My room slowly brightened up. The sunrise.
I had been awake in my bed most of the night. After I was awakened by this dream again, I couldn't get back to sleep. You'd think I'd gotten used to it by now, but every time I woke up in panic. It was different from the rest of the dreams I always had. It felt a lot more real. I didn't know what that meant.
For a moment I wondered whether I should lie down or get up. A noise in the next room made this decision for me. I sat up and grabbed my clothes. When I entered the room Elena was just putting away her breakfast dishes.
"Good Morning."
That was the only thing she said. She didn't even look at me. Was she still mad at me? Sighing, I got a plate and a slice of bread. While I sat down, I watched the brown-haired woman very closely. She still didn't look my way.
"I am sorry."
I looked at her hopefully.
She took a deep breath before turning to me and walking towards the table.
"It's okay. It's just ... I was so worried! What if something had happened to you? You know that a lot of people have been dying in the woods lately. The number of wolves is increasing every year." Year and they are becoming more and more aggressive. Night is most dangerous. These beasts are huge and very fast ... "
"... and once they're after you, there's no escape. I know. You've told me that at least a thousand times."
I had to smile inside. It was nice to know that someone was caring for me. But hearing it was even nicer.
"That may be. But I have every reason to. So often I've had patients here who weren't dead immediately after the attack. Nine out of ten usually die and those who don't are for the rest of them Life drawn. These wolves are merciless. I just don't want to lose you! "
"I promise you that in the future I'll be more careful and always be back before sunset."
I looked deep into her eyes and underlined my words. Hopefully it was enough to calm her down. She looked at me doubtfully. She knew that I had always preferred night to day. I just didn't go outside at night because I didn't want her to worry. Strangely enough, I was not afraid of the wolves, although there was every reason to be. I had also heard enough times when Elena treated people who had survived an attack like this. She always tried to keep me away from the sight with some activity, but I saw more than she thought.
So far only a handful of people had survived an attack and what they said was impossible for common sense.It was said that these animals were much larger than usual for wolves. A few years ago, the first giant wolf, as people called them, appeared. A few days after the first sighting, a person was attacked for the first time. Soon more of these animals were seen. At the same time, the normal wolves gradually disappeared from the woods. Nobody could explain that and even less did they know why they attacked people for no reason. After seven deaths within two weeks, some men from nearby villages went hunting. Elena's husband was among the hunters. I didn't know anything specific about it as Elena didn't talk about this topic. The only thing I knew was that out of more than fifty people, only four had returned. Two of them died a few days later of serious injuries, while the other two could hardly be addressed to this day.
Elena now seemed to want to put the subject aside for good. She looked at my plate, which was still full.
"Are you not hungry?"
"No, not really. I might eat later."
Shrugging, she took my plate and set it aside. Then we looked at each other for a few seconds before she put on a mock serious face.
"What are you still sitting around here? We have to do!"
I immediately noticed her change in mood and was relieved. I knew and loved this tone. She tried to sound serious, but failed again and again. I jumped up grinning.
"Yes, ma'am!"
"Now get out of here!"
She could hardly help laughing and also ran outside with a big grin on her face. A few seconds later I also came through the door and stepped outside. It was a beautiful day. But the blue sky couldn't deceive me.
"It will start raining in a few hours."
Now Elena looked up at the sky too.
"If I hadn’t seen how accurate your weather forecasts are, I’d think you’re crazy. Let’s get started before we get wet."
We immediately set about pulling weeds from the bed and planting new herbs. Some time passed and you could already see scattered clouds on the horizon.
Suddenly this terrible headache started again. I grabbed my temple and dropped to my knees. Alarmed by my strange movement, Elena jumped up and ran to me.
"Are you okay? Leyla! What about you?"
I looked up at her and saw the horror spreading across her face. I could only see something red in the reflection of her eyes before everything around me went dark.

Gradually I came to. I felt that I was lying in something wet.
I got a strange, sweet smell in my nose. It smelled good. I had never smelled such a scent before.Shortly afterwards, my throat began to sting. It felt awful. As if someone were poking a burning torch in my throat.
Startled by the sudden pain, I opened my eyes completely. I sat up hastily and grabbed my throat. Everything was spinning in my head and it took me a moment to catch myself again.
Only now did I really perceive my surroundings. First my gaze fell on the devastated bed. Now I remembered the puddle in which I was still sitting. My green eyes looked down. I was just able to suppress a scream of horror.
I was sitting in a red liquid! Blood red!
Panicked, I jumped up and looked down at myself. Everything still seemed to be there. Apart from the burning sensation in my throat, I also felt no pain. Relief ran through me, but then something occurred to me.
Elena!
Again the fear rose in me. Restless and with a bad premonition, I searched the area.
There!
Something was half in the undergrowth a good twenty yards from me. A lump formed in my sore throat. I swallowed hard and slowly took one step in front of the other.
"Elena?"
Silence.
Little by little, the motionless person seemed familiar to me. When I was only a few steps away, I felt a wave of nausea. I turned on my side and gagged. My stomach was empty. The only thing that came up was my gall. My throat started to burn even more. Tears welled up in my eyes.
The figure in front of me hardly resembled the woman who had been like a mother to me. My gaze wandered back to the disfigured person. I stared through her in a daze. I didn't know how long I had been standing there when I heard a noise next to me. It tore me out of my freeze and I looked at the nearby edge of the forest. There was a man standing there. Stunned, he stared at the motionless, blood-smeared body in front of me. Slowly his gaze wandered to me before the panic finally seized him and he stumbled backwards into the forest. That's when I realized what that meant. He would now run into town and tell people about it. They would come and get me. My gaze fell on Elena one last time before I started walking without thinking about it.
I ran and ran. Just like in my dream. And this time too, tears ran down my face. The same images played back over and over in my head. I alternately saw the men from my dream and Elena lying there, covered in blood and disfigured. All of a sudden I realized that it had never been just a dream. It really happened. I had these men on my conscience, just like Elena. Panicked sobs rose in my throat.
What the fuck was i?
The people here were right.I was a monster, a demon!
Part of me wanted to stand still, wanted to surrender itself to the people. But something was stopping me. Something made me keep walking, and even faster, until the trees around me blurred again and my legs were again just floating over the forest floor.
The sun had long since set when I stopped. It must have been hours. My tears had run dry by now. I sat down in the damp leaves, drew my legs to my body and wrapped my arms around her. It started to rain, but I didn't even notice it. The numbness seized me again and I was grateful that I no longer had to feel the pain.
I didn't know how long I sat like that. At some point I lay down apathetically on the damp leaves and curled up. Shortly thereafter, I fell into a restless, nightmarish sleep.