In the chilly wind of November, he slowly releases her hand, takes a deep breath, and exclaims heavily: “We’ve never done anything together that you’ve actually cared about.”
Sounds shocking, but Ana didn’t flinch.

In a brief silence, they both turned and walked in the opposite direction.

His heart no longer beat vigorously when being with her. In an instance, he was pulled back into the past. Days where he came home after overtime and saw nothing but a text message “I’m hanging out with my friend and will be back tomorrow.” Any effort to talk ends up with him saying “Sorry, I didn’t mean it.” Under the blueberry sky when the sun set, as usual, he headed to the convenience store nearby to grab a combo #1 with coke and hot sub. Then quietly walked to Central Park and sat on the familiar bench under the old cedar; every step on the way reminds how his love used to be.

That night, he couldn’t stop wondering when Ana had turned into a different person. Suddenly, he remembers his girlfriend was once lost on a countryside camping trip. After hours of searching, he found her passed out near a graveyard. As John approached, she swung her hand rapidly, her sharp nail left a cut on his face, but then she woke up and acted like nothing. In contrast, her smile seems like she enjoys watching the blood gush out. Ana started acting differently since then, her characteristic changed from an active, extroverted person to a person who brought a distanced feeling. She starts participating in those creepy rituals, furthermore, that seeks to revive the dead.

One day John asked “What is that? Where were you?”

But she replies with silence, while wearing clothes soaked with blood and dust.

Waking up the next day, he couldn’t hold back his curiosity but to search about the strange phenomena. What he found was astonishing: the place he camped in that night was a battlefield in WWI, and there are some rumors about souls taking over people’s bodies if their mentality is unstable. Without hesitation, he drove to that same forest after hearing an urban legend. After stepping out of the car, he follows the same path to where he found Ana passed out. On the way, John witnesses various esoteric things like wind that sounds like someone crying and brushes that feel like they are alive. The sky is getting dark and the atmosphere is getting tense. John is getting tired and his mind is not as keen as before, but he keeps walking.

“Sniff, sniff. This smell is familiar!” He said.

Unconsciously, he follows the smell. The trees now swing even more vigorously, creating a furious noise, but John no longer recognizes it; he slows down and stands there still like he has fallen into a delusion. Half awake, he saw dear Ana waving at him. John starts walking faster, then starts running. However, as he approaches, she seems further away. John is now exhausted; he falls and never stands back up again.