The night was unnervingly quiet. For a city that never slept, it was almost unsettling. Alina lay restlessly beneath her worn blanket, the warmth of her body at odds with the cold sweat on her forehead. The dream had returned. She'd tried to push it away, to forget, but it always came back. And tonight, it felt… different. More vivid. More real.
She stood on the edge of a marble terrace, the cold stone pressing against her bare feet. Below her, the ocean stretched out endlessly, its waters stained a deep crimson by the moon hanging too close in the sky. A soft breeze carried whispers, their words lost in the air, but they felt old so old, as if they had traveled from a time long forgotten. The terrace behind her was dominated by a crumbling palace, its grand towers half-hidden by thick vines that crawled over the walls like living things. And then, a voice a voice she knew, but couldn't place called her name, three times.
"Alina… wake up…"
Her heart slammed in her chest as she shot up in bed, gasping for air as if she had been underwater. The familiar sounds of the city honking horns, distant chatter crept in through the window, but they felt distant, disconnected from the thumping in her chest. The dream lingered in her mind, as if it was still unfolding around her.
She glanced at the clock. 3:33 AM. Just like every time.
With a sigh, Alina swung her legs off the bed and dragged herself toward the mirror. She pushed her tangled hair aside, revealing the small crescent-shaped birthmark on the side of her neck. The mark glowed faintly in the dim light, like it was trying to tell her something something important. But what?
"What do you want from me?" she whispered into the darkness.
The night gave no answer, as it never did.
What she didn't know was that this wasn't just a dream. It was a calling a doorway to something forgotten, and Alina was the key.