Darkening Light

The Chase: Prey

Year 2005

"Daddy, what is that bright circle up there?" Catherine pointed up at the direction of the object she wanted to show her father. She sat on his shoulders, always feeling like she could do anything from up there. She felt taller than everyone, even the world. It amused her father a lot and he enjoyed seeing her being so confident on his shoulders.

"That is the moon little one." He answered her burning curiosity of the strange object that attracted her attention.

"Is it a star?" She asked in awe, amazed with how bright it was. She looked at the moon, her eyes big, full of innocence.

Her father softly chuckled, "No."

"Then what is it?" A child always asked a million questions.

"It is just a rock reflecting the light if the sun." He answered her, not caring to keep to the truth instead of painting a fantasy for her that did not exist. Santa Clause was enough for him to endure. He always wanted a clear picture of realism for his daughter. He didn't want to stray away from what reality was, hoping she won't fall into false hope and impossible expectations of herself and everything around her. His wife didn't agree much, but they've come to an agreement that she could believe in Santa for a little while longer. She told him that in her teen years she would figure it out by herself, she just wanted to give Catherine a childhood.
"It's nothing special, Catherine."

"Then why is it talking to me?"

———————
Present time: year 2025

Catherine stared at the piece of paper her grandma wrote to her. Her eyes ran through each letter of her grandma's neat and cursive handwriting. She was sure that she might've written it on her deathbed, because the way it was written in her style was a bit different from her usual handwriting. It might be subtle, but she noticed.

She might've avoided writing this beforehand to keep Catherine from finding it. It made sense, considering she was a curious kid and would rummage through stuff occasionally. What didn't make sense was why? Why write about this when she was about to die and not telling her this before?

She looked up from the letter and wondered if she was on the right path. Luscious greenery was dominant around her and songs of a variety of birds echoed through the forest. Moss covered the whole area, dominating the greenery, covering bark and stone, untouched by humans. The path was a trail a bit west from the main trail that she grew accustomed to after years of coming here. It was a thin stripped path that was rough, but manageable considering that some people might've walked here, which is odd.

She was beyond the border of where people were allowed to walk in the forest. She always enjoyed the yearly visits here after her first shift. It was a break from the city life and something her grandma believed was therapeutic for her and her odd ability, if she can even call this an ability. Maybe curse? Whatever it was, it totally changed her life and perception of reality.

She walked along the path that was hidden among the trees, surprised she could even find it since this was an unknown trail, plus her grandma who magically had known about its existence is not that surprising as well, since her grandma was so full of secrets. Being beyond the border was a new thrill, but she was also very cautious of her surroundings. Many people disappeared in this forest and was called by city folk the Xiao Effect, after the first recorded disappearance of the Xiao family in the early 1980's. Who knows how many have disappeared before that time.