She was running in the dark woods, escaping from someone. She ran and didn't stop. It was a dark night, and the tall trees had covered the sky. Her feet were bleeding as she ran barefoot.
Unable to see, she stepped on something and fell. She was breathing heavily, sweat all over her face. With her head turned back, she saw something. A head. A body. Blood... a human.
A scream came out of her mouth, but she stopped it with her hand. The hand of the body moved. It moved towards her. Now its face was lifting up slowly...
Her eyes widened in fear. She stood up with all her strength and started to run again. Someone was behind her. Like a shadow, it didn't leave her, no matter how far she ran.
She stopped as the path ended. It was the edge of a cliff. She looked behind her; someone was approaching. She looked at him. His eyes and smile were the only things she could see in the dark. He was holding something. He was coming closer... even closer...
Her heart was beating fast.
"No! No!"
She screamed.
His smile widened—a creepy smile.
"Don't come closer!" she screamed again.
He came closer. His head was bleeding, and his face was covered in blood. It was a gun in his hand. He pointed it at her.
She looked down. There was a terrifying river below.
Something grabbed her leg. She looked down at her feet. It was the same body she saw earlier. How is it here? It was a woman. Her hair covered her face, blood coming out of her eyes.
"Help... me," the woman whispered, smiling. The man standing there also smiled.
She kicked the woman's hand to free her leg but fell from the cliff into the river.
She couldn't breathe. She was moving her arms and legs, but she couldn't swim. She heard whispers. Suddenly, something sharp stabbed her heart.
"Ahh... ha... ha... ha!" Hanna woke up from the nightmare she was in. It was as if she had experienced everything in real life.
She looked at her surroundings and sighed in relief that it was just a dream. After calming her heart, she looked out of the window. It wasn't snowing anymore.
She put on her sweater and sat in her wheelchair. She opened the window to let the breeze from outside wash away her fear.
It was quiet. When she looked far into the woods, she felt a sudden pain in her heart.
There was a knock on the door.
"You're still up?" the nurse asked her.
"No, I just woke up to get some air. It was quite stuffy in here." She gave her a smile despite being in pain.
"Okay. Call me if you need something." With a reassuring smile, the nurse left the room.
Hanna sat there, looking out. She would close her eyes and open them again, thinking that maybe this was also a dream. Maybe she would be somewhere else, somewhere with her family.
Did she have one?
A few years ago, Hanna was found severely injured outside the care home. When she woke up, she had forgotten everything about herself. She was not able to walk. The doctor said it would get better with time and therapy, but they weren't sure about her memories.
Now, Hanna felt more miserable, knowing that Ava was no more. Was Ethan a hope or not? She thought.
There was no one who could answer that.
She moved to her bed and fell asleep.
She woke up and saw Ella sitting beside her, smiling in excitement.
"What?" Hanna asked.
"Come on, you know what I want to know. Who was it?" Her eyes beamed.
She remembered that Ella was talking about Ethan. Well, it was unexpected that a man had visited her.
"Your brother? Friend? Wait... husband? You have a husband? Are you married?" Now Ella stood up, waiting for an answer.
Hanna sighed. "He is neither my brother nor my husband, Ella." Ella offered her hand to Hanna as she struggled to move to the wheelchair.
"Then a friend? You didn't say anything about being friends with him."
"I don't know. He didn't tell me anything about himself except that he is Ava's son."
"Oh... I can see the resemblance. Didn't you notice how good-looking he was? I've never seen a man like him," Ella smiled in excitement.
Hanna was grabbing her clothes to take a shower and change into them.
"You say this every time you see someone."
"Is he coming again, then?"
"I don't know. Maybe, and maybe not."
Hanna remembered that he said he would think about telling her something next time, so maybe he would come.