✦Dolly✦
The nightmare started with silence. Not normal silence. Not the kind that settled over the house after everyone went to bed. Not the kind that came when the wind stopped and the night held its breath.
This silence had weight.
It pressed against my ears, my chest, my throat.
I stood in darkness so thick I couldn’t see my own hands. At first, I thought I was in my room. I reached out, expecting my fingers to touch my wall, my dresser, the edge of my bed.
Nothing.
I took a step forward. The ground beneath my bare feet felt cold and smooth. Not dirt. Not wood. Not stone exactly. Something else. Something that seemed to shift beneath me, even though it did not move.
“Hello?” I called out, but my voice disappeared too quickly. There wasn’t an echo and no answer. I turned in a slow
