The fire crackled softly in the stillness of the night, its light casting long shadows on the trees around them. The pale stranger sat across from the girl and the young man, watching the flames dance with an intensity that made the young man uneasy.

  Though the stranger had said little since their arrival, the weight of his presence lingered in the air like a fog. His eyes seemed to see more than they let on, his every movement slow and deliberate, as if he was part of the forest itself.

  The girl, her hair now glowing faintly in the moonlight, took a slow sip from a small cup she had filled from the stream earlier. Her eyes were fixed on the stranger, but she remained silent, as if waiting for him to reveal more of himself.

  The young man, however, felt a growing unease that he could not shake. The dreams from the night before still clung to him, the hollow feeling in his chest, the cold emptiness of a life that no longer felt his own. He hadn’t told the girl much about where he had come from — only that he had left. It was easier that way, to keep his past behind him, buried in the suitcase that he had never opened.

  But something about the stranger — his quiet, knowing presence — seemed to pull at him. Like a thread unraveling a forgotten memory.

  “You’re quiet tonight,” the stranger said suddenly, his voice smooth as silk, yet carrying a weight that made the air feel heavier.

  The young man didn’t respond right away, instead watching the embers that flickered and died with each passing moment. It was as though he could feel the weight of the world pressing down on him, urging him to speak, to confess something he had buried deep within himself. He’d left his old life behind — a life he had never been able to shake, even here in this strange world.

  “I’m not used to… sharing,” he finally said, his voice hoarse with the weight of unsaid things.

  The stranger’s lips curled into a slight smile, one that held no warmth. “Few of us are,” he said, “but sometimes, the silence becomes more dangerous than the words we refuse to speak.”

  The young man clenched his fists. He knew the stranger was right — his silence had been his shield, a barrier between himself and the memories that still haunted him. But the deeper they traveled into this strange land, the more those memories seemed to bleed through the cracks.

  A sudden gust of wind rustled the leaves above them, carrying with it the faintest whisper of voices. The girl’s eyes flickered toward the trees, her staff pulsing softly as though in response to something she felt.

  The young man followed her gaze, but saw nothing out of the ordinary. Yet, a chill ran down his spine as he realized that the forest was changing, becoming more... alive. Something about this place felt older than the world he had come from, as if the land itself was aware of their presence.

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  The girl stood, stretching her arms toward the sky. “We should get some sleep. The journey tomorrow will be long.”

  The young man nodded, though sleep seemed distant, slipping further away with every passing hour. The stranger didn’t move, instead staring into the fire with an intensity that unnerved him.

  “I’ll take the first watch,” the young man said after a moment. “You two get some rest.”

  Without waiting for a response, he stood, walking to the edge of their small camp where the trees grew denser. The shadows stretched unnaturally long, and the air felt colder, as though something was watching him from the darkness.

  His mind drifted back to his past again, the memories that never fully left him. He remembered the city, the hum of machinery, the endless stream of faces that never seemed to change. He remembered the work — always the work, the never-ending grind of tasks and responsibilities. The weight of the suitcase he carried. It wasn’t just a tool for carrying things; it was a symbol. A reminder of what he had left behind, of the life he had abandoned when it became too much to bear.

  But there was something else. Something he hadn’t told the girl. The suitcase wasn’t just a reminder of his old life — it was a key. A key to the past that he had locked away, a past that had almost destroyed him.

  The girl had asked him about the suitcase once, but he had dodged the question, pretending it was simply for carrying his belongings. The truth was far more complicated. The suitcase contained something far darker. A secret he wasn’t ready to share.

  He ran a hand over his face, his mind a whirlwind of thoughts. His past was a maze he wasn’t sure he could navigate anymore. The memories of those final days in his world felt so distant, so removed, as if they had happened to someone else. But the weight of them lingered, pulling at him like a tether he couldn’t sever.

  And then there was the Hollow.

  He knew the forest was drawing them closer to it, to something he couldn’t quite understand. The pull of the Hollow was undeniable, like a magnetic force tugging at his very soul. It was as if the Hollow had been waiting for him — for them both.

  The breeze picked up again, colder this time. The leaves rustled in a way that made the young man’s skin prickle.

  Suddenly, he heard a sound — a low growl, barely audible over the wind. His instincts kicked in, and he turned sharply toward the source of the sound.

  There, standing at the edge of the trees, was a pair of glowing eyes — yellow and predatory, watching him. The growl came again, louder this time, reverberating through the trees.

  The young man’s heart pounded in his chest as he reached for his suitcase, his fingers brushing against its worn leather surface. But before he could react, the eyes disappeared, vanishing into the darkness as quickly as they had appeared.

  He exhaled, trying to steady his breath. What in the world was that?

  The night passed uneventfully after that, but the unease never left him. By the time the first rays of sunlight broke through the canopy, the young man was already awake, pacing by the campfire.

  The girl and the stranger were still asleep, but their journey was far from over. And with each passing day, he could feel the weight of his past, and the pull of the Hollow, growing stronger.