Gentle streams of light filtered past the heavy mint green curtains that lined the arched windows in her bedroom. Sleepily, a blue eye cracked open to peer at the intrusive beams of light. A soft groan was drawn from her throat as she glanced over at her clock. 5:58am. She always felt nothing short of being robbed when waking up before the alarm was set to go off, as if those extra two minutes of sleep would have heavily impacted her day.<br/><br/>Lately, she had been trying to make a habit of getting up early to go for a run; to clear her mind and start the day off fresh on a positive note. Matilda slowly grasped the brush cotton material that had been placed at the end of her bed the night before -- incentive to proceed with the run she'd planned instead of hit the snooze button. Pyjamas were discarded onto the floor, replacing with black leggings, a simple sports bra, an oversized Lakers t-shirt and white sneakers. Gracefully, her fingers manipulated her sandy brown locks into a tidy bun. Quickly brushing her teeth, the woman spritzed herself with a body mist, wafts of peony and vanilla shadowing her steps.<br/><br/>Prying open the front door, Matilda was immediately immersed in the first light of the morning; warm and welcoming. However, the morning rays were not enough to distract her from the carcass of a bird settled onto her doorstep. A visible jolt rocked her body as she stumbled backwards, shocked.<br/><br/>"Poor little guy," she crooned, after settling from the unexpected shock. The woman knelt down to scoop up the unlucky creature into her hands, before something cold and heavy knocked against her hands. A frown dominated her features as ocean coloured eyes began to inspect the bird, small amounts of heat radiating from the animal; indicating it hadn't long died.<br/><br/>Icy chills snaked down her spine, nausea pooling in the pits of her stomach as her gaze connected with a necklace that was wrapped around the bird. It was familiar, heavy and fold with a pendant, engraved with "Forever and always. Your Tilly". As if she'd been zapped, the bird fell between her hands, crashing onto the doorstep in a heap of feathers as the limp body was unable to brace against the unwelcome impact. Matilda stumbled backwards, frantically glancing around the room.<br/><br/>The necklace, it was a gift she'd given to her ex on their 3rd anniversary.<br/><br/>There had been multiple occurences of weird things happening -- her tyres slashed, people following her within the shadows, strange letters in her mailbox. She could only put it down to her ex trying to spook her, which he had been unfortunately successful. However, none of his pranks had been laced with death and malice; not like the bird.<br/><br/>"Oh god, oh god, oh god," Matilda breathed, lunging forward to grab the bird, before fleeting down the pathway, dumping the animal and necklace into the bin outside her home. Panic began to set in, sizzling through her veins, muscles quaking in response. Tears stung at the corners of her eyes as an immediate fight or flight response began to set in, adrenaline snaking it's way through her body.<br/><br/>The jingling of keys immediately snapped her attention in their direction. One of her neighbours, Alex, had just exited his home and was making his way to his car. They were acquaintances, maybe a little more -- he had been friends with her brother, worked with him even -- and now they happened to be neighbours.<br/><br/>The woman began to make her way down the path to Alex's home, attempting to hide the fact that she was extremely shaken. "Alex!" Matilda called, voice evidently quivering, "Alex, d-do you want to grab coffee with me this morning?" She blurted as she drew closer to him. Pupils were dilated and small tremors gripped at her muscles, her breath short. There was no hiding that something had disturbed her to the brink of a panic attack.<br/><br/>Nervously, Matilda began to gnaw on her lower lip. "Please. I really need someone to talk to," she breathed, her hands smoothing over her forearms in attempt to lower the goosebumps that had recently arisen, "I think I am being stalked."