687Please respect copyright.PENANADVOQU6QEX5
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. 687Please respect copyright.PENANAOIHZy74yvT
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. 687Please respect copyright.PENANAwwDVjWrqim
I run until I find myself in an empty alleyway.687Please respect copyright.PENANAKOJ3ciiitR
Good. 687Please respect copyright.PENANANVHhjAIWY3
That voice again. 687Please respect copyright.PENANAvXndhxvOox
"Did you know that the police would be here?" I ask, not sure where to look. 687Please respect copyright.PENANAVbIpAQkc17
In a way, yes. I did.687Please respect copyright.PENANAi1zspwE35G
"And why were they here?" 687Please respect copyright.PENANAD8XQKBjRsI
That, the voice pauses. I'm not sure.687Please respect copyright.PENANAoSfLlCQHd1
"You're not sure," I repeat. 687Please respect copyright.PENANAPmqkbIQHnB
Wenonah-687Please respect copyright.PENANAEdiCeAWSXL
"It's Wendy," I correct. 687Please respect copyright.PENANAC6BDxK2RVi
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.687Please respect copyright.PENANA9i5n6xDzLm
"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."687Please respect copyright.PENANAybT1zi1vqa
Wen-687Please respect copyright.PENANA5R4IEUC4gb
"There are about thousands of dreamcatchers in that house! All of them glowing! Glowing! Can anyone explain that to me?"687Please respect copyright.PENANAiFCutCw1s6
Wenon-687Please respect copyright.PENANAxC0rSuQZwR
"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!"687Please respect copyright.PENANAnHtXasNQL8
Weno-687Please respect copyright.PENANAr3Rrnvs48h
"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."687Please respect copyright.PENANATU6qw5AfQC
Wenonah!687Please respect copyright.PENANA7721YXpxWw
I stop. 687Please respect copyright.PENANAzYgfE8elon
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. 687Please respect copyright.PENANA2wCLHbZTJG
"Do you- do you understand?"687Please respect copyright.PENANARsoxdeUeqb
I do, Wenonah, the voice says softly. And I need you to trust me on this. 687Please respect copyright.PENANAyvB5oXzFlR
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. 687Please respect copyright.PENANA8os83Y6ops
"Now here are the rules, Wendy," my mother smiles. "One, don't tell anyone about the dreamcatchers, alright?"687Please respect copyright.PENANANyTAaM2xSZ
I nod, not knowing what was going on. 687Please respect copyright.PENANACAbvuJIFdc
"Two, don't break any dreamcatchers, okay?" 687Please respect copyright.PENANAAZn73JVvsr
"I won't, mom. I promise."687Please respect copyright.PENANApUTq24CYQN
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.687Please respect copyright.PENANAN6iIYu6NqB
"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."687Please respect copyright.PENANAQ1e7j0QMh7
I gulp and I nod.687Please respect copyright.PENANAr6n8i5ROhb
"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."687Please respect copyright.PENANAMMJPQ2MW05
"Why not?" I ask.687Please respect copyright.PENANAZq6o1gTzz9
"She just won't. So, that time- I need you to trust yourself. I need you to trust the voice."687Please respect copyright.PENANAUYir2AicvU
The pain in my stomach grows and I puke. I hold my stomach, and take support in the nearby wall. 687Please respect copyright.PENANAROYoPzcqMs
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.687Please respect copyright.PENANAA8BHEAqaZ2
That's enough to make me realize that I'm alone. Again. 687Please respect copyright.PENANALo4FeSOI9c