Whispers In The Wind

Seven hundred years ago... In the Southern Region, there's a mountain called Tajanstveno or mysterious. Only one tribe lives in the mountain. A peaceful, quiet tribe that prides on their fruitful life from hunting. God of the mountain is their God, and they pray to him every full moon. They ask for strength, safety, and abundance. They believed in him so much that they willingly sacrifice one of their own children to appease their God. For generations, the tribe prosper and no harm has come to them. But, like all things, their peace has come to an end. Foreign invaders raided their village, and slaughtered every single one of them, including women and children. As the starlings sing in the trees, and the cold wind blows, one of the elders started whispering. "Zazivam Boga planine. Prokleti ovu zemlju. Neka tako nikakvi strani osvajači nikada neće kročiti u ovu planinu od ovog dana do kraja dana." In his dying breath, the elder cursed the mountain and trapped all their souls. As the full moon reached its apex that night, the foreign invaders began killing each other. By the next sunrise, no one was left alive. ------------------------------------- "Good morning, Mrs. Valdez!" Gaia, Antoinette, and Sierra picks up Keisha everyday before going to school. They all live in the same block, and Sierra made it her daily routine that the four of them will go to school together. Half of the junior year has passed, and they are all excited to be seniors. Latacia, one of their friends already have plans for them once they graduate WIC high school. They will go to the same university. "Drive safely, Sierra." Mrs. Valdez reminded. "Don't worry, Mrs. Valdez. Hi, Mr Valdez. Good morning!" Sierra then greeted their favorite town doctor. "Good morning, girls!" "Bye, Mom. Bye, Dad! See you guys later." Keisha kissed her parents' cheek before getting into the car. They all waved goodbye to Keisha's parents. The four of them grew up together, and being friends was not that hard, given that they live in the same block. There's a total of fifteen on their circle of friends. Girls of the same age with different lie story, personality, and attitude, yet, they still ended up being friends. And, they are all fierce when it comes to protecting their friends. "Bethany, stay away from that pervert." Antoinette grabbed Bethany's hand, then dragged her away from Nathan. "Oh, come on. Seriously, Antoinette?" Nathan complained. "Yes, seriously. Stay away from my friends." Their first period is about to start. After greeting their friends, the fifteen of them made their way to their classrooms. Beacon Valley High have four thousand students, and it is one of the best high school in the region. It has quality education program, and every year, the school produces a regional awardee. "Sarah, what's your plan for your birthday? That's next week, and we made a promise that we will celebrate everyone's birthday every year." Natalie asked, and that caught their friends' attention. "What about a party in the woods?" Sarah asked. She almost forgot about her birthday because of her busy schedule as a softball player. "You got to be kidding me. That's what we did last year." Keisha responded. "I don't know, guys. Honestly, I haven't even thought about it. The regional meet is three weeks from now." Sarah admitted. "Oh, no, no, no. That's not acceptable. Girls, if Sarah can't plan for her birthday, it's our holy responsibility to take charge." Brittany replied. "She's right. Hell will freeze if you didn't get to enjoy your birthday." Fiona added. "Mrs. Lacson's here." Lina warned them. Since the midterm exam is fast approaching, all of them became busy with their studies for the rest of the day. Every teacher has their own requirements for their students. The girls focused on their subjects, and they didn't even noticed the end of the day. "Camila, we need your help. We have to decide the venue for Sarah's birthday." Dianne said. Their eyes focused on Camila, who's obviously not even aware of what they were talking about. "Okay, what's wrong with you?" Margarette asked. They all waited for Camila's response, but she just smiled. "What? I was actually trying to come with the perfect way to celebrate Sarah's birthday. Unfortunately, I've ran out of ideas. We already did the ideas I have for Gaia's birthday." Camila replied awkwardly. "Come on, guys. We have to make this special for her. It's her eighteenth birthday." Kristine said. "What about a party at the swimming hole? We haven't done that in a while." Latacia suggested. "I think that's a good idea. Let's have Sarah's party at the swimming hole." Bethany agreed. One task on the Sarah's birthday party preparation has been crossed out. They all went home, and decided to continue planning the preparation tomorrow. Everyone's birthday is important to all them, and there is no chance for them to let anyone in their circle of friends to spend a birthday without special celebration. "Keisha, right on time, honey. Come on, let's eat." Her mother greeted her. "That smells incredibly delicious." Keisha sat on her usual spot. Their family always have this tradition that they should have their dinner together, every night. Despite her father's busy schedule in the hospital, he always comes for dinner. If he can't make it on their usual time, they will have it later or at an earlier time. What's important is that they always have their time together as a family. After their dinner, Keisha went to her bedroom. She had to do a couple of home works before going to bed, and when she's finally done, her mind is already exhausted. Keisha quickly fell asleep, but an hour later, her body is covered in sweat. "Keisha..." A soft whisper right next her ear woke her up. No one's in her room but her. "Oh, come on. Keisha, you are too stressed out. You have to relax." She said to herself. "Keisha..." There's the whisper again. "Oh, my God. Okay, you're hallucinating." She tried to convince herself. "Keisha..." Another whisper. "Wake up, Keisha. You're dreaming. Wake up." She tapped and pinched her face a couple of times to wake herself up. "Okay, I'm awake." But the whisper continued on. "Keisha, listen..." "Mom! Dad!" She finally called her parents. "Keisha, what happened?" Her dad is the first to come into her room. "What's wrong, sweetheart?" "What's going on?" Her then came in. "There's someone in here. It's calling my name, I don't know. Dad, there's someone in my room!" Keisha said, her parents can hear the fear in her voice. Keisha's father checked on her closet, outside her window, her bathroom, but he didn't see anything. Her mother is looking at her with a worried look. They can hear Keisha's ragged breathing, and the only thing they have in their mind is that she's experiencing some kind of hallucination. "Honey, there's no one in here." Her father finally said. "I'm telling the truth! Someone was here!" She insisted. "Honey, you have to calm down. Okay? We will just lock your window alright? Daddy already checked on closet, and bathroom. You're safe okay?" "Okay." The truth is, Keisha still felt terrified even after her parents left. And for the rest of the night, she stayed awake. Trying to avoid any kind of noise that would wake her parents, despite the voice that keeps whispering her name.