text: The branches of trees clawed and slapped at Maya as she rushed through the forest, as if a desperate attack of holding her back. These woods were untamed, only the experienced town's hunters ventured as far out as she was currently. Maya didn't have time to worry about any of that, though. She looked around frantically for any sight of her dog, Spot. He had run out the door earlier. Maybe he had spotted a rabbit. "Spot!" Maya called out, her voice strained from all the running. To her delight, however, she heard a bark call out in the distance. She started making her way towards it. "Spot!" The barking grew louder and louder and more frequent. He must be standing still at this point, she thought. Maybe he was looking for as well. She slowed her pace, and he finally came into view. Breathing a sigh of relief, she leaned over and placed her hands on her thighs, panting profusely. "Spot," she said between pants, "you know not to-". As she spoke she rose her head slowly, and only then saw what Spot was barking at. A mountain lion. Her body began to shake. The large cat stared down her hound mix as if deciding where it was going to start eating him first. Maya didn't know what to do. Spot was her only thing close to a friend. He had been with her since she was nine years old. She wasn't ready to see him go yet. Eight years wasn't long enough, Spot had to be there for when she graduated and got a job and enough money to leave this stupid town. His stupid slobbery face was the reason she walked to school every day and the reason she ran back home. No, she wasn't going to sit by and watch him go. Maya picked up a branch on the ground, banging it on the trunk of a tree and yelling. The mountain lion averted its gaze to her. Maya walked closer, making as much noise as she could. Then she heard a snap, and felt a pang of vibration as the branch promptly broke, leaving her holding a sad nub. She quickly turned her back, looking for something to substitute the branch, realizing her mistake almost as soon as she did so. Time seemed to slow as she shot her head over her shoulder only to witness the cat mid leap towards her. She wondered how she could be so stupid. You're practically inviting the beast to kill you by exposing your back. There was nothing she could do, though. She only hoped it went for her neck first and killed her quickly, so she wouldn't have to feel much pain. Maya was kind of happy she had no friends. It would mean less people are hurt by her disappearance. Would they even find the body? Would the cougar eat her whole? It would be impressive if it did. As these strains of thoughts whizzed through her mind, the cats eyes shot up. Its pupils shrunk to almost nothing, as if trying with every might in its body to recoil back. A force struck it, throwing it violently into the side of a tree. Time seemed to resume, but Maya remained frozen. The mountain lion howled, trying its hardest to run away as quickly as it could muster. Spot didn't move. He stood staring over the shoulder of Maya, unwavering. Her heart was pounding. She could hear the blood flowing through her veins. She could hear her lungs filling up with air. As she mustered the strength to slowly look forward, her head pounded more and more. The only thing Maya could hear was the pounding. She was filled with more fear and grief the closed her head got to looking forward. She didn't want to see. She didn't want to be in these woods any longer. She just wanted to go home. As Maya looked up to whatever force had struck the mountain lion away, she woke up. Her eyes shot open, looking up to the familiar ceiling of her bedroom. She breathed a sigh of relief. It was just a dream. A small smile cracked on her face, and she heard her mother call from downstairs. "Maya! Time to get up! You've got school today!" "Yep!" Maya threw her legs over the edge of the bed, throwing on her cleanest pair of jeans and black tee shirt. Spot was waiting for her outside of her room, wagging his tag and whining happily. She knelt down to him, scratching behind his ear, almost forgetting all about her nightmare at the happy sight of her dog. Dirt caked underneath her finger nails. "Man, Spot, you need a bath when I get home. How'd you get so filthy?" She finished her walk to the bathroom, picking up her toothbrush and looking into the mirror. Everything was the same. Her same black hair and her same brown eyes. The few pimples scattered around her face seemed to be clearing up though, so that was something to look up to. She spit into the sink, finishing up her teeth and grabbing her hair brush. Maya had forgotten to brush her hair yesterday, so it was full of knots and tangles. She's sure her bad dreams probably didn't help much. "Hey sweetie," her mom said as she poked her face in, causing Maya to jump. "You didn't open any curtains or windows or anything yesterday, did you?" Maya rolled her eyes. She truly believed the small town of Desmirne was the only town in Manitoba that believed in Morte Day. It was a shitty rip off of the Day of the Dead, where ghosts, spirits, and demons crossed over onto the living plane of the world. Except during this day their power rose, and if anyone was outside for the day then they were at risk for becoming possessed. "Why would I do that?" Maya thought the day was dumb. Most kids did. But all parents enforced it so strictly that they usually listened to their wishes. Besides, it's a day off of school where you're allowed to stay inside all day. "Oh, nothing I guess. It just feels kind of off. You're sure you didn't? Because you know the story of the Bayers-" "Yes, I know mom." The Bayers was a family that was around during the time of her mother's childhood. It's said that they left a window open during Morte Day, and the mother became possessed. She ended up killing her husband and child, and tried killing the neighbours the next day. Maya always believed the poor woman just went insane. "You're sure you didn't? Not even for Spot?" Spot had been left outside yesterday. Big dogs are believed to help ward spirits away. "Spot can handle himself. Right boy?" She looked down to the dog, who could barely contain himself. "Alright. I'm probably just paranoid. I've gotta go now, so see you after school. Dad says he loves you, he had to head back out to work early today and didn't want to wake you up. But he only has to go out for a week this time, so he'll be back before we know it." With that, Maya's mom headed back down the stairs to leave for work. Maya looked forward again into mirror. She liked it when her hair was knotted, and the sound of the brush ripping through it. After she was done, she went to pull the dead strands out of the comb to throw in the trash. But she froze. Because in the brush was a few assorted small leaves. They were pretty fresh, which explained why she didn't hear them being combed out. Her dream from last night flooded back to her. It was impossible. She woke up in her bed, completely fine. There's no way it was real. Maya shook her head. It was just a weird coincidence. That's all. She threw the ball of hair and leaves in the trash and walked downstairs. (End of part one. This is my first time writing in a long time, so sorry for any spelling/grammar mistakes. Let me know if you like it enough for a part 2. I tagged it as fantasy because even though it's about ghosts and stuff, its not supposed to be scary. That'll get more fleshed out in the next part, though. I'm writing on mobile so it's taking me a bit.