"Wake up, little girl."

The howling wind smothers the voice, but I know it all the same.

"It's time for us to have a chat about your little game!"

I open my eyes, and I'm back on the plain. The sun’s risen higher now; it's either late morning or midday. Still, the familiar, endless darkness waits at the edges of the world.

I'm lying on my stomach at the base of the hill, back in that awful dress.

Rhythmic creaking echoes in the distance.

I rise and stare up at the hill, at the little forms crawling across it.

Siron sways back and forth on her swing.

I walk toward the hill, this time under my own agency. I'm not as scared as I was the first time I was...

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