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B right light pierced the room as Ava awoke, squinting against the intensity of the sun.

Softness surrounded her, enveloping her in its warmth.

Opening her eyes further, she sat up. She was in her bed in her room, and it was morning.

No storm. No horrifying figure lurking about.

Had it all been a dream? No, it couldn’t have been. It had felt so real.

She reached up and touched her forehead, wincing. Running her fingers below her hairline, she felt something stiff… like… bandages? So, it was real. She had truly fallen and hit her head. How did she get to her bed?

The sound of footsteps turned her attention to the door, and Henry entered with a glass of water and a couple of pills.

“You’re awake,” he said with a smile. He sat on the edge of the bed, brushing her hair out of her face. “How are you feeling, beautiful?”

“I… my head. What happened?” She touched her forehead again. “How did I get here? When did you get here?”

“Here, take this.” Henry handed her the glass of water and medication. “You hit your head pretty hard. ”

She obeyed and swallowed the pills, chasing them with a cool gulp of water, realizing how thirsty she was. Her head was pounding incessantly, forehead especially tender near the injury.

Setting the cup on the nightstand, she took a shuddering breath. “What happened?”

“I was worried about you in the storm,” he explained. “When I got here, the front door was open, and you were on the floor. It looked like you had fallen and hit your head. You were unconscious so I carried you upstairs and treated your injury.”

Ava looked around and then back at Henry. “Did you see anyone else? Someone in the house?”

“No, it was just you.” Henry scrunched his brow. “It looked like you went outside and then when you came back in, you slipped.”

No, that wasn’t right. She never went outside. She was running away from the kitchen, the creature chasing her. Then she fell and everything went black.

“What about footprints? There were footprints leading from the front door all the way to the office.” She fidgeted with the comforter. “Did you see them?”

“No. I saw muddy footprints from when you went outside. The rest of your house was clean and untouched.”

“But I know I saw something.” She shook her head. “Someone was in my house.”

Henry pondered, obviously not believing her. “I think you hit your head so hard you don’t remember exactly what happened. You were in and out of consciousness for hours.”

“No, I remember it very clearly. I saw it,” she insisted. “It had claws and sharp teeth and chased me!” Her voice rose, hands starting to shake.

“The power was out. You couldn’t see well in the dark and between the lightning and noise of the storm, your eyes must have been playing tricks on you. ”

“Don’t patronize me, Henry. I know what I saw,” she spat, anger making an appearance at his apparent disbelief.

Henry put his hand on hers. “I’m not patronizing you. I’m just saying sometimes when we’re scared, we can’t trust our memories.”

She sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. He wasn’t going to believe her. It wouldn’t help the situation if she took her frustrations out on him.

“Have you seen Luna?” she asked, changing the subject.

She had told Henry about her companion not long ago, and while he had caught glimpses of her every so often, she seemed to remain hidden from everyone except herself and Eleanor.

Though sweet and affectionate, Luna still came and went as she pleased and Ava assumed she was wary of most strangers, including Henry.

“No.” He shook his head. “She wasn’t here when I got here.”

“I hope she’s okay…” she wondered.

“I’m sure she’s fine.” He pushed a strand of hair behind her ear and looked at her. “She’s a wild animal. They know what to do in a storm.”

“I guess so,” she said, looking out the window as if she could will her friend to appear in the yard.

“You need to stay in bed today,” said Henry, voice soft. “I can stay with you for a little while if you’d like.” Brushing his fingers over her jaw, he planted a kiss on her forehead. “I’ll get ready to go make you breakfast.” He rose from the bed and left the room.

She lay back down and mulled over last night.

The dream where Luna spoke to her and the invader in her house.

Though she was shaken by the events over the last few weeks, a small part of her wasn’t surprised.

There was a deep truth that had been hovering just below the surface ever since she was a child, and it was on the verge of revealing itself.

It was all connected somehow but she couldn’t quite put her finger on it. Whatever was going on seemed to be escalating and after Luna’s urgent warning last night, Ava was determined to find the map.

She’d invite Eleanor over to help in a couple of days and together they’d try to figure out the clue and search the property. If there truly was a map that led to a portal on her acreage… Well, she’d figure out what to do then.

“Is there anything I can help you with?” Henry asked as he followed Ava into the house after they finished the morning chores on the farm.

“No, I think I got it,” she answered.

