The challenge in the bathing hut
The bathing hut stood still, set apart from the rest, its door always seeming to be waiting for someone. Swann went in alone, leaving behind the echo of the challenge Kat had issued with a smile. Inside, light streamed in in thin rays, as if the air were made of ancient secrets. Swann took a deep breath. The silence enveloped her like a cold blanket. Then she said the name, softly, almost a whisper: Vericona Mary. The wood did not creak. The wind did not speak. But something responded, not with sound, but with a faint presence that brushed against her skin like a voiceless question. Swann walked out slowly, closing the door behind her. Kat was waiting outside, laughing, thinking it was all just a game. Swann said nothing. Because what she had felt in there was not fear, just a mystery she decided to keep to herself.