A smell of warm toast and blue roses. I hear the sound of the television and a conversation in the background.
Suddenly, a staircase appears in front of me, and with each step I descend, I feel more comfortable.
"James! Come down, breakfast is ready!"
"Mom?"
"Who else would it be, silly?"
Everything brightens, and a table appears. My mother, father, and sister are there, and the table is overflowing with food. So... was it all just a nightmare?
I sit at the table and start eating like a barbarian. I wasn't hungry—I just didn't know what else to do. Fruit, eggs, bacon, toast. It was simple, but it felt like the best feast of my life. With every bite, tears streamed down my face.
I feel a hand gently brushing my cheek, wiping away my tears and comforting me.
"It's okay, sweetheart. I'm here now."
I try to respond, but I'm sobbing too hard.
"So much happened, Mom. A monster showed up, you all disappeared, and Grandma said you ran away."
I hugged her desperately as I spoke. That nightmare felt so real—I'd been trapped in it for months.
"It's okay now. I'll never leave you again."
I finally gather the courage to speak to my father and sister, but... their mouths are sewn shut like rag dolls, and they're frozen, as if they weren't real people.
"Dad? Sis? What happened to them?"
"You abandoned us, remember? You always abandon us."
The lights in the house start flickering, and the floor begins to shake. My father and sister start melting, and my mother's appearance begins to change. Her body turns pale, her arms and legs stretch unnaturally—she's becoming that White Nana.
I try to run, but my legs lock up. When I look down, I see myself—my face melting, bones exposed.
The room around me begins to whisper that it's all my fault. The Nana approaches slowly, and I can't move. What was real? What was a lie? I didn't know what to feel or what to believe.
...
"Hey, Kobba! Focus! What are you doing? Come help me!"
Suddenly, I'm back. Havenmere. A Nana on the floor and Naomi trying to administer first aid. Not great—but better than a house twisting into a nightmare.
"I got distracted for a few seconds. So, what do we do with him?"
Naomi looked straight into my eyes, as if she suspected something—but she continued.
"I don't know what kind of poison they gave him. I've never seen this kind of reaction. His skin..."
When I look at the Nana, I realize his fur isn't real—it's like he's a giant stuffed animal.
"It's like he's a doll."
I place my hand on my head at that moment. A doll? Just like my father and sister? Too much of a coincidence.
"Are you sure this is the work of the hunters, Naomi?"
"Who else could it be?"
I begin to slowly walk around the body, remembering what my grandmother had said.
"She told me there are two types of Nanas—those who come here to try to transcend, and the Stagnant."
"Since they took over the Cradle of Life, the Stagnant haven't been seen in ages. Why would they attack someone trying to transcend?"
"This doesn't feel like a simple attack. This Nana is turning into a doll—or more precisely, a puppet. They're not just attacking. They're trying to control other Nanas."
Naomi no longer spoke with certainty. She seemed just as confused as I was.
My grandmother suddenly appears in the shop, drawn by the noise we made. We quickly explain everything we've figured out.
"The Stagnant wouldn't have any reason to control other Nanas. Their main goal was to control the Cradle of Life. They never cared about what happened in our world. Unless..."
She starts tapping her foot rapidly. Her expression changes completely. She looks worried—deeply worried.
"I need to make the circle."
She runs off into the night like there's no tomorrow. I've never seen her like that. She left so fast the sound of her footsteps vanished with a snap.
"You! They need you!"
The Nana wakes up and grabs me by the shirt, repeating the same thing over and over.
"You can open the portal! They want you! They sent me here to get you!"
He kept saying "you" without even blinking. Naomi quickly pulled him away and tried to calm him down.
"First, we need to know who you are so we can help you."
She said, pushing him farther from me.
"Zeki! I'm Zeki Jordan! They sent me here to get the priest!"
"Who sent you?"
"The Stagnant."
They want me. So why did they only take my family when they had the chance? Are they afraid of a new portal opening?
Despite all that, what we really needed to worry about right now was the poison. Zeki's body was almost completely contaminated. I turned to Naomi for guidance.
"We need to transcend him as quickly as possible. He's about to be fully taken over."
Naomi placed the tip of her finger on Zeki's forehead and closed her eyes. She seemed to be conducting a deep analysis.
"You were a thief. Actually, you seemed very good at it—probably never would've been caught. But..."
"I didn't want to do it, I swear! I was a thief, but not a killer."
Zeki jumped back. His expression shifted from desperation to something like a sad puppy.
He placed his hands on the ground, assuming a quadrupedal stance. His goat legs began to glow, and with a single leap, he vanished.
"Why did you let him go so easily? What if he loses control again?"
"No worries. I know exactly where he went."
Naomi started walking deeper into the house.
"Kobba, have you ever been to Los Angeles?"
"Never."
"Then get ready—we're going to Hollywood!"
Havenmere was in the northwest corner of Utah. It would take at least ten hours by car to reach Los Angeles.
"Los Angeles? We won't make it in time."
"Remember those marks above every door in this house?"
Naomi stopped in front of the bathroom door, stared at the symbol above it, and began talking to herself.
"Hello? Anyone awake in there?"
I placed my hand on her shoulder, annoyed by what I was seeing.
"This isn't the time for jokes, Naomi. What are you doing?"
The symbol began to glow, and a voice responded.
"Going to the beach at this hour, girl? You young people are a menace..."
"I swear it's serious this time. I think someone would love to try out the new nail polish I bought."
The symbol faded after the sound of a call ending, and suddenly the door turned into a portal. A bright blue light burst forth like a black hole, pulling me in. I tried to hold onto the wall, but Naomi grabbed my leg and shouted:
"Let's go to the beaaaach!"
I never imagined I'd be so afraid of going to Los Angeles...