Standing in the middle of the room, Anaya smiled to herself. She felt light for the first time in days, and she hoped the feeling would last forever. She knew it was because of Icarus, who had been nothing but loving and caring to her throughout their time spent together. She was ready to collapse on the bed when she realized something bizarre. The room was completely devoid of furniture, with cobwebs and dust covering every nook and cranny, as though no one had lived there in a long time.

She whirled in confusion and noticed the walls slowly advancing towards her. Her eyes widened and sheer panic gripped her throat with its icy fingers, freezing her on the spot. Without a single door or window, there was no escape. She did not know what else to do but push the walls with all the strength she could muster. It was futile. She was quickly losing her breath.

Hands reached out and grabbed her shoulders. 

"Leave me!" she screamed, tears streaming down her cheeks. 

"Anaya!" yelled a voice, sounding a lot like Icarus. "Darling, wake up. It's just a nightmare." He shook her shoulders again, and her eyes fluttered open as she gradually became aware of her surroundings. She blinked away the remnants of sleep and met Icarus' concerned gaze. He pulled her into his arms and kissed the top of her head. 

"It felt so real," she whispered, wiping the wetness from her face with the back of her hands.

He tightened his hold around her and ran his palm along her back in a comforting gesture. "What did you see?"

"Walls were closing in on me. I was about to get suffocated." 

Icarus fell silent while Cy roared inside him. If he could erase the events of the past few days, he would gladly do so to relieve her stress. "Go back to sleep?"

She clutched his T-shirt and glanced up at him. "I-I am afraid."

"I will be with you, I promise."

She hesitated before lying on top of the covers. He landed next to her and wrapped his arms around her waist, drawing her close in a way she could feel the heat radiating from his body and engulfing her in a protective cocoon. It was easy to forget everything else with him. She closed her eyes and listened to the steady rhythm of his heartbeat.

Minutes later, just when sleep had almost succeeded in seducing her, his stomach grumbled loudly enough to be heard over the silence. Anaya's eyes cracked open, and she sat up. "You haven't had lunch?"

"Uh, I came in earlier to call you, but you were—"

"I am hungry." 

"Yeah?" When she nodded, he could not contain his smile. He had been worried about her lack of appetite and was relieved to know that it had returned. He took her hand in his and entwined their fingers. "All right, then, let's go." 

They exited the room and descended the stairs. Anaya was puzzled when he did not turn in the direction of the dining hall. She opened her mouth to question him, but he pushed the back door of the house, revealing a garden. A wooden table and chairs were placed in the far left corner under the shade of a crab apple tree, and in front of it was an oval-shaped pond, housing water lilies and goldfishes. On the other side, colorful pots and planters of various shapes and sizes lined the boundaries, ablaze with flowers, berries, and herbs, half of which she could not identify.

"I asked Lisa to set up our lunch here. Is it fine?" He pulled out a chair for her before dragging the other chair to the opposite side of the table so they were face to face.

Anaya inhaled the crisp, sweet air. "This is refreshing, Icarus. Thank you."

He nodded and removed the covers from the dishes, causing Anaya's stomach to growl when the delectable aroma wafted up to her nostril. She licked her lips and waited patiently as Icarus loaded their bowls with chicken and dumplings. She did not waste any time diving in, and the first bite left her feeling like she had not eaten in ages. Icarus chuckled at the satisfied noises she made.

Halfway through, her eyes fell on his untouched bowl. He twisted the spoon between his fingers but not once did he lift it to his mouth. 

She placed her hand over his which was resting on the table. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Why do you ask?" 

"Tell me."

"There isn't—"

"Does it have anything to do with the recent attacks?"

Icarus sighed. "Do you remember the man we helped?"

She did not comment on the "we" part, although it was only Icarus who had healed him while she had sat in stunned silence, watching him do wonders. The man had lost a limb and suffered severe internal injuries. He was barely hanging on to life by a thread but Icarus had saved him. It was no less than being given a second chance at life.

"Much better. He and Mason stopped by while you were asleep. He finally remembers everything. It was the beast who nearly killed him."

Anaya's heart thudded as fear forced its way. "Beast?"

"Yeah, but Nicholas disagrees."

"What? Why?"

"Because the beast does not spare anyone."

Anaya leaned back, processing what he said. "Did he say how the beast looks?"

"No. Something swooped down from the sky and bit a chunk of his arm. It attacked him again before he could react. He was knocked out."

"Sounds like something the beast would do." Anaya shuddered.

"I thought so. But Nicholas wants us to keep investigating the matter. He is sure it's not the beast."

