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Walking along the dirt pathway to the town that was three miles away from the train station under a heavy rain was not a good idea, but still, my persistence to get to the place where I was born was very strong and I felt the warmth of this urge underneath my wet clothing. I really didn’t understand what brought me back to this desolate place that I didn’t even think about, or never entered my mind for the 30 years of my life but the in the last few weeks, there’s a thought that I couldn’t really grasp and a feeling that made me deprived of sleep at night and those same dreams, or it might be nightmare, night after night, when a chance of sleep came. In my dreams, though very vague, it’s like I’m in limbo, floating, or sometimes, just an audience of what was happening in my dreams, and the woman, whom I never met before but there’s a feeling that I already knew her and met her, was always the center of that dream. It was like she’s urging me to come with her to a place by the hill and it was hazy and as the dreams went on, then I knew that I have known about the place, that same hill with a small brook beside it and the familiar solitary oak tree that stand strong as it always has and bore an almost faded inscribed text Ec****.

As I strode the murky walkway to the house that bore my family name, I took time to study and remember the place where I grew up until my 7th birthday; it was the same broad wrought iron gate where my father used to ride with his horses, the same high brick wall though looked older with the moss growing on it and had traces of minute cracks, and standing at the front of the gate, I pushed it open and a little bit of surprised how easy it was.

I struggled my feet to walk through the gravel driveway which was mostly ankle deep with water and uneven and fell three times, and with that third time, in the corner of my eye, I thought I saw something moved behind the small trees that lined the driveway at the right side, or I must have perceived something that was out of ordinary and since the place was anything but ordinary, I really couldn’t exactly tell that something moved. I stopped for a moment and tried to think of what it was but felt it was nothing and continued to walk. At the third step, when everything seemed to be normal that I saw, or rather felt it, that something moved at that same place, and was greatly shocked for a second, the same feeling that is felt by all people when they thought that everything is normal but then an extraordinary thing suddenly came. It was a big black cat, almost as big as a small dog! Trying to calm my shock, it looked at me for a while with its large glassy grey eyes that seemed to swallow me up and fall inside of them. It didn’t move a bit when I continued to walk and then I wondered what on earth is a cat doing under the heavy rain and realized I was thinking of it too much now that I felt goose-bumps started to crawl on my skin. I suddenly turned to look at the cat but it was gone. I turned from side to side, but it couldn’t be found and not even a trace of its feet or shadows as if it wasn’t been there!

I hurried through the driveway and haven’t almost noticed that I was at the front of the maindoor and knocking. I was still thinking of that big black cat. And the door opened with a loud creaking sound that was different from the gate. The door opened from my first three knocks and I thought that was fast, as if the person inside had seen me coming from the driveway. Ms. Cannarella was the oldest person I had ever seen, she was eighty-five years old, very frail, a gentle wind could knock her out, with leathery skin but more leathery than an average old person, her eyes were almost white but I could see that she can see normally, her hair were all white but not balding. She walked very slowly and her voice was like coming from beneath the ground. It was the first time that I met her, though I had heard her name from my father. She used to work in one of my aunt’s horse’s stable in Ledice a village hundred miles from here.

After she opened the door, she didn’t say a word nor motioned me to come. I just followed her and when I asked her who are the other persons in the house, she just looked at me and stared for five seconds. She still didn’t say a word but motioned me to sit down and grabbed my only bag. I was surprised how strong she was, she carried my bag very easily! While she was grabbing my bag, my right hand accidentally brushed against her hand, I felt shocked how cold she was. She was as cold as ice! When I recovered from the shock, she was starting to descend onto the stairs.

I ate a light meal that night prepared by Ms. Cannarella. She didn't eat with me. She was still not saying anything to me. She just knocked on my room's door and when I opened it, she motioned me to come with him and judging by the time and the way we were going, I understood that we were going for dinner.

I went to bed and fell asleep as my head hit the pillow. I believe it was only after five minutes when I heard some movement or rather felt movement at my feet. I was trying not to open my eyes because I was really afraid of what I might see at that time. But I thought to myself, I would rather not die just staying that way.

I braced myself and started to open my eyes very slowly. The room was very dark and if there was light, it was coming from the half-opened French window. As my eyes were adjusting to the dark, there i saw some movement just below my feet and under the bedsheet at the edge of the bed. And I noticed, at that same location, there a form materialized under the bed sheet and getting bigger. It was like a big head, as big as a man's, and now the form is distinct, like an animal, a dog, and it was slowly coming towards my feet, towards me, under the bedsheet. I couldn't feel my heart, I could hear my ears exploding to the sound of silence, I was frozen, too afraid to move.

Then suddenly, the door opened with a loud bang and a gush of wind. The form was nowhere, it was gone. But I felt that something jumped out from under the bed sheet, I didn't see a thing. It was a big creature, i thought. When I looked at the door, my heart skipped a beat. There was a girl in red dress standing, her back at me. She had raven black flowing hair. She was the girl in my nightmare. She suddenly walked, leaving the door open. I hurriedly got up and ran to follow her. It was just after only a second when I reached the door, but she was already at the end of the hallway going down the stairs! I was afraid but determined to know what was happening. I felt it was not another nightmare, it was very real to be a nightmare, too vivid. But I noticed at that split second, all the colors around me where in black and white, I could only see red, her dress!! (to be continued...)