TURO'S WARNING AND PROSEO'S RITUALS

AYERA'S POV

I barely slept for a few hours because of what I saw. How could that have happened? Was I hallucinating? Was I just too exhausted that my mind started imagining things?

My head was spinning. Ever since my parents died, strange things kept happening each one more terrifying than the last. Every single day, something new seemed designed to scare me. Despite being sleep-deprived, I had no choice but to go to the farm with Turo.

While trimming the plants, I was growing irritated at Turo. He wouldn't stop barking, like he was sensing something unseen. And honestly, for the past few days, I also felt like someone or something was always watching me.

I approached Turo and followed his gaze into the tall grass. He was focused, growling at something hidden. I squinted, trying to see what was there, but the afternoon sun was blinding.

Then I jumped, someone touched my shoulder. It was only Rino.

“Ayera, come eat. We cooked wild boar it was caught earlier,” he offered.

I knew I was hungry and tired, so I didn’t argue. I joined them for lunch.

“That boar was huge,” said Rino’s father. “A hunter sold it to me at a cheap price. Odd-looking though.”

“Was it that wrinkly-faced man? The one vendors always chase away from the market?” added one of the farmhands.

Rino’s father nodded. “Yes, that’s him. He said I could have it for cheap, as long as I shared it with the rest of the workers.”

I stayed quiet as I ate, the description slowly clicking in my mind. That wrinkled man—they were talking about the same man I saw being chased away. I had glimpsed part of his face. The memory made me uneasy.

After eating, we went back to work. When dusk came, people started heading home.

I told them I could walk back alone. They insisted on accompanying me, but I refused. In the end, it was just me and Turo walking the narrow dirt path. Past Sita’s house, the trail was full of overgrown trees. I had walked it many times before—but it felt different now. There was no Arturo to meet me at the gate. No parents waiting by the window.

We weren’t far when Turo barked again, loud and aggressive, like earlier at the farm. He suddenly sprinted off into the woods.

“Wait—Turo!” I cried and ran after him.

It was dark much darker beneath the trees. My heart raced. I couldn’t see Turo anymore. I kept calling his name, my voice cracking, nearly in tears.

“Turo!” I screamed, desperate.

Then I froze, I heard rustling.

“Who’s there—?” I didn’t finish. A hand covered my mouth.

“It's me—Lito,” the voice whispered, letting go of me. He held up a lantern. I turned to him, relieved it was someone I knew.

“What are you doing here?” I asked, shaken.

“What about you? This area near your house, someone saw the killer from the market run this way. He’s probably hiding around here,” he said, pulling me gently away from the woods.

“My mother asked me to check on you and bring food. I was on my way when I heard you shouting.”

I stopped walking. “Wait, Lito. I need to find Turo. He ran off somewhere in there—”

“It’s not safe, Ayera. We’ll look for him in the morning. For now, you need to get inside.”

I wanted to argue, but I was already standing at my doorstep. Lito left after giving me the food. I couldn’t eat. All I could do was cry—for Turo, who was still out there in the dark, alone.

I silently wished I’d wake up and see him again… maybe sitting beside the garden like the last time.

THIRD PERSON POV

Proseo had finally gotten the chance to get close to Ayera—the girl he had watched from afar for years. Even back when she was still in school, he knew her name. Her beauty was known across the neighboring Sitio, and that alone was enough to make him obsessed.

But what truly infuriated him was how Ayera was always with Arturo. The sight of them together made his blood boil especially when he caught them hugging in the cemetery.

Still, Proseo waited patiently for his chance. He had recently drawn close to her house. His only move so far was to knock and linger quietly. He was lucky—Ayera caught him once, but she hadn’t seen his face.

He returned to his remote house, hidden deep within the forest. There, he began preparing a ritual—one that would allow him to visit Ayera in her dreams.

But before the ritual could work, a sacrifice was needed—a life for a dream.

Proseo grinned in the flickering candlelight.

Because now… he knew exactly who he was going to kill.