Act II: Scene I686Please respect copyright.PENANAva3dvnsfqV
"Long ago in the days of the ancestors, some of the children of the people were having strange, frightening dreams."686Please respect copyright.PENANAqs2v91pjsv
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. 686Please respect copyright.PENANA6VgkutULUA
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.686Please respect copyright.PENANAk5FckxP7K1
You need to leave. 686Please respect copyright.PENANABbb6JsErWd
Wait-what? The voice resounds over the house, like it's talking from every angle there is.686Please respect copyright.PENANA3raPxJTqtg
Just go. Pack your things. Leave.686Please respect copyright.PENANAK0uxJmDzjo
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-686Please respect copyright.PENANApgSHAKbWJr
Wenonah, GO!686Please respect copyright.PENANAxmz2MxkDog
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.686Please respect copyright.PENANA7wCGu9rJX2
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.686Please respect copyright.PENANAYvKv8vpe5I
It'll be okay, Wenonah. Just hurry up.686Please respect copyright.PENANASJbn6Ev9GF
The voice is too demanding for my taste. But still I follow the voice like a lost kitten. 686Please respect copyright.PENANAOSvDViFU1j
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. 686Please respect copyright.PENANAVue3dr1Fa0
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. 686Please respect copyright.PENANAoZOXaFkzLu
The knock gets louder, more impatient. 686Please respect copyright.PENANA3FKWjRkHCf
So, I grab my bag, run downstairs, ignoring the hallway and to the exit near the kitchen. 686Please respect copyright.PENANAZgTqH7erLg
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. 686Please respect copyright.PENANANvtixy3fRM
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. 686Please respect copyright.PENANAUEEdPoW41v
I run until I find myself in an empty alleyway.686Please respect copyright.PENANAV7SCvdhJnO
Good. 686Please respect copyright.PENANAmaUWxyFWN0
That voice again. 686Please respect copyright.PENANAWqj818IUQd
"Did you know that the police would be here?" I ask, not sure where to look. 686Please respect copyright.PENANAow2gnNCrwk
In a way, yes. I did.686Please respect copyright.PENANA2AdRcU2t74
"And why were they here?" 686Please respect copyright.PENANAl9Aw64K10v
That, the voice pauses. I'm not sure.686Please respect copyright.PENANA6QncrSLsNr
"You're not sure," I repeat. 686Please respect copyright.PENANA9NUtDnoP4Q
Wenonah-686Please respect copyright.PENANAo5Qu0Tp2rS
"It's Wendy," I correct. 686Please respect copyright.PENANAHBu75oMEHe
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.686Please respect copyright.PENANAl1qSzdSW6d
"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."686Please respect copyright.PENANA0yaJ0OYPYp
Wen-686Please respect copyright.PENANAngCR0h1gg6
"There are about thousands of dreamcatchers in that house! All of them glowing! Glowing! Can anyone explain that to me?"686Please respect copyright.PENANAL8XQr0CZfV
Wenon-686Please respect copyright.PENANAY5YY4ZfMr1
"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!"686Please respect copyright.PENANAg3wafmtb14
Weno-686Please respect copyright.PENANA00l1LqTJ67
"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."686Please respect copyright.PENANAfCg4qvdAPP
Wenonah!686Please respect copyright.PENANA3pR2Zvh1Nd
I stop. 686Please respect copyright.PENANAIRLNQ9DZeM
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. 686Please respect copyright.PENANAJ943AYxXdU
"Do you- do you understand?"686Please respect copyright.PENANAjjuujBN0EW
I do, Wenonah, the voice says softly. And I need you to trust me on this. 686Please respect copyright.PENANAeAEUTp6BXz
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. 686Please respect copyright.PENANAuW2q1bCjFS
"Now here are the rules, Wendy," my mother smiles. "One, don't tell anyone about the dreamcatchers, alright?"686Please respect copyright.PENANApDfnGtzBE1
I nod, not knowing what was going on. 686Please respect copyright.PENANAdP4vcAhO8L
"Two, don't break any dreamcatchers, okay?" 686Please respect copyright.PENANAttGXD0sGTp
"I won't, mom. I promise."686Please respect copyright.PENANAEZDt3oY8jJ
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.686Please respect copyright.PENANAtksysSTgIK
"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."686Please respect copyright.PENANA45ZyO9vUVk
I gulp and I nod.686Please respect copyright.PENANALrTBKhm51M
"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."686Please respect copyright.PENANAFpZyeo6haH
"Why not?" I ask.686Please respect copyright.PENANA49tFbUpUas
"She just won't. So, that time- I need you to trust yourself. I need you to trust the voice."686Please respect copyright.PENANAI3bA8Kwvf3
The pain in my stomach grows and I puke. I hold my stomach, and take support in the nearby wall. 686Please respect copyright.PENANAjVwYVtwe5C
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.686Please respect copyright.PENANAqUe425z8Yt
That's enough to make me realize that I'm alone. Again. 686Please respect copyright.PENANAuom6ms1P8S