Ina was running.
Her bare feet touched the wet grass. With every step, mud stuck to her feet. The night was bright with moonlight , but the sky looked strange-- like the colours had faded away. Everything was very quite. She could hear only her breathing and soft sounds of grass under her feet.
In front of her,
there was a man, a mysterious man, she could see his back, but his face was hidden in the fog.
"Stop!" , Ina shouted, "stop.... for me!. I have come for you!"
The man did not listen. Or may be he heard but ignored her. He stopped walking and stopped in front of an old painting and a sword. Ina has seen before.... But she didn't remember when , where and how.
Ina moved closer to him. The air felt heavier with every step. Then she said in a soft but confident voice.
"I will find you...". The mysterious man starts fading away.
Suddenly , a cold, scary laugh echoed in the air.
The laugh was neither a woman's nor a man's.
A chill ran through ina's body. She looked towards the sound -- but there was nothing . Only darkness.
Then everything started shaking -- the ground, the sky -- it felt like the picture was breaking into pieces.
"Aah!" Ina screamed and opened her eyes.
She was in her room . Her breathing was heavy, and sweat covered her shaking body. Her heart was beating so fast, it felt like it would jump out of her chest.
She stared at celling for few moments. It was a dream..... But it felt so real. The colours of the painting were still in front of her eyes.
And echo of that laugh.... Was still ringing in her ears.
Ina slowly looked at her hand--- on her right wrist was a small cresent moon 🌙 mark. It was not a full circle , just a half moon, like someone had drawn it on the ground with a finger.
Sometimes the mark looked dark, sometimes light, but today...
Today, it was shining.
Not just shining --- it was beating too,
Matching her heartbeat.
Ina tried to touch it with her finger. A cool light spread through her hand.
The mark shines only when she felt something --- happiness, fear, or worry--- like the light was connected to her feelings.
She remembered --- whe she was a child once she cried alone at night, the mark shone then too.
She doesn't know that the mark is the " guard of her destiny". But why did the guard take her to strange secrets in her dream?
And today... The laugh, the painting , the sword and the mysterious man.
Ina took deep breath and looked out of the window. The night was still alive. A half moon was still in the sky-- just like her mark.
Next morning, ina stood in the field , her bare feet in the wet grass . The sun was rising, turning the sky pink and orange. It was quiet out here--- peaceful. She liked it better than the noise back home.
Behind her, A house creaked . She could already hear her uncle shouting and her aunt banging pots in the kitchen. Ina didn't really feel like she belonged there. The house was hers--- left to her parents by her parents when they died in the car crash. But her aunt and uncle acted like it was theirs. They made her work, clean and even give them money( she was a librarian). According to them she has to "earn her place".
Ina sighed, and looked around her , Another day of work, chores and pretending she was normal.
After completing all her works, she goes to her room and lays on her bed, later, she fell asleeps.
( Dream sequence)
She is standing in a dark room. On the wall there is a huge painting of a woman with silver eyes and a sword in her hand. The woman looked so strong, almost like a queen or a warrior . Behind her was a full moon, glowing red.
Just before Ina woke up, she heard a voice say:
" You are not ready yet. But you will be. Find the blade"
She didn't knew what it meant. But it felt real-- too real. Her mark started glowing again.