The Woman in Black

Sânziana left the clearing before the Iele could call her back.

She walked without knowing where she was going.

Until the animals appeared.

Wolves between the trees.

An owl above her.

A stag in the mist.

Snakes beneath the leaves.

They never came close.

They didn't need to.

Somehow, Sânziana knew she was meant to follow.

And then she saw the house.

Hidden where the forest was darkest.

Old stone swallowed by roots.

Black wood covered in moss.

No path.

No gate.

No sign that anyone had lived there for years.

And yet—

a fire was burning inside.

The animals stopped.

Every one of them.

Sânziana didn't.

She stepped closer.

Something about the house disturbed her.

Not because it felt unfamiliar.

Because it didn't.

She reached the door.

Before she could touch it—

it opened.

A woman stood on the other side.

Young.

Beautiful.

Dressed entirely in black.

Long dark hair framed a face almost too pale to belong among the living.

Behind her, candles burned throughout the house.

Bundles of dried plants hung from the ceiling.

Strange symbols had been carved into the wooden walls.

And everywhere Sânziana looked,

there were things that seemed older than the house itself.

The woman said nothing.

She simply studied Sânziana.

Her face.

Her hands.

The crown upon her head.

Then she looked past her.

Toward the animals waiting among the trees.

A faint smile touched her lips.

“So they brought you back.”

Sânziana felt something tighten inside her.

“Back?”

The woman's eyes returned to her.

For the first time,

her smile disappeared.

“You don't remember.”

It wasn't a question.

Sânziana stepped away from the door.

“Who are you?”

The woman came closer.

Close enough for Sânziana to see something unsettling in her eyes.

Recognition.

Not curiosity.

Recognition.

“You really don't remember me.”

Sânziana's blood ran cold.

She had never seen this woman.

She was certain of it.

Then the woman reached toward Sânziana's crown—

and stopped just before touching it.

For the first time,

something changed in her face.

Fear.

Only for a moment.

Then it was gone.

“Come inside.”

Sânziana didn't move.

“Why?”

The woman looked past her,

into the forest.

Far between the trees,

seven pale figures were watching.

The Iele.

The woman smiled again.

But this time,

not at Sânziana.

At them.

“Because they won't follow you in here.”

Sânziana turned toward the seven figures.

When she looked back—

the woman was already inside.

Waiting.

And somehow,

Sânziana knew that crossing that doorway would give her answers.

She also knew

she might wish she had never asked the questions.