The laugh echoed in Daniel's ears as if it were still reverberating through the trees. It wasn't just any laugh—it was Chloe's, but twisted, hollow, and far too eerie. His heart pounded as he stumbled backward, still clutching the silver bracelet in his hand. The mist had thickened to an almost suffocating density, pressing against him from all sides.
And then, just as suddenly as the laughter began, everything went black.
Daniel gasped, his body jerking awake. His mind felt foggy, his vision blurred. He blinked rapidly, trying to make sense of where he was. Slowly, he realized he was lying in his own bed, the familiar warmth of his blankets cocooning him in a way that felt… too comforting. He sat up, disoriented, and looked around his room. The soft light of morning filtered through the curtains, casting shadows on the walls. Everything looked exactly as it had before.
The last thing he remembered was running through the woods, following Chloe's laughter. He couldn't have just dreamed it, could he? His breath caught in his throat as he reached for the silver bracelet on his nightstand. It was there, just as he had found it in the woods.
But if it was real, why was he back in his bed? Why did everything feel so… normal?
He rubbed his face, trying to push the grogginess from his mind. Maybe it was just a dream, a twisted nightmare brought on by his worry over Chloe's disappearance. But deep down, something inside him screamed that it wasn't. That whatever had happened out there, in the woods, had been real.
Exhausted, Daniel swung his legs over the side of the bed, his feet touching the cold wooden floor. He stood up, swaying slightly, his head still heavy with confusion. He wasn't sure if it was the fatigue or something else that made his legs feel weak, but it didn't matter. He had to see his mother, to hear her voice, to ground himself in the familiarity of home.
As he walked down the hallway, he couldn't shake the feeling that the world around him wasn't quite right. The house seemed too quiet, the air too still. When he reached the kitchen, he paused for a moment at the doorway, taking in the scene before him.
Miriam was sitting at the table, a cup of tea in front of her. Chloe, surprisingly, was standing at the stove, humming a tune as she stirred something in a pot. The smell of cooking wafted through the air, mixing with the faint scent of morning coffee.
Chloe? Daniel's mind raced. She was supposed to be missing. He had just spent the entire night searching for her, following the echoes of her laugh, chasing shadows through the mist. And yet, here she was, alive, making breakfast like nothing had happened.
"Hey, Daniel," Chloe said, glancing over her shoulder with a smile. "You sleep in or something?"
Daniel's throat tightened, his heart pounding as he stood frozen in the doorway. Was this a dream? Was he still caught in some strange half-awake state, trapped between reality and whatever nightmare he had fallen into?
"Yeah, I—" He shook his head, trying to make sense of it. "I thought you—"
Chloe raised an eyebrow, clearly noticing his confusion. "Thought I what? You're looking at me like you've seen a ghost."
Miriam looked up from her cup of tea, her gaze sharp but calm. "Is something wrong, Daniel?"
The air felt thick with tension, as if Daniel were missing something—something important. He swallowed hard, his mind still clouded by the fog from his earlier experience. "I—nothing. I just didn't expect to see you... here."
Chloe chuckled, turning back to the stove. "Well, surprise. I'm not dead, if that's what you were thinking."
Daniel's mind was racing, spinning in circles, but before he could say anything more, Miriam spoke again.
"Your father came by this morning," she said, her voice so casual it sent a chill down his spine. "He wants to see you."
Daniel froze, his stomach lurching. "What?"
His father? That wasn't possible. His father had been missing for as long as Daniel could remember—vanished without a trace when Daniel was just a child. Miriam had never spoken much about it, and Daniel had grown up with the belief that his father was gone, that he had simply disappeared into the world, leaving his family behind. The notion that he had returned—after all these years—was incomprehensible.
"Dad? He came here?" Daniel's voice was barely a whisper, his heart hammering in his chest.
Miriam nodded, her expression unreadable. "Yes. He's back from a trip. I think he wants to talk to you."
Daniel's mind swirled in confusion and disbelief. His father couldn't be here. That didn't make sense. He had been missing for so long. He couldn't just show up one day and act like everything was fine.
"Mom, you have to be mistaken. Dad… he—he's been gone for years. I've never even—"
"I know, Daniel," Miriam interrupted, her voice gentle but firm. "But he's here now. He wants to see you."
The world seemed to tilt, and Daniel's vision blurred as if reality itself was slipping from his grasp. He looked at Chloe, standing at the stove, her back turned toward him. The same Chloe who had been missing—who had laughed that chilling, unnatural laugh in the woods. The same Chloe who had been the driving force behind his search, who had been missing for days.
Daniel blinked. The pieces didn't fit. None of it made sense.
His father, back from a trip? Chloe, here in the kitchen, acting like everything was normal?
It all felt wrong. His mind screamed that it couldn't be true. But as he stood there, in his own kitchen, looking at his mother and sister, he began to realize something.
It was all a lie. Everything he had experienced in the woods—the mist, the whispers, the bracelet—was nothing more than an illusion. A carefully constructed falsehood. A trick his mind had played on him.
And for the first time, Daniel understood that none of this was real.
It was fake.
---
End of Chapter 3