The Snake Princess

Chapter 2

I spent almost my entire day here at the pond but it is about to get dark and I am hungry. I regret the decision of not packing lunch again, but maybe I can do this again before the end of summer break. As I start walking towards the house, I get the weird feeling of being watched. Like someone is watching me from a distance. I look around and there is no one, so I start walking again. It feels like I am being followed from a distance. I try to let it go but the feeling doesn't shake. I do my best to ignore it, but my instincts tell me otherwise. I focus on all my training with dad and he always said "the element of surprise is the key, Mia". So instead of calling out loud I act as if nothing was out of the ordinary and take a detour and lose whoever was after me before the dark and get to the safety of my house. There is no trail but I remember all the landmarks as I go. I take a right turn from the oak tree instead of the left and continue going south of the forest, away from the house. I cannot keep doing this for longer or it will be dark soon, so my best bet is to gain speed and use my knowledge of the parts of the forest that I already know. I cannot afford to get lost in the forest with someone on my tail, so I take random crisscross paths coming in full circle near the pond from the opposite direction. The feeling of being followed vanishes all of a sudden and with that, I pick up my pace and half walk half run towards the house.

***

Once I get to the house, I lock the main door from inside but the feeling of being followed has shaken me to the core. Nothing like this has ever happened before, especially in the forest. I fall on the sofa and call mom.

"Hey honey, I am in the middle of something. Can I call you later?" I can hear the shuffling of papers and people chattering in the background.

"M..om...." my voice is breaking by I try keeping it together.

"What is it, Mia? Tell me now." She sounds worried

"Mom... I... I went into the woods for a walk... When I was coming back, I felt like I was being followed... I have never felt like this ever before. I cannot shake this feeling mom. I need you." I hear her take a deep breath before speaking.

"Mia... Darling listen to me and listen very carefully. Go to my room and open my closet. On the top of the left shelf you'll find a book. Take that book and go down to your father's office and put it in between the empty space between two snake figurines on the third shelf. Once the office doors shut, do not open them for anyone. No matter what you hear or who you see, do not open the door. I am on my way to you and will be there, but until then you have to protect yourself and remember do not open the door for anyone, not even me. You got it?" I can hear her car door shutting while I am already on my way to her bedroom.

"I got it mom, come back soon. I love you." With that, I cut the call and get on to doing whatever mom told me to do. I grab the only book which looked like a very old diary and go to my father's office and place it in the empty space between two snake figurines.

The light goes off and it feels like I am transported into another world. The whole room is spinning and making me dizzy with it. When it finally comes to a stop, the room has transformed completely. I am not in my father's office anymore. I am in a room that looks out of the world, it looks eerily similar to the structure I keep seeing in my dream. I am probably dreaming. Things like teleportation do not happen in real life, they belong in my fantasy fiction books. Maybe the dream evolved into something more. Maybe I can finally get some answers regarding the dream if I explore around, so I take my surroundings in and make mental notes of it. It's a small room with a door on my left. There are no windows, so it might be a basement of the building. The ceiling is high and has a dome in the centre. The dome has carvings of bulls, snakes, tigers, people dancing.They are so intricate, so beautiful. The walls have exposed bricks and stone, which I assume is due to the wear and tear of the structure. The door has intricate carvings just like the ceilings and there is a big latch-like mechanism. I am trying to soak it all in when suddenly there is a knock on the door followed by a scream.