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I fill my trolley with everything that I need. Finally, I head to the ice cream aisle to stock up on frozen treats for my desserts. A woman is shopping with a baby in the seat of her trolley. She looks up as I approach and her warm expression changes to one of pure surprise.

"Hello," she says in a startled tone.

I smile politely back and try to look as though I belong here.

"Hey," I reply as I grab one of the tubs of Ben & Jerry's.

I think better of it and grab another two.

"Are you...are you okay?" She asks and then seems to realise how rude she sounds. "I'm sorry, I mean, are you lost?"

I give her a funny look. "No, I'm not, thank you."

I move on before she can say anything else. This place is seriously weird. I want to get out of here and back to the house, so I head straight for the first available checkout.

I can feel the cashier staring at me as I load the conveyor belt. Even when I'm finished and I move down to the end to package the stuff, she doesn't move.

I have to clear my throat and gesture to the conveyor belt. "Do you mind ringing them up, please?" I ask her.

She snaps out of it and shakes her head. "Sorry," she mutters. "So...are you visiting someone here?"

How do they know I'm not from here? Does everyone know everyone?

"Sort of," I reply vaguely.

I'm visiting a house, does that count?

The cashier doesn't say anything else, just silently beeps through my items.

"That will be £38.60."

I tap my card against the machine and put my bags into the trolley. I take my receipt from her. "Thank you."

"What a weird place," I mumble under my breath as I deposit the trolley outside and carry my bags to my car.

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Once again, I'm in the forest, but this time it's different. I can't put my finger on it straight away, but there is definitely something off. The grey wolf appears first and, unlike the other times, a darker grey one, almost an anthracite colour, appears next to it.

The two wolves circle me. Their gazes are predatory but not aggressive. It's hard to explain, it's like I innately know they won't hurt me, but they look like they want to eat me.

"Boys."

Both myself and the wolves look over at the woman standing by the trees. The wolves walk over to her, carry on past her and disappear into the forest. The woman approaches me with a look of both admiration and wariness on her face.

"Only you can fix this," she says simply, being as vague as she always is.

The two emerge from the trees and flank her, standing on either side and glaring at one another.

"Fix them," she orders.

"Them?" I repeat, managing to speak for the first time.

If I had to have a guess at what is going on, those two men do not like each other, and this woman seems to think I can do something about it.

"Them," she mirrors. "Fix them, Felicitas."

"Felicitas?"

I'm pulled from the dream and back into the real world by the monotone beeping of my alarm on my phone. I fumble to get my hand out from under the duvet and hit the stop button to make it shut up.

I set an alarm for nine o'clock just in case my body clock didn't wake me. With these strange dreams I've been having, it's been hard to stick to my usual 8am-rise schedule.

"Felicitas," I murmur the word to myself.

I've never heard of the word before, and it sounds surprisingly like my name.

Why am I dreaming about these people in the forest?

The dreams started before my aunt died, but the forest around her house is pretty much identical to the one in my dreams. I'm going to go for a walk in the forest today and see just how accurate my dreams have been about this place I have never been to before.

I'm probably going to freak myself out and end up thinking I'm some psychic with the ability to have premonitions or contact the dead, but I need answers. This is hardly the kind of thing I can talk to someone about; they'd think that I'm crazy.

Maybe I am.

After having breakfast and taking a shower, I dry my hair and dress in some comfortable clothes. I'm intending to hike through the forest, so I choose a pair of leggings, a hoodie, and trainers. It's not exactly warm outside, but it's not cold, either.

I put in some headphones, press play on my phone and tuck it in my main pocket of my hoodie. I lock up the house, go down the porch steps and head for the trees. I keep my hands rested in the pocket as I follow the well-trodden path between the trunks. It seems that this is a popular trail for the residents of Arcis.

I don't see anyone else on my walk, but I can confirm that this is almost identical to the forest in my dream. The pine needles are soft underfoot and provide a springy layer to walk on. The trunks are tall and thin, the sunlight comes through dappled and in golden streaks. It even smells the same, a little damp in the best way, like the smell after rain.

The clearing I unintentionally walk into has me stopping in my tracks. It is the one in my dream without a doubt. There is even the half-rotten stump of a fallen tree in the centre. I recognise it by the 'chicken of the woods' fungi growing through the bark.

I try as hard as I can to rationalise what I'm seeing, to justify it in some way with reasoning and logic. It's impossible. There is no way to explain how I have been dreaming about a forest I have never been in before until now.

The whole thing creeps me out and I decide to explore Arcis some more. I'm hoping the people I see this time don't stare like the others did last night. Has word spread about a stranger in their midst? Maybe they'll be used to me now? I hope so.

I cut across in a perpendicular angle and come out on Luna Avenue which leads to the main street. It's midday on a Monday, so I'm expecting mostly retired people and families about.

The first place I come to is a cute bistro. There are two brave groups sitting outside in the cool air and the windows are steamed up from all of the hot drinks and people inside. They are too busy with their conversations to pay any notice to me walking past.

The next is a bookshop and I stop to admire the display. A butchers and a shoe shop comes after. Across the road, I spot another coffee shop boasting easter-egg hot chocolates despite the fact Easter was over a week ago. Eager to try one nonetheless, I walk over to the crossing and press the button as there are a few cars on the road.

The lights change swiftly, and an incredibly flashy red car pulls to a stop. The quiet hum of the engine tells me straight away that it is an electric car. As I step onto the zebra crossing, my gaze, currently admiring the car, moves up to the driver.

The man has ebony skin quite a few shades darker than mine. His is the dark chocolate to my milk chocolate. I can't see very clearly but his eyes are a very dark brown and beautifully shaped in long slits like almonds. He has neatly maintained facial hair; a short, trimmed beard and moustache that outline his full lips that are pale brown around the edges and pinker in the middle.

His expression is a frown set heavily on his face. His eyebrows are low and drawn together. His thick fingers are wrapped around the wheel and his shoulders tense. As our eyes meet, the tension leaves his shoulders, and his hands slip from the wheel.

I don't realise that my steps have slowed to a stop. I stand directly in front of the car on the crossing, staring at one of the men from my dream. The dream I had about two hours ago. There is no mistaking him. What's even more surprising is that he seems to recognise me. The recognition is there on his face, right alongside pure shock.

It is only then that I realise there is a beautiful woman sitting next to him in the car. She puts her hand on his shoulder and shakes it, but he doesn't tear his gaze away from me.

A car pulls up behind him and honks loudly, breaking my trance. I snap out of it and realise that the lights must have changed, and I am standing in the middle of the crossing like a complete idiot. My muscles twitch and I stumble forwards, speed-walking to the safety of the pavement on the other side of the road. I turn and watch as the electric car turns at the junction and disappears around the corner.

I guess it wasn't just a dream.

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