Dawn came slower than usual. It felt muted, almost reluctant, as if the sun had taken one look at what we were doing and said, No thanks, you are on your own. The sky was technically bright behind us, but the moment we stepped beneath the thick canopy at the forest edge, the world shifted into a dim green twilight. Light filtered through leaves in soft stripes that looked more like illusions than actual sunlight.
The path ahead was narrow and swallowed by trees that bent inward as if trying to listen. Every sound felt too loud. Every breath echoed. Even my boots on the dirt sounded like footsteps from something twice my size.
I muttered under my breath, “Why is it always a forest? Why cannot the mark point to a bakery. Or a beach. Or literally anywhere with pastries.”
Nathan gave my han
