Chapter 2: The Call of the Past

Mina sat at her desk, the glasses lying in front of her, just where she had left them after the strange encounter. Her fingers were still tingling from where the woman's ghostly fingers had touched her cheek. The feeling hadn't gone away—it lingered, cold and unsettling. Her mind couldn't stop replaying the events of the afternoon, the woman's cryptic words echoing in her head.

"The glasses... they've chosen you."

What did that even mean? Chosen her for what? What was she supposed to do with these glasses, with whatever power they held? The questions were piling up, but every time she tried to answer one, another one appeared.

She stood up, pacing the room. She needed to focus, to figure out what was going on. The more she thought about it, the more she realized that whatever this was—it wasn't just some weird coincidence. The glasses had shown her something. The question now was whether it was a gift or a curse.

Suddenly, her phone buzzed, pulling her out of her thoughts. It was a message from Lena.

Lena: Hey, you still coming over? We need to study. You're not bailing on me again, right?

Mina hesitated for a moment, her thumb hovering over the screen. She had told Lena she wasn't feeling well, but she couldn't hide forever. And honestly, part of her wanted the distraction. The sooner she could get out of her head, the better.

Mina: I'll be there in a bit.

She quickly grabbed her jacket and shoved the glasses into her pocket, making sure they were hidden. She wasn't sure why, but it felt like someone might be watching, waiting to see what she did with them. The thought sent a chill down her spine.

---

When Mina arrived at Lena's house, she tried to shake off the unease that clung to her like a shadow. The warm, familiar scent of fresh cookies wafted through the air as she stepped inside, the sound of music playing softly in the background. Lena was sitting at the kitchen table, books spread out before her, her glasses perched on the tip of her nose as she scribbled something down.

"Finally," Lena said, grinning when she saw Mina. "I was starting to think you were going to bail on me for real."

"Not a chance," Mina replied, forcing a smile as she set her bag down. "I'm just... tired, you know?"

Lena gave her a knowing look. "You've been acting weird lately. You're sure everything's okay?"

"Yeah, just a lot on my mind," Mina muttered, pulling out a chair and sitting down across from Lena. "You know, school and stuff."

Lena raised an eyebrow. "Uh-huh. You're not going to tell me you're having some kind of existential crisis, are you?"

Mina laughed weakly. "Something like that."

They both fell into silence for a moment, Lena flipping through her notes. Mina couldn't concentrate, her mind still racing. She kept thinking about the woman, the mansion, and the strange figure she'd encountered. What did it all mean? Was this some sort of test? Or was she going crazy?

"Hey, can you help me with this?" Lena asked, snapping her out of her thoughts. "I'm totally stuck on this history stuff."

Mina nodded absently, trying to focus on the books in front of her. But the words seemed to blur together as her thoughts kept drifting back to the glasses.

"What's up with you today?" Lena asked after a few minutes, her voice tinged with concern. "You've been acting distant."

Mina forced herself to meet Lena's eyes. "I'm fine, really. Just not feeling the best."

Lena studied her for a moment, then shrugged. "Alright, but you know you can talk to me if something's wrong, right?"

"Yeah, I know," Mina said softly. "Thanks."

Later that evening, after a few hours of studying in relative silence, Mina made her way back home. Her thoughts were still swirling. She couldn't get the feeling out of her chest—the feeling that something was terribly wrong, that the glasses were connected to something bigger than herself.

Once inside her room, she shut the door behind her and collapsed onto her bed, still fully dressed. The weight of the day settled on her shoulders like a heavy cloak, but she couldn't shake the image of the woman from earlier. It was as if the world she had stepped into wasn't just a glimpse of the past—it was a warning.

Mina pulled the glasses from her pocket, their weight suddenly seeming heavier than before. She held them up, her reflection staring back at her. She didn't know if she was ready to do this again, but she had to know. She needed to understand.

With a deep breath, she slipped them onto her face.

At first, nothing happened. The room around her stayed the same. The familiar sight of her books, her bed, the city lights streaming in through the window. But then, the edges of the room began to blur. The walls faded into mist, and the floor beneath her feet seemed to shift and warp.

Mina gasped as the room around her transformed, and once again, she was no longer in her bedroom. She stood in a large, grand hallway, the walls lined with portraits of people she didn't recognize. The air smelled faintly of dust and decay. She could hear the soft rustle of fabric, the faint echo of footsteps in the distance.

"Not again," Mina whispered, fear creeping into her voice. "What is this place?"

She took a step forward, her heart pounding in her chest. Every nerve in her body screamed at her to turn around, to take off the glasses and escape. But curiosity kept her rooted to the spot. She needed answers.

As she moved down the hall, the sound of footsteps grew louder, and before she knew it, a figure appeared at the end of the corridor.

This time, it was a man. His face was hard to make out, his features obscured by a hood and a long coat. But there was something about the way he stood—rigid, almost as if he was waiting for her.

"Who are you?" Mina demanded, her voice stronger than she felt. "Why are you here?"

The man didn't answer at first. He simply stood there, staring at her. Then, finally, he spoke.

"You shouldn't be here, Mina," he said, his voice low and gravelly. "You've seen too much already."

"Who are you?" Mina repeated, stepping forward. "What's going on?"

The man raised a hand, a warning gesture. "You don't understand. You cannot change the past. The glasses are not a gift—they're a curse. You've been chosen, but not in the way you think."

"What does that mean?" Mina asked, her voice trembling now.

The man's eyes hardened. "You will learn soon enough. But it won't be easy. The past is dangerous, and you're already too deep in it. If you continue, you risk everything."

With that, the man began to fade, his form dissolving into the mist, leaving Mina standing alone in the hallway once again.

Mina ripped the glasses off her face, breathing heavily. The room snapped back into focus, but the weight of what had just happened was still crushing her. A curse? Chosen for what?

She couldn't make sense of it. All she knew was that the man's warning seemed too real to ignore. She had seen things—things that shouldn't be possible. And yet, there she was, standing in the middle of it all, with no clear way out.

Her mind raced, her thoughts spinning wildly. What if the glasses weren't just a tool for seeing the past? What if they were something much more dangerous? What if I'm not supposed to use them at all?

But deep down, Mina knew she couldn't stop. Whatever it was that had chosen her, she had to face it. She had to find out what was going on, even if it meant unraveling everything she knew about the world—and about herself.