Common

She has never truly been alone.

Even now, staring out at an expanse of stars with the only sounds the cacophony of chirping nocturnal insects and the shifting of grass from a warm summer breeze, she can feel it. A stirring in the back of her mind, a constant presence that lingers just out of consciousness until the moment it chooses to make itself known in whispers and snarls, chastising her at every step, taking advantage at the first sign of weakness.

And we must, or else you do things like come back to this rotten place, it hisses, as if prompted. She grits her teeth, ears flattening in annoyance. ”Shut up, you ungodly nuisance,” she snaps into the night, shaking her head as if she might rattle the sound right out of her mind and be done with it once and for all.

Alas, it isn’t the first time she’s tried that, and as always, it is a failure.

She sighs heavily, intent on tuning out the nuisance in her brain as her footfalls carry her forward, a little wave of indecision breeding butterflies in her gut as she questions whether coming back to this place was the right decision. Three years had gone by in the blink of an eye but she can’t help but wonder what the islands are like now. Will she recognize them? Will they recognize her?

Likely not, given that her most trusted ‘friend’ had turned out to be not so trustworthy after all.

Which I told you, but you never listen to me, do you, stupid girl?

This time, it has a point and she doesn’t have the energy to form a rebuttal more substantial than an undignified grunt, though she’s too stubborn to accept that coming back to the islands is another mistake. For once, she’s determined to prove her constant companion wrong. For good measure, she gives an indignant harrumph and pushes forward, into the wild unknown, doing her best not to betray the unease blooming like spring flowers in her chest.