Act II: Scene I796Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKbjBGLnMSk
"Long ago in the days of the ancestors, some of the children of the people were having strange, frightening dreams."796Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQcpT5c3l56
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. 796Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJeZAc00VWb
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.796Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhAMZHpJ27p
You need to leave. 796Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnW1xN8BAEd
Wait-what? The voice resounds over the house, like it's talking from every angle there is.796Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMqFd93jqMj
Just go. Pack your things. Leave.796Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy6Pd4Gf9ku
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-796Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEAT3gB67fm
Wenonah, GO!796Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV4pTus3IeT
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.796Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwvOPY8UnLq
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.796Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkb7ZYV9zuT
It'll be okay, Wenonah. Just hurry up.796Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3QvxI1Yt8j
The voice is too demanding for my taste. But still I follow the voice like a lost kitten. 796Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFQqrvFejdy
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. 796Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrKuS7GwvWm
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. 796Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0ZfijOi6os
The knock gets louder, more impatient. 796Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlM0zRJUiuw
So, I grab my bag, run downstairs, ignoring the hallway and to the exit near the kitchen. 796Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡca0RXEgxUD
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. 796Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMXRabv8rU0
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. 796Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ15haawePuu
I run until I find myself in an empty alleyway.796Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9H50xLSwbd
Good. 796Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡljF3XRzsyY
That voice again. 796Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL9UOI3OwJn
"Did you know that the police would be here?" I ask, not sure where to look. 796Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡReL348TRI7
In a way, yes. I did.796Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiddLY4cyC1
"And why were they here?" 796Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLLURXXaQvW
That, the voice pauses. I'm not sure.796Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs9piCw1oAx
"You're not sure," I repeat. 796Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡchMB9sKJt9
Wenonah-796Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5tAiGwPExI
"It's Wendy," I correct. 796Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡexdDwGmaXN
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.796Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyx27LXIJm0
"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."796Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmeFJiVC3DV
Wen-796Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuDsQquKYnL
"There are about thousands of dreamcatchers in that house! All of them glowing! Glowing! Can anyone explain that to me?"796Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9xSzkMLpwQ
Wenon-796Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ37IHWGZUR3
"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!"796Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSU1Xiuz2Lk
Weno-796Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡchanZ8MvtP
"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."796Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmGEUpppKes
Wenonah!796Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡELizJzxIbw
I stop. 796Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbkgBWgUJ44
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. 796Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfHtGVAqm2a
"Do you- do you understand?"796Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFUJgBWeuJk
I do, Wenonah, the voice says softly. And I need you to trust me on this. 796Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtQN1t3oU0z
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. 796Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSFqI9DTIXM
"Now here are the rules, Wendy," my mother smiles. "One, don't tell anyone about the dreamcatchers, alright?"796Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiYLyEo6JFH
I nod, not knowing what was going on. 796Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV8K9VrSveg
"Two, don't break any dreamcatchers, okay?" 796Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡARchMlwTNs
"I won't, mom. I promise."796Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUVr7vMehBP
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.796Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeMQ5z8DIvB
"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."796Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiUrLOhKKD3
I gulp and I nod.796Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfuqam4ifAC
"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."796Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7OfMBS2VqG
"Why not?" I ask.796Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmwtQbE5yUj
"She just won't. So, that time- I need you to trust yourself. I need you to trust the voice."796Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlbYXxs6t1m
The pain in my stomach grows and I puke. I hold my stomach, and take support in the nearby wall. 796Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnyngZpajTT
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.796Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSENKvXrIvk
That's enough to make me realize that I'm alone. Again. 796Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5LnENi0qsc
