A week ago, Zeyn was fighting for his life in the Grimoir Forest. Today, he was stuck in a classroom, pretending to care about the lecture while half the campus buzzed with gossip about "the incident."
He slouched in his seat, ruby-red eyes fixed on the window, watching the breeze stir the haunted tree outside. His classmates whispered theories behind him.
"Still no official statement? The government's hiding something."
"Nah, it's aliens. Has to be. Nothing human could do that."
"I swear I saw a flash from the forest. Blinding."
He could hear every word, even the ones never meant for human ears. A frail old woman in a tattered white dress lounged on a branch of the haunted tree, smiling faintly at him.
Ordinary students avoided even looking at that tree. For Zeyn, she was practically a neighbor.
'So, you survived,' she said, voice brushing his mind like cold mist. 'How's the girl your sister wanted dead?'
He didn't answer. His silence was enough.
The door slammed open.
