Chapter One

Gwendolyn Young, 5:00 PM

Gwen walked down the lonely street in her black boots for the second week since she was transferred to Brasov–a city in Transylvania, Romania which was ringed by the Carpathian mountains.

She felt chills running down her spine and glanced over her shoulder, while hastening her footsteps. She solemnly wondered why the street was usually lonely whenever she returned home from work. Gwen shrugged and took in a deep breath before shoving every atom of negativity away.

She held on to the handle of her brown leather bag and walked in a carefree manner, whistling a song she heard on the radio earlier. A smile crawled up her face when she approached her bungalow and dusted her boots on the first staircase before climbing up and pulling out her keys. Suddenly, she felt a presence behind her, and she spun quickly, almost getting a mini heart attack.

"Ah!" Gwen's eyes widened, fear flashing in them for few seconds and vanishing the moment she saw it was a delivery guy in a pink face cap, who flinched too, preventing a wrapped box from falling out of his hands. "You scared me."

Her hand caressed her rising and falling chest as she squinted her eyes, trying to see what he looked like, but his cap was in the way.

"Îmi cer scuze." He chuckled, his Adams apple moved up and down.

Gwen's brows knitted into a frown and a small smile played at the corners of her lips as she said, "Wow! You don't speak English?"

"Nu." He shook his head and adjusted his cap to cover his face more.

"And you must be the delivery guy. I see I have a package, yeah?" Gwen gestured with her hands, pointing at the package with a friendly expression etched to her face.

He nodded then stretched his hands. With that, she collected the box and signed his book before placing a tip in the breast pocket of his rumpled grey shirt.

"Thank you." Gwen turned and unlocked her door.

She felt the skin of her neck tingling with goosebumps, and she spun slightly and spotted the delivery guy still standing and just staring, creeping her out.

"You need something?" Her brows arched up.

"Scuze," he said then left immediately.

Gwen locked the door behind her and dropped the box on her black leather couch. She heaved a sigh of relief then snaked her hands under her shirt and found the hook of her bra. She removed it and flung it on the couch.

"What the hell is scuze and is that some Romania language or something?" Gwen asked no one in particular before picking up her phone and typing the word scuze on Google. "Oh, so it means sorry in Romanian. Nice."

Gwen kicked off her heels and freed her ponytail, sending it down in black waves.

"Now, what's this?" Gwen asked, holding the box up and shaking it to her ears to see if it was a bomb.

She narrowed her brown eyes at a red stain on the box and hummed, stroking her index finger at it. It looked like ketchup, and it spread to the other side of the blue box. Not thinking much about it, she unwrapped the box and saw a box of chocolate and a note.

It was from her best friend, Celia... Telling her of how much she missed her.

"Aw, Celia." Gwen pulled the box open immediately and took a bite out of the coconut coated in chocolate.

************

Gwen adjusted her glasses on the bridge of her nose and kissed the keyboard with her finger tips, typing like the professional she was. Her gaze was focused on the screen and strays of her ebony black hair got in her view every five seconds, causing her to blow it out of her eyes.

"Gwen?" Her colleague poked her head through the doorway of Gwen's office but didn't succeed in getting her attention. "Gwen!"

Gwen flinched, sending her papers flying to the ground.

"Hey..." Gwen smiled apologetically, glancing over her shoulder at the beauty behind her. "I'm sorry, Armani. I didn't hear you call."

"It's past seven already." Armani glanced at her wrist watch and back at Gwen, who had already reclined on her chair. "You're still working?"

"I just need to get this page done." Gwen exhaled, sitting up and popping her knuckles before typing again. "And I'm already at the last paragraph."

"Where do you live?" Armani asked, helping herself to the bowl of gummi bears sitting on Gwen's table.

"Brasov," replied Gwen, accompanied by the sound of her fingers typing rapidly on the keyboard.

"Brasov?" Armani gasped then sat quickly on the chair, blinking owlishly at Gwen.

"And done!" Gwen beamed, slamming her laptop shut and reclining with a demeanor of relief resting upon her. "What were you saying?"

"You live in Brasov, and you're still here," Armani paused to take a gander at her wrist watch with her jaw scraping the floor, "at seven?"

"Why, what's the big deal? I go home this late sometimes." Gwen shrugged, getting up to pack the papers off the floor and put some things into her bag.

"Whenever it's four PM, no one goes out into the streets in Brasov."

"Why?"

"It's dangerous, that's why!" Armani clapped once. "Legend has it that—"

"C'mon, those are just folktales." Gwen giggled, slipping her shoes on and putting on her coat. "I've never encountered any spirits before or thieves."

"No, not spirits... demons." Armani objected. "Okay, you're coming home with me."

"Thanks for your kindness, but I'm fine, really."

"I wasn't asking for your permission. You're coming." Armani snatched Gwen's bag and trudged out of the office.

"Armani..." Gwen sighed, left with no choice than to go after her.

The ride to Mani's house was silent, and Gwen dozed off for a bit before striding out of the car. Gwen thought Armani's place was beautiful. It was a tall building, painted in royal blue with shrubs on both sides.

"Shall we?" Armani gestured, and they got into an elevator that led to the fifth floor.

Gwen trailed behind Mani like a lost puppy, eyes surveying the hallway and stomach rumbling at the aroma of roasted chicken wafting from a door just next to Armani's.

"Welcome to my home." Armani unlocked her door and led Gwen in.

Gwen sat on her brown sofa and slipped off her flats, pushing them orderly to the side and falling in love with the grey paint.

*********

Armani's guitar hung loosely around her body as she dragged Gwen down the stairs to some cemented chair at the middle of the compound. The place was dimly lit by the outer street lights.

A guy dressed in a black hood and joggers walked out with his guitar strapped to his back.

"Sup." He nodded at Gwen, and she smiled, brushing her hair to the side.

"I'm okay."

"Gwen, this is George. George, this is Gwen, my new best friend." Armani mused, too giddy like a child.

Both friends shook hands and exchanged pleasantries.

George sat beside Armani and so did Gwen. They began to strum their guitars, and in no time, a sweet melody filled the air.

Armani's voice was beautiful and reminded Gwen of angels. George's was a baritone and could make a lady's knees weak.

Thirty minutes gone and they were still singing with a guy much shorter than George.

"Sing with us," Armani said, nudging Gwen a bit. "C'mon."

"I can't sing," Gwen refused, shaking her head.

Suddenly, the lights flickered, drawing Gwen's attention from the music. It flickered few more times before it became stable. Cold breeze enveloped her, and goosebumps trailed a line down her arms.

"You good?" Armani asked, and Gwen nodded.

A shadow could be seen from few walks away, and it approached them till a human was in sight. A tall boy approached them, dressed in a cotton button-down shirt and sweats.

The moment he was close enough, he wore a toothy grin that almost rendered Gwen speechless. His pearly whites shone under the dim light as he extended his hand for a handshake. Lost, that was the state the very moment threw her into.