The Shadowy Voice

Tall, green oaks obscured the sun, only a few rays passing through the gaps in their canopies.

A girly squeal resounded throughout a forest, "Give me that! That is my."

The short, black-haired girl in a plain grey skirt cried, facing a trio of boys, older and bigger than her.

With a grin plastered on his face, the tallest one held a doll high in the air while Lumina desperately jumped up, only to reach a short of it—unable to snatch it back.

"Haha, shortie, if you want it back, you have to try harder." The boy laughed, followed by his two sidekicks.

Lumina stared at her only doll and the trio of boys with tears in her eyes, 'Why are they doing this? I have never done anything to them.'

She felt helpless as she was smaller, younger, weaker, and alone.

The trio of older boys grinned at her desperation and tears.

"Look, she is going to cry."

"Hahaha."

She grew up in the orphanage for as long as she could remember, and although she wasn't living in luxury, she had warm meals, a roof above her head, and a childhood.

However, now that the trio of boys, older than the other children, arrived, it has all changed.

"Please, give it back!"

"Listen to me, girl. From now on, you will give us a portion of your meal every time, and we will let you be."

"That isn't fair. We all..."

"World isn't a fair place. The stronger always thrive from the weaker."

Lumina felt like crying, the portions were enough to fill her tummy, but if she had to give some of it away, wouldn't she be hungry?

Suddenly the boy froze, and his skin turned deadly pale. The doll dropped out of his loosened grasp.

"Are you alright, Tobby?" His two sidekicks looked at the tallest boy with worry.

The next moment his pained shriek cut through the forest, making all the birds fly away in fear, "Ahhhh! It burns!"

He fell on his ass, smoke and the smell of burning flesh rose out of his shoes while his hand desperately reached towards to take them off.

Lumina and the two remaining boys could only watch in terror.

'This is my chance.' Something kicked in her and all her fear vanished.

For some reason, she felt her heart drum like for a race—she grabbed the doll and turned to run, the grass and dead leaves rustling below her feet.

The pained cries quickly grew more distant as she ran deeper into the forest. Soon, she was left alone in the woods, the ancient oaks throwing shadows over her. Breathless and trembling, she sought refuge against a decaying tree trunk, trying to catch her breath while tightly clutching the doll against her chest.

The forest seemed to come alive around her, its atmosphere reeking with a malevolence that chilled her to the bone. Shadows stretched and contorted, forming grotesque shapes that danced in the periphery of her vision.

Her body trembled, but she was unable to move, paralyzed.

A sudden, unsettling shift occurred. The once-familiar sounds of the forest—gentle rustling, the distant calls of birds—were swallowed by an oppressive silence. It was as though she had stumbled into a realm detached from reality. The darkness deepened, suffocating any remaining traces of light, leaving her in a realm of impenetrable blackness.

A deep, resonant voice cut through the stillness, its timbre filled with an unsettling mixture of pride and malevolence. "And those are the beings my father wanted me to protect... and called them superior," it intoned, each word dripping with disdain.

Startled, she swiftly turned her head around, desperately searching for the voice's origin. Yet, her eyes met only the gnarled trunks of ancient trees.

"Look at them, my daughter," the voice persisted, rising in intensity as though carried on an otherworldly wind that swept through the forest. The rustling leaves echoed its eerie chorus. "They are only children, yet they already wanted to hurt you. We shouldn't blindly protect and guide them. We should rule over them!"

Lumina looked at her doll with tears still in her eyes and her hands trembling, "Who are you? Where are you?"

"I am your father. I am far, far away," all the malevolence vanished from the voice, leaving only the sweet tones carrying nothing but affection and sorrow.

'No, you are not real.' Her heart sank as a wave of fear washed over her, memories surfacing of an older girl from the orphanage who had suffered similar torment. She was waking up shrieking in the night while talking about the voice in her head during the day.

Lumina shook as she remembered the girl was taken away and never returned.

'No, I must keep this to myself.'

Like a shadowy tentacle, a shadow reached toward her, "Come, take my hand and I will show you your potential."

Even though she wasn't sure if it was even real, her body stood up, and her tears stopped pouring out. Something in her wanted to reach and take the shadowy hand that offered her the warmth of a touch. She was just a child that wanted the warmth of a parent's touch.

Even if he was fake and just a creation of her imagination, she wanted to have a father.

Her small hand grasped the black shadow.