Whispers in the Dark

Episode 2: Dreaming of the Past

Lena had always been a vivid dreamer, but since arriving in Ravensbrook, the dreams had become something darker. They weren’t the kind of dreams where she simply woke up confused or restless—they felt real, as if she had lived them before. Each night, she drifted into a deep sleep, and each night, she found herself walking through shadowed woods, the trees towering above her, whispering her name in voices that sounded eerily familiar.

There were flashes of things she didn’t understand—an old house, nearly identical to the one she’d moved into, but with a more haunting atmosphere. A man, someone she had never met in her waking life, but whose face she somehow knew intimately. The dreams were so vivid that she could feel the cold air on her skin, smell the damp earth, and hear the rustle of leaves beneath her feet.

Last night, the dream had changed. This time, the man stood beside her. His eyes, blue and intense, met hers as if he had been waiting for her. The forest stretched on behind him, endless and dark. He reached out a hand to her, and as she took it, a wave of recognition hit her like a tidal wave.

Isaac.

But no, it couldn’t be. She didn’t know anyone in this town—at least, not yet. But that name, his face, they were lodged in her mind as if they had been there all along.

She jolted awake, gasping for air, her heart pounding in her chest. The room was cold, the window cracked just enough to let in the faint chill of the night. Ravensbrook, with its fog-shrouded streets, seemed to pulse with a life of its own. She shook her head, trying to shake off the feeling that the dream wasn’t just a dream.

The following day, Lena spent most of her time wandering the town. She passed through the small marketplace, where the townsfolk gave her curious glances, but no one seemed eager to make conversation. Ravensbrook was a place of silence, its people moving like shadows, careful not to stir up anything that might disturb the uneasy peace that hung over the town.

As she passed a street corner, she saw Isaac again, standing by a lamppost, his dark jacket billowing slightly in the wind. He caught her gaze immediately, his lips curling into a faint smile.

"Morning," he said, his voice warm but with an undercurrent of something more serious. "You’re up early."

"Couldn’t sleep," Lena replied, her eyes dropping to the ground for a moment before lifting again. “I keep having these dreams... they’re so real. Like... like I’ve been here before, or seen these places before.”

Isaac’s expression shifted. It was subtle, but it didn’t escape Lena. There was recognition in his eyes, a flicker of understanding that made her uneasy.

"Tell me about them," Isaac said, his voice low. "Maybe I can help."

They found a bench by the old church, its steeple rising high above them, casting a long shadow on the ground. Lena recounted the dream she had the night before, describing the woods, the house, and the man who felt so familiar.

Isaac listened intently, nodding along as though her words were confirming something he had known all along.

"I’ve been having dreams too," he said after a pause. “Strange, isn’t it? Dreams of a woman. Of you, in fact. I've never seen you before in my life—at least not until you came to Ravensbrook. But every night, you’re there. In the woods, in that house. It’s always the same. You look at me the way someone looks at someone they’ve known their whole life, and then I wake up, and it’s like I’m left with the feeling that something important is missing.”

Lena felt her pulse quicken. The connection between them felt too real, too strong for it to be coincidence. She leaned forward, her eyes narrowing. "This isn’t normal, Isaac. There’s something wrong with all of this. These dreams, they don’t feel like just dreams. It’s like—"

Isaac interrupted her, his face becoming serious. "I know. It’s the town, Lena. There’s a darkness here, something buried deep in the woods. People have gone missing before. Many have disappeared, and no one ever finds them. The forest around Ravensbrook is cursed. And the dreams... they’re part of it. Part of the history that no one talks about."

Lena laughed, but it was forced, nervous. "Cursed? You’re talking about legends and ghost stories. I thought people in small towns like to tell those kinds of tales to keep things interesting."

Isaac's eyes locked onto hers, and for a moment, the air between them felt charged with something unspoken. "This isn’t a story, Lena. This is real. You’re not the first to experience these dreams. Some of the people who’ve disappeared had the same visions. They came here, tried to uncover the truth... and then they were gone."

Lena’s heart began to race. "But why? Why would I have these dreams? And why you?"

Isaac hesitated, running a hand through his messy hair. “I don’t know. But I think—no, I’m sure—that we’re connected. In a way I can’t explain. I’ve tried to figure it out for years, but nothing makes sense. These dreams keep pulling us back to the same place—those woods, that house. It’s like we're part of a cycle that’s been repeating itself for generations.”

Lena sat back, her mind spinning. "So, you think I’m... I’m connected to this curse? To the people who disappeared? It’s all just some twisted loop?”

Isaac nodded slowly. "I don’t know what it is yet, but I think it’s real. And I think... I think you might be the key to ending it. The house you’re staying in, the dreams, the forest—it all points to you, Lena."

Lena felt a chill run through her veins. "But how? How do I break it?"

Isaac’s gaze softened. "I don’t know, but I think we’ll find out together. Just... don’t trust everything you see. Or hear. The town, the people—they might seem like they’re normal, but they know more than they’re letting on."

That evening, as the sun set behind the mountains, Lena found herself alone in her house again, staring out the window at the woods that seemed to stretch endlessly, dark and mysterious, just beyond her backyard. She could still feel Isaac’s words echoing in her mind, and the connection between them that had inexplicably grown stronger.

Her thoughts swirled, and just as she thought about closing her eyes, she saw it—a flash of movement at the edge of the trees. A figure, barely visible in the shadows, staring at her.

Lena’s breath caught in her throat.

Was it Isaac?

Or was it something else?

The figure vanished before she could blink, leaving only the unsettling silence of Ravensbrook to fill the space.

End of Episode 2.

This episode deepens the mystery and builds a strong connection between Lena and Isaac. Their shared dreams hint at a deeper, supernatural bond, while the town’s cursed history begins to unfold.