RENA : Shadows Awaken

The constant hum of the car's engine softly reverberated, a familiar vibration that seemed to anchor Rena in the present. The vehicle cruised steadily down the road, its headlights casting long shadows on the empty streets as they made their way to the party. It was late, but the night was just beginning for Maddie, Derek, and Lucas, who seemed eager to start the evening despite the late hour.

Derek was driving, his usual confidence shining through every turn. Rena sat next to him, her fingers subconsciously brushing against the cold window, her gaze drifting to the dark landscape outside. Derek's voice, soft and persistent, filled the car, but she barely listened to his words. He was complimenting her once again, telling her how beautiful she looked in her dress, how she didn't even seem to notice her own beauty. His words blended into a hum, but her mind was elsewhere.

In the back seat, Maddie and Lucas were also talking. Maddie, as usual, couldn't stop chatting, talking about their plans for the night, throwing playful comments that made Lucas smile. But Lucas, still as taciturn as ever, responded with short sentences, his eyes mostly focused on Rena, though he said little.

Rena wasn't sure why, but she could feel his gaze more than Derek's words. It wasn't the kind of distracted or casual glance people usually give one another. No, Lucas's gaze was intense, as if he was trying to read her, as if he could see beyond her exterior. It made her uneasy, her skin prickling slightly, but she couldn't understand why. It felt like there was something he knew, something he wasn't saying. He was studying her in a strange way, as if he was trying to uncover a mystery.

Derek kept talking, but Rena hardly heard him. Her mind had wandered back to a memory she couldn't forget, a memory that assailed her every time she tried to escape. She found herself back in that night, when she was twelve, a night just after her birthday, a night that marked the beginning of something dark that she could never explain.

It had been a few days after her twelfth birthday, and she was sleeping soundly when the dream began. In the dream, she found herself alone in a strange place, a space between reality and the afterlife, where shadows moved without reason, where the walls seemed alive. The air was heavy, oppressive, and whispers mingled with the shadows, voices she couldn't understand, speaking to her as if they were trying to communicate something.

She tried to move, to scream, but her body was paralyzed, as if trapped by an invisible force. Then, all of a sudden, an intense pain filled her left shoulder. A sharp, unbearable pain, as if flames were coursing through her skin. The heat burned her from within, spreading slowly throughout her body. The sensation was stronger than anything she had ever felt, a fire devouring her, a pain as intense as a wildfire.

She woke up suddenly, gasping for air, her heart pounding in her chest. The pain was still there, real, and she struggled to understand what was happening to her. Her pajamas had begun to burn at her back and left shoulder, as if an invisible fire had touched them. The pain was unbearable, and her scream ripped through the night.

Her parents rushed into her room, panic written all over their faces. Her mother tried to calm her, but her father seemed both confused and worried. They had never seen anything like this.

"Rena, honey, what's happening?" her father asked, his voice trembling. He knelt beside her, looking at the burn marks on her shoulder.

Rena couldn't speak. She didn't understand what was happening. The fire, the pain, the marks... it was all too much. But what terrified her even more was the crescent moon and the seven stars tattooed into her skin, as alive as the pain that coursed through her. They glowed faintly, as if they were carved into her very being.

Her father studied the marks with a deep concern, his gaze a mix of astonishment and fear. He placed a gentle hand on her shoulder, as if verifying that what she was experiencing was real.

"Rena…" he began, then paused, as if hesitating. "I can't explain this to you right now, but we'll do so when the time comes. For now, you need to know that this... is connected to you."

That night, her father's words echoed in her mind, "When the time comes." But that moment never came. Her parents avoided talking about what had happened, as if that mystery had never existed. They never explained the mark. She had hidden it, buried it, and forced herself to forget it. But the pain, it never left. And the whispers, they never stopped.

Over the years, her shoulder had healed, but the mark remained, invisible under her clothes, yet always present. Sometimes, when her mind wandered, she would unconsciously run her hand over her shoulder, gently touching the memory of a pain that had never really gone away.

That night, in the car, she felt her hand rest on her shoulder once again, without thinking. It was an unconscious gesture, but it didn't go unnoticed. Lucas, sitting in the backseat, was staring at her intently. He was focused on her shoulder, his eyes seeming to concentrate on something he shouldn't have been able to see. His expression froze as he watched her closely, and something in his gaze shifted, a glimmer of understanding perhaps, or questioning. Rena felt a shiver run down her spine, her heart beating a little faster.

She quickly turned her head to avoid his gaze, but he was still staring at her.

It was Derek's voice, loud and persistent, that pulled her out of her thoughts. He turned to her, a grin on his face, as if he had caught something he didn't want to let slip.

"So, Rena, you still haven't answered my question. Are you ready for this night or not?" he asked, laughing, trying to lighten the mood.

She forced a smile, struggling to return to the present moment, far from her dark thoughts.

"Yeah, of course. Ready to have fun," she replied, her voice slightly trembling.

Finally, the car pulled up to the party house. The music was already blaring from the open windows, and the group of young people outside was buzzing with excitement. Rena took a deep breath. She knew that tonight, like every other time, she would do everything to forget the mysteries of her past. But deep inside, a voice whispered that it wasn't that simple.