Every past had a touch of mystery until told, revealing a secret not many knew.

***

Today was her lucky day.

At least, that was what she felt since she woke up this morning and throughout the day. Her parents loved her. Her brother adored her. The teachers praised her. Her friends cherished her, while others envied her.

Gav always felt that her life had been easy. Everything she needed, she had. Her past, present, and future lay open before her eyes. Her life was almost perfect.

But at that moment, she felt different as fear crept into her heart. "Please, I just want to go home safely," Gav mumbled to herself, praying to whoever would care to listen.

She forced her feet to move one step at a time, not allowing her fear to overtake her rationality. However, her thoughts slowly redirected her mind to something else as the eerie silence sent goosebumps throughout her body, making her skin crawl.

"What are you thinking?" She reprimanded herself when thoughts of unimaginable horrors plagued her entire consciousness. Stories, she believed, were suitable only for nightmares.

Sometimes, she believed she was cursed to have such high imagination. She could effortlessly conjure images of things she had never even seen before. Horrible monsters that roam at night.

Nonetheless, she was confident that those were just figments of her highly creative mind, not acknowledging for one single bit that it could be true. Except for tonight, as she felt her resolve waivered. She had never felt this tremendous fear before. "I wish Kendra was here." She whispered so gently that even she barely heard herself.

She attended a party with her bestfriend, Kendra, at one of their classmate's houses. They were supposed to come home together, but Kendra appeared as if she was not ready to leave just yet.

She opted to hitch a ride with another friend. But halfway from home, her other friend's car broke down, leaving them stranded on the road.

He offered to walk her home, which was still a considerable distance, but she said no. "Now, why did you decline his offer again?" She asked herself as she kept looking at the shadows around her.

Because she knew the guy liked her. But she could not encourage him. She did not feel the same way, and besides, she was not ready for a commitment. Not anytime soon, anyway.

"Please, just let me go home without a hitch, and I promise never to go to parties again." She swore in the air. If her parents had known about this, they would have had a heart attack.

Then, a dog-like hound echoed in the quietness of the night. It grumbled not far from a distance, bouncing on the structures and trees, lining up the empty streets.

The only light that illuminated her way was the dimly lit streetlights and the new moon that slightly emerged on the branches of the trees.

But oddly enough, she found a familiarity with those sounds, as if she had heard those howls before. They seemed distinct, but it was bizarre since she had never owned a dog in her entire life.

"Those were just the dogs in the neighborhood, barking and howling with their buddies, enjoying the night." She whispered to herself as she felt her heartbeat quicken, and the hair on her skin stood up in attention.

She continued to walk, making her steps bigger and her pace faster. She would run, but she doubted if it would make a difference. She was not particularly the athletic type.

But the overwhelming feeling of eyes watching her began to sneak into her mind. She tried not to look anywhere else except for the path on her way home, but somehow, her brain failed to instruct her eyes from wandering around.

She searched for those elusive eyes hiding behind the trees, the trash cans, the corner of the houses, and the shadows. But she could not find one. The street was empty except for her.

"Gav, it is just your imagination playing tricks on you. Just concentrate on walking, and you'll be back on your doorstep, safe and sound." Her mind continued to encourage her and keep her from freaking out.

But it was short-lived when three shadows out of nowhere came out of the old tree in the corner just on her left and made their presence known.

The darkness covered most of their features. They appeared to be huge men standing upright. But too tall to be ordinary. Nevertheless, their body was enormous, probably a bodybuilder or an athlete.

Fear gripped her, and chills ran down her spine as the three pairs of eyes stared at her with burning intensity. Who were they?

"What do you want?" She asked, but she doubted they heard her low voice as they remained quiet, immobile at their place.

She quickly thought of a few options. She could scream, but who would hear her? Running seemed to be futile, judging from their athletic build.

Still, her survival instinct kicked in. She turned around, away from them. In the direction of her house, she sprinted as fast as her feet would take her.

Somehow, she felt odd that they did not follow her immediately. When she looked back at them, they still stood in their position.

She wondered if they were giving her a headstart before the hunt. That did not sound any better. Again, an odd feeling took over her.

Strangely, she believed she had seen them before as the characters that plagued her dreams, or more like the nightmares she sometimes had.

"Come on. You can make it." She kept encouraging her aching feet to move forward one step at a time. "You got this. Just a few more blocks." She completely regretted her decision to attend the party, leaving her best friend behind.

Still, she thought she was going to make it scot-free. However, it did not last long. When she looked back, she found them chasing after her.

The troubling part was that they were gaining fast. Gav's short and slow sprints were no match with their long and fast strides. And even if she had covered a considerable distance from them, it was not enough.

"Please, stop following me." But she knew she barely heard herself, feeling her heart and lungs pounding across her chest, ready to collapse from the toll it was experiencing. She could hardly keep up breathing as she pushed herself to her limit.

At some point, she knew it was hopeless for her. She would never make it as she felt her body succumb to its fate and the inevitable.

Whoever they were, they would catch and take her. Why her? What did she do to them? What did they need from her?

But did criminals need a reason to justify their actions? No was the resounding answer.

Unfortunately, she could become another file, collecting dust with the other unresolved cases.

In other words, another inexplicable mystery.