The Wolf Inside Me

ALENA, a twenty-nine-year-old unmarried woman, woke up when she heard the sound of a baby crying from the forest. Her house is near the forest, so she can hear the noises coming from the forest. She had been living in that place for ten years but only just now that she heard cries from a baby. She got up and got out of bed. She left the house and walked towards the forest. It was already ten in the evening and the moonlight served as her light on the road she was walking in the forest. A strange gust of wind greeted her. Alena took a deep breath. She continued to walk even though she felt uneasy. She felt like someone was watching her. The child's cry grew louder, as if she was calling someone. Alena wasn't sure where the crying baby was, but she seemed to know because she was walking in a certain direction without hesitation. She reached a clearing and was stunned to see the animals surrounding a basket as if guarding something. Then the animals slowly left until Alena was the only one left. She slowly walked closer to the basket and saw a baby girl inside. The baby seemed happy seeing her because she even raised her small hand to reach for her. Then she stopped crying. Alena took the baby from the basket and stared at her. She saw the golden crescent moon on her forehead. “Birthmark?” She gasped when the golden crescent moon on the baby’s forehead disappeared. She was stunned for a couple of seconds. “This baby…isn’t ordinary,” said Alena. Alena wondered why there was a child in the middle of the forest. And who’s the heartless person who left the baby in the forest in the middle of the night? Sighing, Alena carried the baby and walked out of the forest. She took the baby to her house and dressed her. As she watched the sleeping baby a decision formed in her mind. She adopted the baby and named her Amara. They moved away from that place to protect Amara. Alena doesn’t want anyone to know that Amara isn’t her biological daughter. She treated Amara like her own daughter and she was happy. Twenty-one years later… Amara suddenly woke up in the middle of the night and her eyes automatically looked outside the window of her room. When she looked outside, she saw it was a full moon. The moon was shining so brightly. A smile formed on her lips. She got out of bed and walked towards the window. She opened the window and stared at the moon. She doesn’t know, but ever since she was a child, she has never missed the chance to stare at the moon, especially when it was full moon. Amara was already twenty-one. She knew it was childish at her age to watch the moon, but she just couldn’t help it. She felt at peace just looking at the moon. It felt like she had found her home, which was weird for her. Amara reached out her hand to the moon as if she were going to take the moon. Suddenly, she noticed the moon glowed but when she stared at it, it wasn’t glowing anymore. While watching the full moon, she felt sleepy. So, she went back to bed. Suddenly, after lying down on her bed, my surroundings changed. She just saw herself in a place full of flowers. A field of flowers. At the center of the field of flowers, there was a pavilion. She walked towards the pavilion and as she approached, she saw two people sitting there. The two didn't seem to notice Amara because they just continued talking. She was about to speak when she got close to them, but she noticed that their faces were blurry. “Excuse me.” But the man and woman who seemed to be a couple ignored Amara. She went in front of the couple, but it seemed that the couple couldn’t see her. She looked at her hand and saw that she was transparent. No wonder the couple couldn’t see her. She just watched the couple as they talked even though their faces were blurry. But she could hear what they were talking about. Amara withdrew her gaze from the couple and looked at the field of flowers. She didn’t know, but she felt calm, and she liked the fragrance of flowers passing through her nostrils. Amara closed her eyes and happiness was painted on her face. “Elijah!” Amara quickly opened her eyes when she heard a scream. She gasped, seeing the horrible scene in front of her. She was not in the pavilion anymore. In front of her was a bloody scene. A lot of dead bodies are scattered on the ground. Right in front of her, she saw the lovers she had seen in the pavilion. Blood was all over their clothes. But the man looked like he was dying. The woman held her lover in her arms. “Elijah, don’t leave me. We promised each other we would grow old together. Please, open your eyes.” The woman said, crying. And I felt myself pitying her. Amara couldn’t help but place her hand in front of her heart. She felt heartbroken seeing the woman’s cry as if her heart was being pierced by thousands of needles. “A-ayesha…” Elijah slowly opened his eyes and lifted his hand. He lifted his hand to Ayesha’s face and gently caressed her soft cheek. Ayesha held her lover’s hand close to her face so that she could feel the warmth of Elijah’s hand. But she could feel Elijah’s hands turning cold. He smiled and said, “…goodbye, my love. M-may we see e-each other again i-in…our next life.” Elijah closed his eyes and he stopped breathing. Amara felt the pain in her heart, and she was also crying. “Why was it so painful seeing the man die?” “Elijah? Elijah…” Ayesha was trying to wake up her lover, but Elijah was dead. “Elijah!” Amara suddenly took a step back when, suddenly, the woman released her power. It was like a surging energy that came out of her. Ayesha took out her dagger and cut her own palm. Her blood dripped into the ground. “With my blood, I curse you, Elijah, you will be reincarnated, and we will see each other again in our next life.” “Amara!” Amara suddenly and widely opened her eyes. She touched her cheek and felt it wet with tears. She got up and looked at the door of her room because she heard her mother knocking. “Amara, I’m leaving. And I have already prepared your breakfast.” “Thank you, Mom! I love you!” “I love you too!” Amara’s mom replied. Amara made her bed and went inside the bathroom. She did her morning routine and took a bath. After she took a bath, she put on her veterinary uniform, took my bag, and went to the kitchen. She ate the breakfast made by her mother, and then she also left for work. She is a veterinarian. She loves animals, and she has a soft heart for them. Maybe it’s because she could understand their words and could communicate with them. Funny, right? She does not know why she can communicate with animals, but she considers it a blessing in her life. Amara never told anyone about it, including her own mother, because she didn’t want her mother to get worried. Amara knew to herself that she was different from everyone. But maybe this is who she was. She knew that she was adopted and her mother found her inside the forest. Maybe she’s not an ordinary person. Though she doesn’t know her real identity, and she doesn’t know who her real parents are, her adoptive mother raised her well. She was also living peacefully. But Amara didn’t know the peaceful life she had would be disturbed by the arrival of someone in her life.