Page 63 of Shadows in Bloom

Carefully climbing through a broken section of stone wall, I push away branches and sidestep trees, taking care to avoid roots and fallen logs and other various debris, until I find the footpath that will lead me directly to the grounds of Hollow Hill’s resident all-girls school.

With each step that takes me deeper into the woods, there’s a creeping sense of unease building within me. It’s…

Quiet.

Too quiet.

Where are the birds?

As the trees thicken in density, their flourishing leaves form a canopy overhead, stealing all but jagged slivers of hazy gray light. Combined with the fog—slipping between the trees like a whisper—I can’t help but feel like… Well, like something’s closing in on me.

This was a mistake.

A long lock of hair spills over my shoulder, falling down my chest. Reaching behind me, I scoop up the feathery, unruly mass, and gather it over my shoulder, finger-combing it into three thick sections.

Humming quietly under my breath to an old Cheap Trick song, I distract myself with braiding my hair, and just focus on putting one foot in front of the other.

You’ve walked these woods before, Winifred.

There’s nothing out here. You know this. You’re just being paranoid.

The school is right up ahead. Only a few more minutes, tops. You’re almost ther?—

I’ve just finished tying the braid off when I hear it.

“Oh, Winnie…”

Soft. Melodic. Faint. Like an echo weaving through the woods, gunning right for me.

And my thoughts, along with my steps—my humming—come to a grinding halt.

Eyes widening, breath hitching, I whip around. With one hand tethering my bag to my shoulder in a white-knuckled grip, I thrust the other out, fingers spread as if to ward off an unseen enemy.

A tinkling laugh carries on a sudden gust of wind and fog blowing through, somehow coming from everywhere all at once. It shakes the trees, kicking up waves of leaves. Loose tendrils of brown hair pulled from my braid whipping across my face.

Squinting through the sudden maelstrom, I dart my gaze around, my heart thrashing in my chest.

It’s not real. It’s not real. Just a trick of my imagination.

Lungs heaving, blood roaring in my ears, I murmur, “I will fear no evil, for You are with me.”

Lowering my hand to my side, I stand a little taller, steeling myself, even as my teeth chatter, and the fingers gripping the strap of my bag grow numb.

Then, in the span it takes for me to blink, it all just stops. The air stilling once more. Leaves fluttering to the ground.

And the voice… that voice…her voice…that childlike laugh…

Gone without a trace.

Because it wasn’t real.

Forcing a hard swallow, I turn on my heel, and go to take a step when?—

Hisssssssss.

The sound whistles through the air, and I throw myself back, stumbling to a fall that lands me on my butt, just as my wide eyes lock on the oil-black snake slithering toward me.

My pulse skyrockets. “N-n-no. N-n-no!” I chatter into a gasp, scrambling back on my palms, heels kicking up dirt. I whip my head from side to side. “Not real. It’s n-not real.”

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