The Pink House

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Chapter 5 – The First Transformation

The pigeon stood at the entrance of the pink house.

Still.

Watching us.

Its black eyes reflected the moonlight like glass.

Behind it, the shadow inside the house slowly moved across the wall.

Navya grabbed my arm immediately.

“No. No no no. We are leaving RIGHT NOW,” she said shakily.

I couldn’t move.

The pigeon tilted its head strangely.

Then—

In a deep human voice, it whispered:

“She followed you.”

My blood ran cold.

Suddenly the pigeon’s body twisted violently.

Crack.

Its wings stretched unnaturally.

Crack.

Bones snapped inside its tiny body.

Navya screamed.

The pigeon slowly began changing shape.

Feathers fell onto the ground.

Its body became larger.

Longer.

Human.

Within seconds, a thin boy stood where the pigeon had been.

His skin looked pale gray.

His eyes were still completely black.

“I was trapped there for nine years,” he whispered weakly.

Navya stepped back in horror.

“What… are you?”

The boy ignored her.

Instead, he looked directly at me.

“You opened the path,” he said.

“The palace is awake again.”

Cold wind suddenly rushed through the village.

Every light in the nearby houses went out.

Darkness swallowed the street.

Then—

One by one—

Shapes appeared in the windows around us.

People standing completely still.

Watching.

Navya’s voice trembled.

“Why are they staring at us?”

The boy slowly turned toward the village.

“They are already under her control.”

My stomach dropped.

“What?”

“She cannot leave the palace fully yet,” he whispered. “So she enters people little by little… through dreams.”

The shadow inside the pink house suddenly moved closer to the door.

A soft female laugh echoed from inside.

The boy’s expression changed instantly.

“She’s coming.”

Navya grabbed my wrist tightly.

“We are DONE with this place!”

But before we could run—

All the people in the windows smiled at the same time.

And from inside the pink house—

We heard the sound again.

Zip.

ZIP.

As if something enormous was slowly opening from the inside.71Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuMn6zvmG9g

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