The sky split open with a deafening roar. Thunder echoed like a scream rising from the earth, and lightning—like a furious eye—tore through the darkness for a fleeting moment. Rain fell in torrents, so heavy it felt as if the heavens had decided to devour the earth. Mary, a lone girl running through the narrow, shadowy alleys, had heavy steps, ragged breaths, and a heart pounding so violently it threatened to leap from her chest.
The wind lashed the curtain of rain against her face, and her soaked clothes clung to her skin. Behind her, the storm growled—not merely as a force of nature, but as a living, savage creature, wild and merciless, chasing her with intent.
Mary didn't look back. She didn't have to. She knew what was following her. Yet what chilled her more than the storm itself was a strange, hollow feeling—as if something had awakened within that storm. Something invisible, nameless, but undeniably real.
Far ahead, in the midst of the darkness, a patch of green broke through the night. The forest.
From a distance, the forest looked peaceful and dreamlike. Its trees bowed under the weight of the rain, but carried a mysterious grace. A soft breeze danced among the branches, and the leaves whispered in poetic silence. In that hushed serenity, a flicker of hope emerged. Perhaps—just perhaps—a place to take shelter.
Mary didn't hesitate. She ran toward it.
The moment her foot touched the damp soil of the forest, a strange shiver ran down her spine. The air had changed. It was heavier, wetter, and… different. The scent of rain-soaked earth filled her senses—but alongside it came another smell. Something alive. Something that had breathed for centuries among these trees.
Her steps began to slow. She wanted to keep running, but her body felt heavier. A quiet, creeping fear took root inside her, tightening around her lungs. The silence of the forest echoed like an endless valley in her mind, and the sound of rain on leaves pulsed like the uncertain rhythm of a hesitant heart.
She stopped. Trembling from head to toe. For a moment, she stepped back—out of the forest—and stood at its edge. Maybe she could still return. Maybe there was still a way…
But no. The storm wasn't just behind her anymore—it was everywhere. And the trees weren't strangers either. The forest, though seemingly safe, felt… alive. It watched her. Judged her. As if deciding whether she was worthy to enter or not.
But turning back meant nothing now. Not here. Not after everything.
Fear still lingered inside her, but something deeper—something quiet and unseen—pulled her forward. It wasn't logic. It wasn't safety. It was instinct. A voice from the depth of her being whispered: You have to go. You have to continue.
She didn't know what awaited her within the shadows of the forest, but when she looked back at the storm, she understood one thing with painful clarity:
There was no going back.