The graveyard

'There is always a black sheep in every family'

- A Glimpse of the Future

At night, Athena tossed and turned in bed, feeling restless. She had looked for Little Snow almost everywhere but she could not find him.

"Where are you Little Snow?" she whispered helplessly. She was used to seeing him by her side when she went to sleep. Now, she felt lonely like there was something missing.

She missed Little Snow's big black innocent eyes...

"I can't take it anymore." With that, she climbed out of bed and put on a pair of slippers and left the room. She needed to find him...

On her way out of the house, she heard hushed whispers coming from a certain room.

Athena stopped at the room. She pressed her right ear against the door and listened earnestly.

"We can't trust her completely, Aunt Alisha. We don't know her origin yet. We don't even know who she is. Maybe she is dangerous," came Trevor's voice.

"Oh, come on. How can that kiddo be dangerous. She can't even lift a sword!" argued Trisha.

"Maybe she is pretending to be weak so that we can sympathize her," he argued back.

"Oh, shut up you two. That girl hasn't done anything suspicious to prove that she is a spy," Lady Alisha said.

"What about burning the lounge room? What was she doing in the middle of the night alone? Isn't that something suspicious?"

"I..." Lady Alisha had just begun when Athena suddenly sneezed loudly. Silence followed.

"Did you just hear that?" Trisha's voice resounded.

"Trevor, go and check what's going on," Lady Alisha ordered.

"Shit," Athena cursed softly and immediately fled away.

Trevor opened the door and looked around. "There is no one here."

"But I think I heard someone sneeze," Trisha said as she also got out of the room and looked around. "Maybe I am just hearing things?"

Athena stepped out of the house and was welcomed with a cold gust of wind. She shivered and rubbed her arms before proceeding to walk. "Little Snow?!" she shouted. "Where are you?"

The sky was clouded and the moon could not be seen. It seemed like it was going to rain anytime soon.

"Oh, Little Snow. Come back," she mumbled. However the little rabbit was nowhere to be seen.

Athena visioned him lost in the dark forest, surrounded with many strange creatures, looking frightened. The more she thought about it, the more anxious she became.

"Little Snow! Little Snow!" she kept on calling the little rabbit until her voice became hoarse.

An owl hooted. She sighed as she continued to look for him. Many pairs of eyes watched her. Athena gritted her teeth, feeling cold, unaware that she was being watched. She arrived at a place that looked like a graveyard. There were old tombs everywhere. It felt so gloomy and a bit scary.

She stopped, not knowing what to do next. This place reeked of death making her feel goosebumps all over her body. It made one feel depressed.

She swallowed hard and looked around. She suddenly couldn't move. She tried to move her sudden heavy legs but failed. She now regretted leaving the house. She was really stupid. How could she think that she would find Little Snow at a place like this?

Her eyes landed on an old tomb that was filled with cracks. Curiously, she dragged herself towards the tomb. She knelt down and rubbed off the dust on the tombstone with her hand.

"Danielle Rammell. Died in 1800," she read aloud. She pursed her lips in deep thought before moving to the next tomb.

"Richard Rammell. Died in 1800," she read aloud. 'They must have been a married couple,' she thought as she moved away.

She rubbed off the dust on the next tombstone and read aloud, "Alisha Robson..." she trailed off. Why does that name sound familiar? "Died in 1820."

Something suddenly clicked in her mind and she hurriedly moved to the next tomb. "Trisha Robson. Died in 1820."

She moved to the other tomb. "Sophia Robson. Died in 1820."

"Trevor Robson. Died in 1820."

Her eyes widened in horror. Her expression changed drastically and her jaw dropped in shock. She shook her head vigorously and gave herself a hard slap. She rubbed her eyes continuously. She moved away from the tombs immediately.

"Let me introduce myself properly. My name is Alisha Robson. You can call me Lady Alisha and that girl over there is Sophia," Lady Alisha's voice rang in her mind.

Her face turned white as she murmured, "Alisha Robson..." Maybe it was just a sheer coincidence or...

"I was living with ghosts all along," she whispered with saucer eyes. 1820? That was forty years back. She suddenly felt weak. And why did they all die in the same year? That was not the important thing... The important thing was that she had been living with ghosts all along!

"Impossible," she murmured while shaking her head, clearly not believing the sudden discovery.

There was suddenly a rustling sound. Athena stiffened and looked around. She could not see anything at all except for those old tombs. Athena remained still for a few minutes but nothing happened. She opened Alisha Robson's tomb to only see a skeleton. It looked old and filthy. She then opened Trisha's, Sophia's and lastly Trevor's... They all contained skeletons... Some parts of the skeletons were missing.

So they were really spirits... She had been staying with spirits. But they looked like living beings... She felt giddy and her stomach churned at the thought. Athena suddenly laughed maniacally as she tugged her hair hard like a madwoman. She was going crazy.

A certain tomb that was far from other tombs caught her attention. She stood up and went over. She blew away the dust that was on the old broken tombstone and read aloud what was written on it.

"Say hello to Death." Athena frowned in confusion. "Say hello to Death?" What was that even supposed to mean?

"Don't touch me!" a young girl's voice rang in her mind.

"Somebody save me!" another voice screamed. Suddenly multiple voices screamed in her mind.

Athena shook her head as the voices grew louder and louder.

"What's happening to me?" she groaned as she began to feel giddy. Her body moved on its own accord and she banged her head hard on the tombstone. She cried in pain. The screaming voices ceased and she immediately stood up. She heard a rustling sound and felt someone's presence. She looked around but could not see anyone.

"Go home. Your time has not come yet," a cold and emotionless voice whispered in her ears. It sounded like an order. She felt a chill run down her spine and did not dare to turn around. Instead, she began to run all her way back to the Robson's home and forgot all about looking for Little Snow.

A tall and thin figure stepped out of the shadows. He was wearing a black cloak. A hood hid his face and it could not be clearly seen. Thunder rumbled.

He took out a broken and rusty watch from his pocket. It looked very old. His watch told him that the girl was left with only three days but a year had already passed since the watch indicated this. What was the meaning of this? Even the smell of death hung around her. His lips pressed into a thin line. There was something really odd about her.

He looked in the direction she had headed before he disappeared into thin air.

Athena banged the door open and ran to her room. She entered her room and threw herself onto the bed, panting. A white furry ball popped out of the blankets. She was dumbfounded.

"Little Snow?"

Little Snow blinked its eyes innocently.

"When did you arrive? How? Where were you?" she fired multiple questions at the little rabbit but of course it couldn't speak so it only stared at her.

Athena felt angry and upset. She picked the rabbit up and spanked it lightly.

"Bad bunny. Where were you? Do you know how terribly I missed you? Huh? Say something," she grumbled as she shook it.

Little Snow squeaked, feeling dizzy from all her shaking. Athena hugged the rabbit tightly and said, "Don't ever leave me again. I am scared. I am afraid that you will leave me forever. Don't do that again. Do you understand?"

She stared into those black bottomless eyes. She could see herself in them.

For some unknown reason, she felt like those eyes were boring into her soul. She felt like there was some kind of connection between them...

Feeling happy that she had finally found Little Snow, she forgot about everything that had happened earlier at the graveyard.

Little Snow only snuggled closer but many emotions flashed in its eyes. She kissed its little nose lightly. "Let's go to sleep."