Suddenly, an unexpected sound pierced the stillness—was it a whisper or the rustle of leaves in the wind?
Lena froze, her lantern casting a trembling circle of light across the forest floor. The night had been silent only a moment ago, the kind of silence that feels too deliberate, too heavy. Now, that faint sound seemed to echo between the trees, as if the woods themselves were breathing.
She told herself it was just the wind. After all, the old pines were tall enough to catch every wandering breeze. But something about it didn’t sound right—too close, too deliberate.
“Hello?” she called, her voice catching slightly.
No answer. Only the creak of branches high above her.
She turned to head back toward the path, but the trail of pale stones she’d been following was gone, swallowed by the undergrowth. Panic rose in her chest like a tide. She knew these woods—she’d walked them since childhood—but tonight, they felt unfamiliar, rearranged by some unseen hand.
Then came the sound again. This time, clearer. It wasn’t the wind. It was a voice.
A whisper.
“Lena…”
Her name. Soft, drawn out, as if someone were testing it.
The lantern flickered. For a heartbeat, the light dimmed—and in that thin second of shadow, she thought she saw a figure standing between the trees. Too still to be human. Too tall.
When the light flared again, the space was empty.
She swallowed hard, forcing her steps forward. “It’s just a trick,” she muttered. “Just the dark.”
But as she moved, the forest changed. The air grew colder, denser, thick with the scent of damp earth and something faintly metallic. The whisper returned, this time from behind her, then ahead, then all around, weaving through the trees like a breeze made of words.
“Come back…”
Her lantern went out.
In the sudden darkness, the world seemed to inhale. The leaves rustled—not from the wind this time, but from footsteps.
And then, in the faintest shimmer of moonlight breaking through the canopy, Lena saw it—the outline of something half-formed, watching her with eyes that glowed like distant embers.
It smiled.
And whispered, “You finally heard me.”
Therapy Bits 
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