"How can he be certain?"

"The beast appears only at midnight, but the man was attacked in the afternoon."

"Perhaps it decided to kill in the afternoon?"

"Nicholas claims to have observed the beast and is familiar with its routine."

"Huh. That's odd."

There was a knock on the door. Nicholas stepped into their line of sight and bowed. "Please accept my apologies for the interruption. The healer has arrived to see Luna. She needs answers to a few questions before she can work on a cure."

Icarus turned to Anaya, leaving it to her to make the call. She gave a slight nod. "We will be inside in a minute."

Nicholas bowed and made himself scarce.

"Do you really think the healers can find a cure?" She pushed back the chair and stood up, taking Icarus' extended hand as they made their way to the living room. 

"They have to."

"Alpha, Luna." Mrs. Hans bowed to them.

"Follow us," Icarus said, climbing up the stairs with Anaya. Once inside the room, he gestured for her to take a seat across from Anaya and him on the couch.

"What do you want to ask?"

Mrs. Hans hesitated, glancing at Anaya, seeking permission.

"Go ahead." She handed her a cup of tea and leaned against Icarus' side. He wouldn't push it if she asked him to leave them, but she wanted him by her side.

"Do you recall when you started hallucinating?"

"Um, yeah." She gulped. "The first time I hallucinated, I was staying with a middle-class couple. The woman was a homemaker and the man was a university lecturer. They adopted me because they were unable to have children. I was the apple of their eye. We were happy. I finally had parents. Others at the orphanage had overheard me talking to myself. I could not recall anything like that when they told me. But it happened again. It was an endless cycle of hallucinating and forgetting. I was normal and I was not. This became a frequent occurrence, so they alerted Aunt Anita. She drove me to the hospital."

"How old were you?" 

"15." 

"What treatment did you receive?"

"Several sessions of therapy and anti-psychotic medicines." 

"Did it work?"

"For a few years. But the symptoms worsened, and I experienced a second hallucination. I was living alone in a flat and working in a restaurant as a cook. But after clearing my hospital bills, I did not have enough money to pay rent. My landlady, Rita, brought three girls to share the flat with me. Diya, Laura, and Megan were everything I had always wanted in friends."

"So, you knew it was false the second time you were hallucinating?"

"No. I had forgotten about my diagnosis. Everything felt very real. I could interact with them."

 "Why did you go to the hospital then?" 

 "I used to get a fever every couple of days."

"Hallucinations and fever. Have you shown any other symptoms?"

"Headaches. I also have strange dreams from time to time, but I can't remember them for the life of me."

"Did anyone else notice anything during the second hallucination?"

"Aunt Anita was struggling with knee pain. She could not stand for long hours and needed to rest. I cooked, cleaned, and went out to get supplies for the kids. I'm sure someone would have noticed if they were my age, but I was mostly alone."

"May I know why you never left the orphanage?"

Anaya gave a smile filled with bitter sadness. "No one wanted to adopt me, so while the kids came and went, I stayed." 

Mrs. Hans' forehead creased, and she felt an overflowing rush of sadness for her Luna, but she didn't think it was her place to inquire. What she did realize was that it must have been lonely. "Is there any situation you think must have preceded the hallucinations?"

"We went to a picnic when I was thirteen. I slipped and fell into a lake. I did not know how to swim. Everyone around me had laughed until Aunt Anita had come rushing. That near-drowning incident turned into a traumatic experience. After that, every time we had a picnic or were near a waterbody, I felt anxious. I didn't trust the others. I mean, we were friends, you know? But they did not help me. I eventually withdrew from them." 

"Did you have hallucinations after coming here?"

Anaya slowly shook her head, realisation hitting her square in the face. "I don't think I would have ever known if I hadn't visited Aunt Anita. When Icarus and I were driving back from the orphanage, I noticed Diya and Laura in the backseat. They called me insane. And earlier today, Megan and Diya were sitting at the edge of my bed."

"Did the medicine not work?" Icarus frowned.

"It takes time to react," Mrs. Hans said quietly before shifting her attention to Anaya. "It triggered your mental illness."

No matter how much those words choked her, she could not deny it. "Seems so."

Mrs. Hans bowed. "I'll take your leave now."

Anaya gazed at her retreating figure until Icarus shut the door and locked it. He cradled her face in his hands and urged her to look up at him. Distress reflected in her eyes, and he couldn't begin to express how powerless he felt seeing her like that, ready to be swallowed by the darkness any moment. "Get ready."

"What?"

"I want to take you somewhere."