Page 17 of Hidden

This person who was supposed to be me—he had to be like that, right?

If that were the case, something must be wrong with me. I wasn’t strong. I couldn’t function, I was messed up.

This must be why everyone wanted to keep me secret. The realization hurt. At the same time, it was a reality check.

I wasn’t stupid. If I wanted things to change, I would have to start with myself. I was going to have to prove everyone wrong.

But it was going to be so,sohard.

The short meadow grass tickled my bare feet, and gray clouded the sky, making it difficult to tell the time. The air was heavy and stale, and only my immediate surroundings held any color. Outside of that, a blank canvas that stretched in every direction.

I was lonely, so lonely. The ache of it was a painful pressure against my chest.

“Mu.” A voice drifted to me. It was a feminine, husky sound, and so familiar. Yet recognition remained just out of grasp. “You’re finally waking up.”

Her words were different, not English. The meaning translated to me regardless.

“We had an agreement,” she said, her tone a strange mixture between alarm and annoyance. “They’re trying to stop us, and you must wake up. Tu is already becoming suspicious, and the others will soon follow.”

A strangeness settled over my body. I no longer felt like myself.

I responded, even though the words weren’t my own. “Did I not make you a promise? You need to trust me.”

The world moved and color began to break through, swirling through the air. Black and red, and so much green, but nothing further than that.

The voice that was mine continued, “Is it still love?”

After my question, the colors stilled, and the scene snapped into focus.

A woman stood in front of me. She looked tall, but for once, I didn’t feel short in comparison. She was thin, with black hair that reached the ground. It fell around her like a silk blanket. She wore an elegant gown that showed no skin but her neck and head, and the redness of it matched her painted lips.

Her mouth pointed down as she looked at me, and her golden eyes flashed with annoyance.

“I don’t know. Human emotions are so strange,” she said, glancing to the side. “But I thought out of everyone, you would understand, considering.”

My attention turned to our surroundings.

We were in a forest, and the trees arched over us. The space was secluded, and no one could find us unless I willed it so. And that wouldn’t happen. Not even the others could know.

This meeting had to remain secret. They weren’t ready.

But why?

“Where am I?” This time when I spoke, it was under my direction. But the sound still wasn’t mine; though the voice was light, the tenor was too deep. Male.

The woman glanced back at me, and amusement flickered in her eyes. “Where are you now?” she asked, tilting her head. “Are you here, or are you sleeping?”

What a strange question. I was here, wasn’t I?

But I also didn’t know where here was… “I don’t know.”

I didn’t know, although the scenery was inherently comforting. This place was old, and it was mine. I knew this, just as I knew her. At the thought, my heart began to race, because slowly, trickling into my awareness, was reality.

I’d heard this woman before. This was the voice that haunted my nightmares. “You?”

I watched her as my hands raised to press over my pounding heart. Shadowed recollections flashed through my mind. And suddenly, this woman’s presence turned into a threat. Although I was unable to pinpoint exactly why.

“You called me your imaginary friend.” Her smile was almost sad. “And here I thought our connection was so much more than that.”