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Mia crept past her neighbor’s petunias, hunched over herself as she carefully tread with only the softest parts of her soles. The hood of her baggy, form obscuring sweatshirt was pulled low, obscuring her eyes and hiding the ends of her short auburn bob. A pair of jogging sneakers and nondescript gray sweatpants disguised the modest curve of her hips. Her thin fingered hands were shoved into her pockets, hiding her light summer tan and green painted nails. It’s almost too perfect, she thought wryly, hunching over still further as a car trundled towards her. I look so generic it almost begs for attention. At least the baggy clothes get the job done from a distance. As she turned her face away from the passing car, Mia had to admit to herself she wasn’t exactly sure why she was hiding herself in the first place. There was still at least an hour to go before twilight; if she’d really wanted to hide, she could easily have waited until after dark. And it wasn’t like she was doing anything illegal to begin with. She knew that all perfectly well, yet her heart pounded as she slunk past a small park, eyes averted from the people strolling around within. Yes, it was perfectly legal for Mia to go on a walk. It was legal for her to leave her usual neighborhood, passing by the park and the homes beyond, creeping past the post office and the gas station. It was even legal for her to walk towards the edge of town, eyes flicking towards the forests surrounding the village, and the snow capped mountains towering above it all. It was all entirely legal. Yet still, her heart pounded, and her knuckles were white inside her pockets. Even with the law on her side, she felt like she was going to be caught, exposed, and sentenced at any moment. Even with her minimal foot treads, she flinched every time she made a noise, fearing the sudden appearance of a dozen flashing police cars, bullhorns screaming for her to give herself up. A car pulling out from the gas station in her direction gave her a minor heart attack, and she actually squeezed her eyes shut to avoid having to look at the car’s driver. When she regained control of herself, she hurried away, leaving the gas station behind and slipping onto a side street. She ducked beneath the street’s sign, a faded strip of green and white metal reading Lilac St. Lilac Street was quiet, the pavement worn and chipped, with only a handful of houses on either side of the road. The houses all looked proper, ordinary little homes with well tended flower bushes and basketball hoops hanging over the garages. A handful of boys were playing basketball in the driveway of the third house on the left, and a middle aged man was waxing a convertible in the open garage five houses down on the right. Smoke rose into the air from behind the seventh left hand house, carrying with it the sweet smell of roasted meat. It could’ve been any street in any town in America, yet Mia only felt shakier as she fast walked past the basketball hoops and backyard barbecues, abandoning her stealthy walk for a speedy one. No one seemed to pay her any mind as she passed, yet her chest was slowly tightening with anxiety all the same. The street soon met her with a dead end, the pavement curving in to meet itself at a cracked, potholed terminus. A single house sat beyond the terminus, the beginning of the forest only a few yards away. It was another ordinary looking home, two stories with a brown shingled roof, dark blue walls, and a set of freshly varnished wooden steps leading up to the front door. An open mailbox sat slightly askew beside the steps. The house was almost charmingly ordinary, yet Mia stood frozen before it, heart now absolutely pounding. What am I doing here? She asked herself, eyes wide as she stared at the front door. What was I thinking? I should just turn around and go home before I get into trouble. The sentiment had merit; she could still walk away, still go back home and tuck in for the night, cuddling with a blanket and watching old movies. Going to bed alone, waiting for dreams to take her. All perfectly legal, and perfectly safe. The mental picture of herself lying alone in bed after another normal night was both tempting and repulsive. She could play it safe; and find herself back on Lilac Street two weeks from now, driven to action by the same bout of lonely nights and confusing dreams that had plagued her for months. Dreams that always ended with her walking up the front steps of the unassuming little blue house. She was absolutely certain that the dreams wouldn’t stop just because she’d reached the terminus in real life; after all, she’d already reached it twice over the past three weeks. Going home and hiding under her lonely blankets may have been safe and legal, but if she had to do it for one more night she might truly lose her mind. There’s nothing illegal about knocking on a stranger’s door, she thought, eyeing the door’s silver knocker. And there’s nothing illegal about having dreams, no matter how… strange… they are. For the briefest moment, she pictured moonlight over the forest, felt the vibrations of a deep howl thrumming in her chest bone. She shook her head to center herself and clenched her fists tighter. No more. I need to see this through. Spurned on by a burst of bravery, Mia slipped her hands from her pockets and marched up the front steps. She grabbed the knocker and rapped twice on the door, noting as she did that it was shaped like a silver crescent moon. For several long moments, nothing happened, and her sudden zeal threatened to cool. Then, with a soft creak, the door swung open. “Hello-” Mia began, but her voice caught in her throat. The door had swung open, but there was no one standing behind it. It simply opened into a small entryway, the edges of a living room and a wooden staircase visible beyond. Mia looked down and saw a pair of brown boots tucked away beside the door, along with a sleek black cat. The cat stared back at her with clever green eyes. “Uh, hey,” Mia said to the cat, feeling rather foolish. “Is um- is anyone home?” The cat gave her an indecipherable look and swished its tail. Mia was just beginning to wonder if she should shut the door to keep the cat in when footfalls sounded on the stairs. “Did you get the door?” Called a subdued feminine voice. Mia’s head snapped back to the stairs.
