High School Mate

h fogging the surface as I stared out at the blurred, unfamiliar landscape. My headphones hung loosely around my neck, playing a song I barely re

r. Instead, it lingered, like a fog that never quite lifted, dulling everything I once loved. School used to be a haven, a place where I could lose myself in books and laught

ee mug sat on the shelf, untouched? But Dad insisted-said Blackwood would be a fresh start for both of us, that maybe I could "fin

re impossibly tall, their twisted branches tangling like ancient fingers, shrouded in mist. Everything about the forest felt alive, but not in the way that c

through the undergrowth in a way that was almost hypnotic. The forest looked like something out

ng out from the trees, some of them sagging with age. The streets looked narrow, lined with stone and dotted with old-fashioned cottages that felt more like secrets than homes

hrough the stillness-a long, low howl that sent a shiver racing down my spine. It was close, too close. My he

I turned to see him glance at me, his

thing. "Did you hear that?" My voice came

darting toward the forest as though looking for

me question what I'd heard. "It... it was a howl," I said

bably just your imagination," he said, his tone light as if to reassu

ed. That sound hadn't been my imagination. It had been too real, too close. Still, I leaned

hidden in the fog, and Blackwood drew closer. I told myself it was nothing-that Dad was right and my mind was just