Eleanor was coming over later tonight and Ava wanted to clean up and run to the store before she arrived. They made their way down the hallway into the kitchen and Henry reached for his keys on the counter.

“Okay, then,” he said as he leaned in. “I need to get going. I have some errands to run.”

He kissed her, winding his hands into her unbound hair as she returned the fervor, arms around his neck. She moaned into his mouth, pulling him closer as he deepened the kiss.

He reluctantly pulled away. “Have fun tonight and don’t get into too much trouble.”

“I won’t.” She smiled as Henry turned and headed out the door.

Ever since Ava hit her head last weekend, Henry had been excessively cautious with her. He finally believed someone was in her house and had installed a security system the next day, showing her how to view the camera feed and set the alarm.

As she walked upstairs to shower, her mind returned to the riddle from her dream. She had mulled it over daily and still couldn’t make sense of it .

The place where life is created. What does that even mean?

The vague statement could mean a multitude of things and she had no clue how to interpret it. Life was created when a baby was conceived, or maybe in a laboratory… or could it be referring to animals? The riddle felt incomplete, just out of reach, as if it was taunting her.

She had scoured her house, hunting for any semblance of a clue or a map, even a hint of anything different or otherworldly.

Nothing.

She came up empty handed every time.

Finishing her shower, she threw on some athletic clothing and walked downstairs and out the front door.

The trees were in their full autumn glory now.

Deep scarlets, oranges and yellows embellished the forest as if they had been plucked from a painting and placed around her property.

Marveling at the beauty, Ava entered her car and journeyed into town for supplies.

Ava was arranging the charcuterie board on the kitchen island, complete with artisan meats, cheeses, berries, nuts and honey, when the doorbell rang.

“Coming!” she shouted.

She opened the door and greeted her friend, who was dressed in her usual conservative librarian garb. Jeans, a cardigan and her hair pulled half back.

“Hey.” Ava smiled.

“I brought dessert,” Eleanor replied as she handed her an apple pie.

“I love it when you bring me sweets,” said Ava and they headed down the hallway.

After setting the pie on the kitchen island, Ava joined Eleanor on the couch and handed her a glass of wine .

Eleanor grinned at her, mischief in her eyes and whispered, “I also brought something else.” She reached into her pocket and held out a baggie containing a joint.

Ava raised her eyebrows. “Weed?” She laughed. “I haven’t smoked since college.”

Though Ava was usually a rule follower, she had enjoyed the occasional joint when she was in school, finding it sometimes helped her sleep after a long day of studying and stress.

“Me either.” Eleanor shrugged. “But maybe it’ll open our minds and give us some ideas on that riddle.”

Ava had called her and explained the riddle the other day and both women were still stumped about what it meant.

“Well… alright. I could use something to help me relax, honestly. Let’s go outside,” Ava said.

They gathered the food, wine and a bunch of blankets to stave off the November chill and nestled themselves on the outdoor sectional, charcuterie board sitting on the coffee table within reach.

Eleanor lit the joint and handed it to Ava after taking a puff.

Ava inhaled and blew out the smoke. “Mmmm… I remember now why I stopped in college. I liked it too much.”

Eleanor laughed and they ate their dinner as they gossiped about Henry.

“So, he’s that good in bed, huh?” Eleanor asked.

“God.” She laid her head back on the couch. “So. Fucking. Good. I can’t get enough.”

“Damn, I’m jealous. I need to get a man.”

Ava looked at her. “What about that one guy?” She sipped her wine. “The one that works with you?”

“Theodore?” Eleanor looked taken aback. “No way.”

“Why not? He’s cute.”

Eleanor popped a grape in her mouth. “First of all, his name is Theodore. Can you imagine? ”

Ava made fake moaning sounds. “Oh, Theodore. Yes! Harder!”

Eleanor let out a loud bark of laughter. “Exactly. Second of all, he’s way too young.”

“He’s not that young. Like twenty-six or something, right?”

Eleanor frowned at her. “He’s twenty-one!”

“Gross! Nevermind.”

The women burst into laughter at the thought of Eleanor sleeping with baby Theodore.

“Okay, okay, okay.” Eleanor held up her hand. “Now that we’re sufficiently stoned, let’s talk about the riddle.”

“Look in the place where life is created,” said Ava wrapping a blanket around her shoulders.

“Like a womb?”