Act II: Scene I639Please respect copyright.PENANAZwMOt90I2i
"Long ago in the days of the ancestors, some of the children of the people were having strange, frightening dreams."639Please respect copyright.PENANAlu61DUybBY
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. 639Please respect copyright.PENANA74ph6qvNWY
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.639Please respect copyright.PENANANALb2bRwOG
You need to leave. 639Please respect copyright.PENANAStI2PstNVo
Wait-what? The voice resounds over the house, like it's talking from every angle there is.639Please respect copyright.PENANAKs0OexFhSW
Just go. Pack your things. Leave.639Please respect copyright.PENANAkS6PO1iMhl
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-639Please respect copyright.PENANAGTjZC3bQwk
Wenonah, GO!639Please respect copyright.PENANAAiOxPDp1RF
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.639Please respect copyright.PENANAbSoxCP730f
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.639Please respect copyright.PENANAYcFo2Bdjwk
It'll be okay, Wenonah. Just hurry up.639Please respect copyright.PENANAYLLBNc5AFo
The voice is too demanding for my taste. But still I follow the voice like a lost kitten. 639Please respect copyright.PENANAKcnE75qQav
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. 639Please respect copyright.PENANA1lNy872StO
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. 639Please respect copyright.PENANARc36OUfKqD
The knock gets louder, more impatient. 639Please respect copyright.PENANAs9K3NfMMpT
So, I grab my bag, run downstairs, ignoring the hallway and to the exit near the kitchen. 639Please respect copyright.PENANAfnacuClzkJ
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. 639Please respect copyright.PENANAopVNXoQQkz
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. 639Please respect copyright.PENANAJtCP89JBtT
I run until I find myself in an empty alleyway.639Please respect copyright.PENANAu0f9tRkzaZ
Good. 639Please respect copyright.PENANATwn4JqyrSH
That voice again. 639Please respect copyright.PENANANjiFKlwdZU
"Did you know that the police would be here?" I ask, not sure where to look. 639Please respect copyright.PENANAj5AwLFlNO9
In a way, yes. I did.639Please respect copyright.PENANA8R1dWK30qX
"And why were they here?" 639Please respect copyright.PENANAFraS0pRW9n
That, the voice pauses. I'm not sure.639Please respect copyright.PENANAuABeXK6p2D
"You're not sure," I repeat. 639Please respect copyright.PENANAmIfJCkHW4L
Wenonah-639Please respect copyright.PENANAgXOJs2sT3R
"It's Wendy," I correct. 639Please respect copyright.PENANAj82cc9noQJ
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.639Please respect copyright.PENANAMd3IlfV1CM
"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."639Please respect copyright.PENANA6184VcUAnK
Wen-639Please respect copyright.PENANAhs9OddL641
"There are about thousands of dreamcatchers in that house! All of them glowing! Glowing! Can anyone explain that to me?"639Please respect copyright.PENANA2o3jwICfts
Wenon-639Please respect copyright.PENANAA8XLdtxYB6
"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!"639Please respect copyright.PENANAdba1Pm8CKx
Weno-639Please respect copyright.PENANAhJajbwUgyd
"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."639Please respect copyright.PENANArZasSa0b9F
Wenonah!639Please respect copyright.PENANAqKK5h9IfCg
I stop. 639Please respect copyright.PENANAa2Qv4GqUwW
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. 639Please respect copyright.PENANAmxSijMYyd0
"Do you- do you understand?"639Please respect copyright.PENANADRCamBurFJ
I do, Wenonah, the voice says softly. And I need you to trust me on this. 639Please respect copyright.PENANA8SYSBProRJ
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. 639Please respect copyright.PENANAsAOTcaCfFy
"Now here are the rules, Wendy," my mother smiles. "One, don't tell anyone about the dreamcatchers, alright?"639Please respect copyright.PENANAWLIUpaVotM
I nod, not knowing what was going on. 639Please respect copyright.PENANAA2yYDTCCSV
"Two, don't break any dreamcatchers, okay?" 639Please respect copyright.PENANADQt3sOAGVF
"I won't, mom. I promise."639Please respect copyright.PENANALEsQob8OBS
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.639Please respect copyright.PENANAU307VAZx5T
"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."639Please respect copyright.PENANAx1u5WpUXxu
I gulp and I nod.639Please respect copyright.PENANAIg44dd5HTO
"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."639Please respect copyright.PENANAXD9IVFPZnU
"Why not?" I ask.639Please respect copyright.PENANAjS3T7Aprmg
"She just won't. So, that time- I need you to trust yourself. I need you to trust the voice."639Please respect copyright.PENANAXuRppDn2Pz
The pain in my stomach grows and I puke. I hold my stomach, and take support in the nearby wall. 639Please respect copyright.PENANAJLlUoRhO4E
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.639Please respect copyright.PENANAvgQBVJxezw
That's enough to make me realize that I'm alone. Again. 639Please respect copyright.PENANAAY2BVIDaak