Raindrops drummed on the windowpane—and in one blink, Lena saw eyes staring back at her. Golden eyes, molten with something ancient. She jerked away, breath gone, her sketchbook tumbling to the floor…
The steady, relentless drip of water against the glass mirrored the quiet stirrings inside her—an unease she couldn't explain. She had always been drawn to the way the rain moved, the way it pooled and dripped like forgotten memories. There was something hypnotic about it, something that calmed her even as it unsettled her.
At 17, Lena was used to feeling out of place. Not in the world—she was an ordinary girl, living in an ordinary house, attending an ordinary high school. But there was something about her that never quite fit the mold. Her friends thought she was quirky, a little withdrawn, but they didn't know the real Lena. The girl who, despite the busy halls of school, often felt alone in a crowd.
No, it wasn't the loneliness that weighed on her; it was the strange sensations that had been increasing in frequency over the past year. The moments when she felt like she was being watched, when the air around her seemed to hum with energy, or when she saw glimpses of something—someone—just out of the corner of her eye. Shadows that moved on their own. Glowing eyes in the dark. And then there were the dreams.
Her hand trembled slightly as she turned the page in her sketchbook. Lately, she couldn't shake the feeling that she was walking through life half-asleep, like a veil hung between her and the real world. The dreams were the worst part. They had become more vivid over time—mysterious figures, eerie landscapes, and voices she didn't recognize. In one recurring dream, she was standing in a dense, misty forest, a cold wind brushing her skin as the sky turned from bright blue to a dark, unnatural shade of purple. And always, always, there was a figure watching her—a tall, imposing presence that filled her with both fear and fascination.
Tonight, she couldn't shake the feeling that the world was about to change. The way the rain fell against the window seemed louder, almost like it was trying to get her attention. And in the silence of her room, the air felt charged, as if something was waiting—waiting for her to acknowledge it.
She pushed the feeling aside, taking a deep breath. It's just the stress, she told herself. School's been overwhelming lately, and the pressure from my family is starting to get to me. That's all. But even as she tried to convince herself, her heart raced in anticipation of something—something she couldn't quite understand.
Her mother's voice called from downstairs. "Lena, dinner's ready!"
Lena blinked, breaking her focus. She closed her sketchbook with a snap and stood, stretching her arms above her head. Her room was small, simple, but she loved the way it was filled with the things that made her feel safe: her art, her books, her music. But it didn't change the fact that something was... off.
She stepped out of her room and descended the stairs into the kitchen, where her mother was setting the table. "You okay, sweetie? You look a little pale."
Lena gave her a small smile, trying to push the tension from her shoulders. "I'm fine, just tired."
Her mother studied her for a moment before nodding. "Well, eat something. You're too skinny for your own good."
Lena sat down at the table, picking at her food more out of habit than hunger. The conversation flowed around her, her mother discussing the latest family gossip, the usual talk about school, but Lena wasn't really listening. Her mind kept drifting back to the strange feeling that had been gnawing at her since the rainstorm began. The way everything seemed to be... shifting.
Later that night, after her mother had gone to bed, Lena found herself back at her window. The rain had lessened, and the clouds parted enough for the moon to shine through, casting an eerie glow over the landscape below. It was in that moment, as she gazed out at the street, that she saw it.
A flicker of movement in the shadows at the end of the road. She squinted, trying to make out what it was, but the figure was gone before she could focus.
A chill ran down her spine. She knew she had seen something—someone—standing there. She rubbed her arms, trying to calm her racing heart.
The sensation came again. That same prickling feeling at the back of her neck, the hairs standing on end. Something was there. Watching her. Waiting.
Her breath hitched as she stepped back from the window. That's when she saw it—reflected in the glass. A pair of glowing, golden eyes, staring back at her from the shadows. They weren't her own.
She gasped, but when she turned around to face the window directly, there was nothing. Just the empty street, wet from the rain, bathed in the soft light of the moon.
Lena blinked, her heart pounding. It's just your imagination, she thought, but even as the words formed in her mind, she knew they weren't true.
There was something else—something ancient and powerful—that had just awakened. And it was calling to her...
…The golden eyes flickered in her memory. Lena swallowed hard, brushed rain from her sleeve, and whispered, "Show yourself." Because she knew she would never turn back now.