Chapter 1
She was sleeping—maybe dreaming. Wrinkles formed on her forehead as she felt someone call her name in the dream.
“Nina. Nina.”
Suddenly, she sat up as the window of the room opened, letting in the night air.
When she looked at the clock, it was half past two. She noticed the novel beside her pillow and thought that maybe she had dreamed such a thing because of reading it. Yawning, she got up and closed the window.
Nina had arrived at this hill station the day before with her grandfather. Her parents had died in a car accident, and she had been raised by her grandfather, Thomas, who was still fit and nimble despite his old age. He loved and cared for Nina deeply.
She recently finished graduation, Nina was a wheatish complexion girl, five and a half feet tall, with dark brown hair and big brown eyes. Her grandfather was very fond of painting but had never learned.
The next morning, Nina sat at the breakfast table with her grandfather, still thinking about her dream when he addressed her.
“Nina.”
“Yes, Grandfather!” Nina replied, startled.
“Where are you? Have your breakfast, my child.”
“Yes, Grandfather.”
“What’s the matter?” he asked, smiling at her.
“Nothing special, but ever since I came here, I’ve been haunted by the same dream.”
“Tell me, what kind of dream?”
“Grandfather… I see a dense forest. I’m running on foot, and someone is chasing me on a horse. They call my name, and for some reason, my eyes suddenly open.”
Grandfather listened carefully to Nina and then said, “It happens. Changing places often leads to such dreams.” After pausing for a moment, he added, “You will gradually get used to it here.”
Grandfather smiled.
“Yes, Grandfather,” Nina replied with a slight smile.
That same day, Nina went to a nearby mart to buy some essentials. She was returning to her car with her bags when a man asked for a lift. She hesitated for a moment but then stopped the car.
The young man looked about thirty years old. He had a medium build, slightly long hair, and an unkempt appearance.
He greeted Nina with a “Hi” and shook her hand, but his hands felt completely cold.
Nina asked, “Where are you going?”
“Just a little further,” he replied with a smile.
“By the way, I’m Zen,” he introduced himself.
After driving for a while, Zen asked her to stop the car.
Across the road, it looked like a jungle.
Nina asked in surprise, “You live here?”
Zen chuckled slightly and said, “Yeah, there’s a village inside this jungle.”
He waved his hand and disappeared into the trees.
But suddenly, the same gust of wind touched Nina, and she heard the same voice calling her name—“Nina”—just like in her dream.
A nervous chill ran down her spine. Quickly, she started the car and headed home.
