The night was strange. A pale moon hung high, cold and distant, casting its thin, ghostly glow over the dark woods. Pine trees swayed gently, and in the far distance, something howled—low and long, a sound that didn't quite belong to any known creature.
Luna ran.
Her small frame darted between the pine trees, her breath ragged in her chest, her bare feet bleeding from stones and thorns. Her hair, brown as bark, streamed behind her in two wild braids, fraying at the ends and catching on branches as she fled. Her yellow dress clung to her, old and too thin for the night's chill, fluttering like a candle's flame in the wind.
She didn't stop. Couldn't stop.
Thud-thud. Thud-thud.
Her heart pounded against her ribs like it wanted out—louder than her thoughts, louder than the night itself.
Crunch. Snap.
Pine needles jabbed into the raw soles of her feet. Every step sent a sharp stab up her legs, and the dry forest floor betrayed her with every crackling leaf, every twig that snapped beneath her.
Haaa—hahh—haa—
Her breath came in ragged gasps, too fast, too loud. She tried to hush it, press it down, but her lungs burned and screamed for more.
She stumbled and fell to her knees. Her hands hit the earth, scraping bark and gravel into the scratches already blooming across her skin.
Rustle.
Was that something behind her?
A branch shifting?
A footfall?
No. No, no, no—keep going. Don't stop now.
"I escaped… I escaped…"
She whispered, barely a breath, like saying it too loud might break the spell.
"...Did I?"
Boom-BOOM.
Her heart thundered louder now, like it echoed off the trees. Like it would call them straight to her.
Blood trickled down her calves, from her arms. Her knees trembled.
Luna stumbled, falling to her knees on the damp earth. She pressed her hands into the soil, gasping, feeling her pulse beat wild and fierce. She turned her head, glancing over her shoulder into the dark, her wide eyes shimmering with fear.
'Am I far enough?
Did they notice I slipped away?
Are they coming after me?"
The trees look the same—have I even moved at all?
My body stings. Everything hurts. My arms, my legs, my feet—oh, my feet are torn open.
I think I'm leaving little red marks behind me. Will they follow that? Will they smell the blood? Will that witch catch me??
I can't run anymore. I can't even walk right. My knees keep giving out like the ground doesn't want me standing.
My heart—it won't stop pounding, like it's trying to tear out of my chest. Loud. Too loud. What if they hear it?
Please, just a little more. Just one more step.
I don't want to go back. I won't go back.'
Cracke - crunch -crunch
One step at a time.
That's all she could think.
Crunch.
Her bare foot met sharp pine needles.
One.
Crack.
A branch snapped under her heel.
Two.
She winced, staggering forward—blood trailing behind her like a thread in the dark.
Three. Four.
Her breath hitched. Her chest burned. Her heart slammed against her ribs.
"Don't stop. Please—don't stop."
Her lips trembled. Tears blurred the trees. She didn't know if she was going in circles. She didn't know if something was behind her.
But—
Five.
Six.
"I'm scared, Mom… I don't know where home is…"
Seven.
Her voice cracked, no louder than the wind in the leaves.
"I want to go home…"
But all she had—
was one step
at a time.
Her breath hitched. Her legs buckled again.
She fell—this time harder. Knees scraped. Blood smeared. Dirt clung to her palms.
She curled in on herself beneath the branches, the darkness swallowing everything. The sky above was a tangled web of black and bone-white stars. But none of it felt safe.
"Mom...?" her voice broke in a whisper.
"Where are you...?"
The wind didn't answer. The trees only creaked.
"I'm scared." Her throat tightened. "I don't know where home is anymore. I don't know the way. Please… take me home…"
She pressed her face into her arms, trying to stop the sobs, but they came anyway—shaking her body, setting her cuts aflame.
Behind her, in the distance—
Snap.
A branch broke.
And then… silence.
Luna froze, her breath catching. She looked around, eyes darting from shadow to shadow, the hairs on her arms standing on end.
She pushed herself up, her knees quaking beneath her as blood continued to trickle from her wounds. Gritting her teeth against the pain, she turned toward the sound.. Her voice rose, thin and sharp:
> "Who's there? I heard you... What do you want?"
She tried to sound brave, but her hands trembled at her sides.
> "Come out... don't hide in the dark... I know you're there!"
For a moment, there was nothing—
Only the rustling of dry leaves, the distant howl of something far away, and the heavy drum of her own heartbeat, loud in her ears like it was trying to drown out the world.
Then—
A figure stepped from the shadows, smooth and silent. His black coat blended with the shadows
The moonlight brushed against his face just enough to catch the colour of his eyes—sea-blue, deep and unreadable. They held the hush of a storm that hadn't yet broken.
Luna froze, breath tangled in her throat.
Her feet didn't move. Couldn't.