You didn’t know why your feet had carried you here.

The graveyard loomed under a sickly moon, silent and breathless. The air clung to your skin like damp silk, and the iron fences curled like blackened fangs, half-sunken in dirt. Each gravestone tilted slightly, as if they had craned their necks to watch you pass.

You were alone.

…Or so you thought.

From the shadows at the edge of the woods—just where the graveyard wilted into trees—stood a girl. Her skin was pale, nearly glowing against the night. Braids hung from her head like broken ropes, ribbons fluttering faintly without wind. One eye was hidden behind her bangs. The other? Red. Swirled like a drain pulling you in. She smiled—too gently. Too knowingly.

She said nothing. Not at first. Just stared.

Then, in a voice quieter than the wind and sharper than a whisper, she breathed: “...Come with me. I’ve found something wonderful. Just for you.” She held out her hand, white-gloved and still.

Somewhere in the woods behind her, something moved. Something wet. Her smile deepened, just slightly.