He tilts his head slightly, studying me the way you study a puzzle you’re close to solving. “I figured. You look like someone who belongs here.”

That throws me. I cautiously ask, “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Bennett shrugs, fidgeting with his pack again. “Just an observation.” He pauses, then smirks, showing a dimple on his left cheek. “You work at that cafe in town, don’t you?”

A sharp, instinctual jolt flares in my chest. My fingers curl slightly at my sides. “Yeah. How’d you know?”

He smiles, but it doesn’t quite reach his eyes. “Small towns. Word travels fast. You’re also wearing a shirt with the cafe logo on it.”

I exhale, forcing myself to relax. Maybe I’m being paranoid. Maybe the last week has just made me overly cautious. But still… there’s a wrongness about him feels off.

He looks like he’s about to say more but he shifts his weight as he’s about to leave, “Well Theo, thanks for the directions. I’ll see you around.”

“See you, man,” I say as he walks away. I study his retreating figure for a moment longer before turning away. His words don’t sit right with me, and it isn’t until he is out of sight that I realize I never gave him my name.

A slow, cold unease creeps down my spine.

Who the fuck is Bennett and how does he know my name? He looks familiar, but I don’t think I’ve met him before.

The trail feels quieter now, my thoughts are anything but. I can’t shake the feeling that Bennett’s appearance isn’t just random. The path ahead stretches endlessly before me, the trees standing still, the breeze whispering through the leaves. I take a breath, trying to shake it off, but the unease lingers.

3

Selene

The crisp mountain air fills my lungs, my thoughts lingering on the high of finishing up another project. Yesterday marked the culmination of a week of painstaking work–hours spent poring over sketches, tweaking colors, and chasing those elusive moments when everything finally clicked into place. Sending the final designs off felt like reaching the summit of a mountain, and I’m still riding the rush.

Umbra just finished recording their fourth studio album and I am lucky enough to be one of the first to hear it. When I arrived home after my embarrassing run-in with Theo a week ago, I found a package waiting on my doorstep. I hadn’t expected it so soon—it was almost like they knew exactly when I’d need the distraction.

Inside was a notebook filled with scribbles of lyrics and little sketches, along with three CDs. The first CD contained their upcoming album, the second held potential bonus tracks, and the third contained imagery I could incorporate in the artwork for the album of the new concepts for their face veils and elaborate costume designs.