SOMETHING

"Knock! Knock!

I almost dropped the book. What little sunlight remained was now blocked by Seungmin, who stood framed by the window. Goosebumps prickled my skin, but they were beginning to fade, unlike my heart, which still thundered against my chest. I was startled.

Oblivious to my startled state, Seungmin mouthed something like, "We're going that way," while gesturing vaguely in some direction. My eyes followed his point for a moment, though I barely registered where he was pointing. With a slight nod, he was gone.

I took one last glance at the direction. Hyunjin was looking very tiny and Han already disappeared.

I took a deep breathe to calm myself. I picked the book which was resting on my lap, some of it's pages now folded haphazardly.
—

It was starting to get dark, slowly. The sky was painted purple and orange with small white strokes of clouds. Shadows stretched long and thin, the shadows of the wicked branches creeping closer like they had somewhere to be.

The book was almost over, it was bearly 300 pages.

I had no plan in joining them and they would have gotten the hint by now. I found my comfort in the solitude.

The story had held me captive all afternoon, and now, there were only a handful of pages left. I was only trying to figure out what these creatures looked like. I was flipping the last page of the book. It ended with a note:

"They know your voice...don't listen to them." 

My adrenaline spiked a little, buzzing under my skin, my pulse thumping in a way I could hear it echo in my ears. I could hear my heart in my ears in that eerie silence.

I let the book slipped out of my grasp, thudding softly against my lap.

The eerie silence pressed in, heavier than before, and it felt like the trees were listening. Watching.

And then—

Nothing.

Only the sound of my breathing and the distant cracking of the branches with the wind."