As the sun began to dip behind the horizon, painting the sky with streaks of orange and pink, the blue sedan bumped down the cracked road leading into Orph. The road seemed endless, stretching before them like an unknown path. The trees on either side loomed tall, their dark silhouettes reaching across the dirt like skeletal fingers, stretching out toward the car. The tires hit every stone and pothole, rattling the sedan like it was being punished for the long journey.
Sophia leaned halfway out the window, the wind catching her hair and whipping it into wild tangles. She smiled, her excitement palpable. "Bella! Are we almost there?"
Her voice was high-pitched with excitement as she waved to a group of villagers trudging home from the fields. Each of them carried a heavy basket piled high with vegetables, their faces tired but content. The town seemed so different from their old one, a place Bella had only heard about in passing stories. Orph was quiet, peaceful, beautiful, but it felt distant, as if it belonged to a different time, a different life.
"Hello!" Sophia's voice cut through the quiet, a bright note in the late afternoon air.
"Shhh!" Bella whispered, her hand reaching out to pull her sister back down. "Remember? No talking to anyone you don't know."
Sophia settled back, a little pout on her face, but she did as she was told. Her fingers fiddled with her dress, and Bella saw the flicker of disappointment in her eyes. They'd always had so little, but now, this was their chance, to leave behind the cramped apartment, the endless fight to get by, and step into a life that held promise, and the weight of their grandmother's memory. Orph could be a fresh start. At least, that's what Bella prayed for.
Bella's breath escaped in a soft sigh, her eyes glued to the road. The car's interior was a cocoon of silence, broken only by the rhythmic thump of tires on the bumpy track. Two hours of driving had taken their toll; her back protested the strain. But there was no alternative. This journey was long overdue.
The mansion, a relic of her grandmother's, had been left to them in her will. A house, now a time capsule, had remained untouched for years. Bella had never set foot inside as a child, and the stories of the place felt like echoes from a forgotten past. Her father had cut ties with his family long before she was born. The house, now theirs, was all that remained of their family's lost heritage. It was a ghost, a presence in the back of her mind, waiting to be uncovered.
As Bella stole a glance at the horizon, the road's edges dissolved into the encroaching darkness.
The sun was nearly gone, and the world seemed to be holding its breath. Then, a flash of movement.
Bella's heart leapt. "Oh my God!" she cried, her foot slamming down on the brake. The car howled and skidded, the tires struggling for grip on the dirt.
Sophia let out a small scream, her hands clenching the dashboard as the car lurched to a stop. "What was that? What happened?"
"I... something ran across the road. Did you see it?" Bella's voice was shaky, the fear tightening in her chest.
Sophia turned in her seat, her eyes searching the road ahead.
"I didn't see a thing. Was it a dog?"
Bella's voice was a fragile thing, almost lost. "It seemed like one… but something was off. Its eyes…" She stopped, the words hanging in the air. "I'm probably just exhausted."
She made herself open the car door, the hinges protesting as she climbed out into the evening's coolness. The wind had strengthened, a cold breath that made her shiver. She knelt, looking beneath the car.
Nothing.
The road stretched out, desolate. Trees danced in the distance, their shadows reaching toward the asphalt. A gentle breeze whispered through the underbrush, bringing the scent of wet soil and something she couldn't quite identify. Bella rose slowly, a lump forming in her throat.
"Did you see anything?" Sophia's voice was barely a whisper, laced with anxiety.
Bella offered a smile as she settled back behind the wheel, attempting to dispel the growing discomfort. "No. Probably just my mind playing tricks," she said, forcing a chuckle.
Yet, as she restarted the car and eased back onto the road, the vision clung to her, two luminous, animalistic eyes, unblinking and fixed on her from the shadows. Then, just as abruptly, they vanished.