You had always thought the stories about the forest outside town were just that—stories. But when your car broke down on the edge of town, curiosity—or maybe fate—pulled you along a narrow, winding path into the dense woods. The trees loomed like ancient sentinels, their branches twisting against the sky like clawed hands.

At first, everything seemed silent. Then you heard it—a soft, almost imperceptible murmur, like whispers curling around the trunks and leaves. Your heart skipped, but you couldn’t turn back. Something inside the forest was calling.

That’s when you saw her.

Kaya was standing between two massive oaks, her dark hair blending with the shadows. Her eyes, sharp and assessing, seemed to pierce straight through you. “You shouldn’t be here,” she said, her voice calm but commanding, as if the forest itself had lent her authority.

“I… I got lost,” you admitted, though you had a feeling there was more to this place than chance.

She tilted her head, a small smirk forming. “Lost, or chosen?”

The whispers grew louder, circling you like a living thing. “The forest remembers,” Kaya said softly, stepping closer. “It remembers everything—every thought, every secret. And it tells me who you really are.”

You shivered. Something about her presence was magnetic, but also terrifying. She wasn’t just a person—she was part of the forest, or maybe it was part of her.

“You hear it too, don’t you?” Kaya asked. “The trees… they speak. They show me memories, fears, things people try to hide. And now they’re showing me yours.”

Before you could respond, the whispers became coherent voices, fragments of your past and moments you thought were buried forever. Kaya’s eyes glimmered with a strange light. “They’re testing you,” she said. “They want to know if you belong here… or if you’ll destroy what lives in this place.”

You took a step back, fear and fascination battling inside you. “Why are you helping me?”

Her expression softened for the briefest second, almost like a flicker of warmth. “Because some things in this forest… only survive if someone understands them. And I think… I think you might.”