Act II: Scene I822Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHUvk6tmBuR
"Long ago in the days of the ancestors, some of the children of the people were having strange, frightening dreams."822Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB4GCt0e5IM
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. 822Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEEul0ZKCz1
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.822Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLRY2Wdiudh
You need to leave. 822Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXfq70Ai2VF
Wait-what? The voice resounds over the house, like it's talking from every angle there is.822Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKVi4Q8joK3
Just go. Pack your things. Leave.822Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlknp5Y4yye
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-822Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡplA2EaFJXH
Wenonah, GO!822Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfCkQM7IYK7
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.822Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDQ4mQwKpkU
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.822Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgmK1EtJgPS
It'll be okay, Wenonah. Just hurry up.822Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEg1An0aPhu
The voice is too demanding for my taste. But still I follow the voice like a lost kitten. 822Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMnLV0gqrdO
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. 822Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBE4iUANVbu
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. 822Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMBLVopO8bk
The knock gets louder, more impatient. 822Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEqFw6PhlP5
So, I grab my bag, run downstairs, ignoring the hallway and to the exit near the kitchen. 822Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtVPG3lFDM6
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. 822Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbXWJ2zJNxR
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. 822Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKuMdrt7Dhd
I run until I find myself in an empty alleyway.822Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiErm1xszTx
Good. 822Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQoDfpjDYZ9
That voice again. 822Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe5kUZZluF9
"Did you know that the police would be here?" I ask, not sure where to look. 822Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2upHVonVhB
In a way, yes. I did.822Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡszEESeRCNy
"And why were they here?" 822Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKD8YsAgu9u
That, the voice pauses. I'm not sure.822Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQpaRRWWrrQ
"You're not sure," I repeat. 822Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyAfvG9RQA8
Wenonah-822Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeaRr2CalGH
"It's Wendy," I correct. 822Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPCt38nzUDz
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.822Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ6ahX1UO7I
"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."822Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIpsuNGh7G1
Wen-822Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc0Ms40Toqy
"There are about thousands of dreamcatchers in that house! All of them glowing! Glowing! Can anyone explain that to me?"822Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKfKyviSntZ
Wenon-822Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4M7ywQYUye
"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!"822Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKdPbBgIJ59
Weno-822Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC5CVTGc2Ni
"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."822Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlKLhVRBhUG
Wenonah!822Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS0XJRRGw8c
I stop. 822Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbnOunvrtRy
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. 822Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡACLW59VqOh
"Do you- do you understand?"822Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1SDdbL4wvu
I do, Wenonah, the voice says softly. And I need you to trust me on this. 822Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeGfF5taS0t
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. 822Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGMpiYgyzw1
"Now here are the rules, Wendy," my mother smiles. "One, don't tell anyone about the dreamcatchers, alright?"822Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkUslCr657L
I nod, not knowing what was going on. 822Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnIphPyFchA
"Two, don't break any dreamcatchers, okay?" 822Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhYWNRDEV1i
"I won't, mom. I promise."822Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4sAT47uJJg
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.822Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkgNkJHREvA
"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."822Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTTyrwsgRE8
I gulp and I nod.822Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF2r5TAtGxL
"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."822Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlS9Rl2odgm
"Why not?" I ask.822Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVFMIUcNQmP
"She just won't. So, that time- I need you to trust yourself. I need you to trust the voice."822Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFPuLfNWRwz
The pain in my stomach grows and I puke. I hold my stomach, and take support in the nearby wall. 822Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgpN8VxXRPO
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.822Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWiWXStQTKv
That's enough to make me realize that I'm alone. Again. 822Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxSDVAG8bg0
