Despite being awfully tired, Winona couldn't seem to get a wink of sleep. She tossed and turned in the bed all throughout the evening. With each passing hour she could hear the chiming of a large grandfather clock downstairs, echoing from below the stairs and throughout the hallway. The sun had now slipped down behind the mountains and the moon, though wrapped in hazy grey clouds, had come out. The crickets outside began to take their place in song as the howling wind whispered through the confines of the glass window behind her.

Along with the continuous sounding from the insects and the wind, she could also hear drips from a tap far down the hallway. She assumed it was from the bathroom, but it was loud enough for her to hear its constant 'plop plop' as it reverberated through the hallway. Though she had no clock to tell her the time, she already assumed from the position of the moon that the men downstairs had retired for the night.

She tried not to feel too frightened of the atmosphere in the room; the constant sounds and her body's desire to run away from it as far as she could. Seokjin is just outside. She told herself, pulling the sheets further up to her chin as it was a shield. Seokjin had seemed pretty adamant about chastising those who he deemed frightening to her. She doubted he would let anyone or anything harm her.

As the howling of the wind grew louder and more intense, Winona forced herself to close her eyes. If she just kept them closed, eventually sleep would take her. In the morning she would wake up, and the sun would be out. Everything was going to be fine. It's just an illusion, Winona. It's just an illusion. It's all in your head.

Ever so slowly, Winona drifted off in slumber, lying alone and vulnerable on the bed as the house around her creaked and cried and the wind shrilled against the window.

(Play the music)

Abruptly, Winona was startled awake by the sounds outside her room window. It was no longer the shrill cry of wind or the crickets chirping, no, what she heard was...music. Music was piercing through the night, sounding from behind the mountains. When Winona got up and turned to the window, she could once again see the large circus tent she had noticed earlier that morning in her earlier dream.

Winona felt extremely uncomfortable when she heard the loud music. It sounded like the typical, fun circus tunes, but as it bellowed across the fields and reverberated through her window, Winona could only describe it as ghostly and melancholy.

She watched as the circus lights pierced through the night sky, and for some reason, she couldn't help but feel curiosity as she watched them dance and cross each other in the dark. Some part of her wanted to run towards it, while her mind remained frightened of the place. Why did it keep appearing in her dream? She swore she hadn't seen a circus tent outside when she'd arrived earlier.

Suddenly, over the loud music Winona could hear the constant tapping of footsteps, slowly getting louder as they approached her door. Frightened that it was the same father-imposter from her last dream, she quickly turned from the window and slid back under the sheets, tucking them up to her chin.

It was then that the intruder quietly pushed back her door as if they didn't wish to disturb her. She forced herself to remain still despite the rapid beating in her chest and kept her eyelids slightly ajar as she waited for the person to approach her.

Almost noiseless footsteps patted across the creaking wood as the person came closer and closer to her vulnerable body. She felt like some carcass that was open for the person to see as she lay there, trying to calm her breathing. She watched the person as they came into her line of eyesight. When they reached the bed, she was expecting for them to reach out to grasp her and strangle her till there was no air left for her to consume.

It surprised her when all they did was gaze down at her, their neck twisting in an uncomfortable looking manner - to the side. She tried to guess who it could be, but their face was distorted from her lack of vision and their hair – being the only thing she could see as it was set alight by the moon - was the most unnatural hair colour she had ever seen.

Purple.

Was it a monster beside her bed? A humanoid? She hoped not.

'Winona, you're just imagining it.' She tried to chide herself. It was a dream after all. When she woke up, it would be all over. Winona forced herself to remain calm and still as if she were asleep as the intruder stared into her eyes. She expected they would leave after a while, but they did not.

An hour passed and the figure was still there, eyeing her as it stood beside her bed. Her body was beginning to feel tired of being so still, but she didn't dare move an inch for fear of the figure. So, she lay there, as still as a statue for several minutes afterward until the figure began to move.

One would have expected it was tired of watching and was now retreating to the door, but it did not. Instead, it leaned closer to Winona, who strained every muscle of her body to keep still. She could feel a faint breath against her neck as it pounded with her heartbeat, and then the breath continued upwards to her ear.

At this point, she was now holding her very breath in to keep from being discovered. She was beyond terrified, but she could not call out for Seokjin as that would alert the figure.

Without warning, a voice like honey slid its way into her ears.

"I know you're awake, Winona." It whispered, seeming amused. "I can feel your fear. I can hear your heartbeat..." It stopped as it took a breath, "strangling you until you have no choice but to submit to it's every will as it slowly paralyses you."

As if on cue, Winona's heart stopped, and her breathing became more intense. An entertained coo came from the intruder as they laid their hand on Winona's head, patronizingly patting it. "No need to be frightened, Liebling." It hummed.

Winona stifled a gasp as she recognized the sweet nickname.

"It's me, Jinnie." The once obscured face peered down into hers, revealing from the light of the moon it's terrifyingly long smile and eyes covered in soot coloured scars.

Winona screamed.

(Stop the music)

Pulling herself up from the bed again, Winona panted and puffed out the agony and terror she'd just endured in the realm of her imagination. This time, when she awoke, there was no horrifying circus music or lavender haired Jin. The room was entirely empty, besides her presence.

Quickly she clambered out of the bed to peer through the window. There was nothing in the distance – only the moon shining down through the haze of fog, illuminating the spear gated garden outside.

Relieved, Winona dropped back into the bed, breathing a sigh of relief. She could still see the slices from Jin's lips to his ears and the dripping soot over his lifeless eyes. She could still hear the chimes of the music, beckoning her to visit the circus. Now all that she could hear was the whining wind again. It was all just in my head.

She pulled herself back under the covers again, but she had no desire to fall back asleep again. As if life in her consciousness was not enough of a terror, her sleep was haunted by nightmares. It seemed as if she could face neither.

As she lay there thinking, she heard the abrupt sound of footsteps. Not again! She begged to no one in particular as she seized the sheets of her bed with such grip she could feel her fingernails piercing her palm through the fabric. She waited and waited for them to come to the room door again, but they never came, they simply resounded, closer to her room and then further away, in one place.

They were coming from the stairs.  

A/N:

Mind the mistakes I wrote this in a rush lmao