Prologue

Did you ever wish that you had a simple, normal life? I lost my parents when I was born. I didn't know why or how and I never got the chance to meet them. I was raised by my grandmother, and she isolates me from the world. I was only twelve when I was forced to leave home and run away to the unknown.

"Keep moving," he commanded me.

"I can't," I said in a perpetually tired voice. "I'm too tired and weak," I complained to him.

I tried so hard to keep up with him, but he is too fast and I am too frail. We'd been running in the wilderness for hours, and I no longer had the strength to move on until my foot tripped on a rock and twisted my ankle. I instantly fell to the ground, panting and catching my breath.

"Get up, we need to hurry and get going," he worriedly said to me. He looks very intense while looking around to check if we are being followed.

"I don't even know why we have to run or whom we are running from," I mumbled while trying to get up on the ground.

It was cold and everything was pitch black, all I could see was darkness in the middle of nothingness. I couldn't even see the person whom I was running with. Nothing is clear except for the fact that I have to get away and escape from something or someone and time is of the essence. There is no time for whining or complaining.

"He's here," raw panic was in his voice.

My heart almost stopped beating as I was stricken into silence. He grabbed my arm and carried me on his back. We hurried along the silent dark path, as though driven by trembling fear. Then we heard a deep loud voice coming from afar calling out my name in a sing-song manner. He is calm and relaxed but in a very creepy and intimidating way. We try to ignore it and keep on moving, but I can't help wondering why he is after me. I am just an ordinary girl and there is nothing special about me to be haunted like this.

Terror coursed through my veins and the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. I hold on to him tightly and am afraid to let go of him. Whatever or whomever he is that is haunting us, I'm sure he is not going to stop until he holds us captive and there's going to be bloodshed once he does.

"Are you scared?" he asks me calmly.

"Yes, I'm scared. Isn't it obvious?" I said in a trembling voice, but still trying to hide my fear and act cool to the man I am with.

"Don't be afraid because you are with me and I won't let anything bad happen to you," he confidently said to me. He gently held on to my cold and sweaty hand and gently squeezed it to show and assure me that everything was going to be just fine.

A simple gesture makes a huge difference. He was able to comfort me and relieve some tension that's been bugging me. His words give me a feeling of relief and, even though I don't know him, I can feel in my heart that he is someone that I could trust with my life.

He may look like an ordinary man, but I know he is not just like any other man. There was something peculiar about him. I just couldn’t get my fingers on it, but I sensed that he is someone special like we’d known each other for a very long time.

While we continued our journey, we heard a loud wind blowing in our direction, followed by a huge amount of fog that instantly surrounded us. He brings me down on his back and covered me with his robe. Then all of a sudden, we heard a growling and gnawing sound coming from different directions.

"What was that?" I worriedly asked him while turning my head in different locations trying to figure out where it came from.

"What is your greatest fear?" he seriously asks me. I can sense panic in his voice like something bad is going to happen.

"What do you mean?" I curiously asked.

"That fog feeds on your greatest fear and we will see whatever you feared the most," he explained to me. "The one who's haunting us is responsible for this fog," he added.

"No, no, no, it can't be," I hysterically said and burst into tears. My hands covered my face which was ashen with fear.

"Tell me what it is, so I have an idea what we are dealing with," he panicky said while his eyes darted from left to right.

"Monster." I lifted my face and look straight into his eyes before responding to his question. "I'm afraid of monsters and wild beasts," my voice was edged with fear.

"I see,” he said calmly to me as if there is nothing to be afraid of. But I can see the seriousness in his eyes. “Close your eyes and let's keep moving. We need to get out of the thick fog," he instructed me.

We walked in a fog of fear and even though he instructed me to close my eyes, I couldn't do it. I feared shutting my eyes closed. My eyes widened with alarm, and I could barely move as terror struck me. One by one, the monster appeared out of the thick fog.

“They are here!” he exclaimed.

Adrenaline pumped through his body and dragged me away from the furious beast. Even though I am injured with a twisted ankle, I was frightened down to the soles of my shoes and ran as fast as I could without looking at the monsters that were chasing after us until one of them was able to catch up with us. It's a good thing that he was able to push me away and we were able to dodge the monster's attack.

"Runaway from here," he yelled at me.

"What about you?" I worriedly asked him.

"I need to stay here and fight the monsters until you escape from the fog. They will not disappear as long as you are here in the fog. Your fear will continue to haunt us," he explains to me while he continues to battle against the furious beast. One by one the monsters appeared before our eyes. "There's no time left, go!"

Without having a second thought, I ran as far away as I could. My heart is weeping in sadness about leaving him behind. I had no choice but to run because it was my fault why those monsters kept appearing. It was my fear that was causing all of these, and I will only slow him down if I stayed.

“Why are you so kind to me? We don’t even know each other,” I said to myself. I am still perplexed by the whole situation.

I can see him trying to block all the monsters running after me. He fought so hard just to protect me and keep me safe, and I don't even know his name. Without knowing where I'm heading, I run as fast as I can until there's no more fog left in sight. I finally made it out of the thick fog, and I'm pretty sure that all of the monsters were also gone, but where is he now?

I continue to walk in the wilderness wandering around looking for him until I bump into someone. The color drained from my face when I saw who was in front of me, he was the same man who was haunting me.

"It's you," I said in a rasping tone as fear clawed up in my throat.

"Aria, get away from him, run!" The man screamed from behind.

I froze and was unable to speak. I wanted to run but I couldn't, it seemed like my feet were stuck on the ground. I could feel his cold fingers running through my arms up to my shoulder and pulling me closer to him until my back rested on his chest. He held onto my neck with both of his hands, gripping my neck tighter and squeezing it harder. I tried pushing him away and removing his hands from my neck, but he was too strong for me, stronger than any ordinary human being.

“Please let me go,” I begged him hoping that he would spare my life even though I knew it will never happen.

“I’ve been looking all over for you. You are as slippery as an eel. What makes you think that I let you go so easily?” he said without the slightest remorse in his eyes.

“I am just a girl. You must have mistaken me for somebody else,” I tried to convince him, but he ignores my plead and continue to strangle me with his bare hands.

I can feel that he is enjoying the sight of me unable to breathe and choking to death. The more I squirm to escape, the more he tightens his grip. Slowly, my body losses all its strength, and can no longer fight against him.

"Your soul is mine," he whispered in my ear.

"No!" I screamed at the top of my lungs.

Until everything went blank...

The next thing I knew was that I was lying on my bed. My eyes are still wet from crying and my whole body is trembling in fear covered in sweat. My heart is beating so fast, panting and catching my breath.

"It was all a dream?" I said to myself. "But it feels so real." I looked at my hands, and they were still shaking.

I've been having the same dream for a year now. I wonder what it means. Who is the man that's been protecting me and who is the other man that's been haunting me? Every day I asked the same question and I had a feeling that I would soon have all of my answers.

Did you ever wish that you had a simple, normal life? My life was never simple, it is full of mystery and struggles, pain and suffering, and all I ever wish for is to live a normal life like everyone else.

How I wish...