Chapter 4: Journal

Sunday morning at Alex's house was quiet, yet suffused with a gentle tension, as if the silence was merely a prelude to something greater. The golden light of the sun, which shyly broke through the heavy curtains, painted geometric patterns on the floor, resembling a code waiting to be solved. The air smelled of coffee and the freshness of the garden, where shrubs leaned in the light breeze as if whispering something.

Alex stretched in bed, letting the memories of the previous day flow freely through his thoughts. The mysterious journal, the key, the shadows of the forest.... It all seemed more like a dream than reality. He got up slowly, feeling the chill of the floor under his feet, and headed for the bathroom. The stream of water from the shower washed away his fatigue and the particles of earth that still lingered under his fingernails - a remnant of yesterday's discoveries. The smell of pancakes reached him as soon as he stepped out of the bathroom. He walked down the stairs, where he found his father at the kitchen counter, stirring the batter in an old, worn-out bowl.

- Good morning, son. The pancakes are ready. Mom is already at work, so today we have the house to ourselves," said his father, setting the bowl aside.

- Thanks, dad. They look amazing," Alex replied with a smile, sitting down at the table.

The pancakes were perfectly golden, crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. The sweet maple syrup combined with the aroma of vanilla reminded him of something from his childhood - a simple joy that seemed more and more distant. After the meal, Alex walked to the window, which offered a view of the town surrounded by fog. The fog shrouded the forest like a soft, white canvas, hiding all the secrets that were waiting to be discovered.

- Thanks for the breakfast, Dad. I really needed it," he chuckled thoughtfully, gazing at the tree line on the horizon.

His father put down the cloth he had just used to wipe the countertop and looked at him with concern.

- Get some rest today, son. But remember, tomorrow you go back to school, so don't stay up late with your "investigations."

Alex nodded, though his thoughts were already somewhere else.

- I know, but it's not just a simple investigation. It's the history of this place. We need to know the truth about what happened here.

Father sighed heavily, with concern in his eyes.

- Remember that the truth can be hard. Sometimes it's better to leave the past where it is. Be careful.

 - I promise, dad. I'll be careful," Alex replied, although inwardly he knew that he would not rest until he discovered what this strange journal hides.

When he returned to his room, he sat down at his desk and opened the find. The diary smelled of old paper and dampness, as if each page was steeped in history. The notes began in 1945, and the following pages led through the decades, from the 1950s to the 1960s to the 1970s. They were snippets of the lives of several young girls, each of whom seemed to be recording their experiences with the mysteries of the town of Arcane.

The accounts were increasingly uneasy, full of allusions to nocturnal encounters, footsteps leading deep into the woods, strange sounds and... disappearances. The word "Whispers" appeared repeatedly, always in a context full of fear and obsession. Alex moved his finger over one of the records, his heart speeding up.

- "Whispers lead us... We can't stop. They know we're here." - he read in a whisper.

Each entry seemed more disturbing than the previous one. Descriptions of strange events - from footprints in the woods, to visions, to the sudden disappearance of people - ran through page after page. The notes were imbued not only with fear, but also with determination, as if their authors felt they had to discover something that might be the key to survival.

Alex leaned back in his chair, his thoughts running fast. The diary girls had started something that had turned into an obsession and a mystery that he and his friends were now discovering. Each of them had disappeared from the pages of history, as if their fate was irrevocably tied to the darkness of the forest and the whispers that seemed to still resound in the shadows of the trees.

As Max and Emma, each in their own home, also tried to find a moment of rest, they felt the same. Sunday morning brought them a moment of silence, but a mystery connected them, like a web woven from invisible threads. Everything pointed to the fact that they had become part of something bigger - something that would not let them leave until they knew the truth. Everything was beginning to come together. But the question Alex kept repeating in his mind kept him guessing.

- Will we find the answers before what whispers in the darkness finds us? 

A full day passed. In his room, by the faint light of an old lamp, Alex paged through his diary. Each successive page seemed to suck him deeper into the world of past decades, full of secrets, understatements and whispers. The words written in handwriting seemed to live, pulsing with the emotions of girls who once decided to face something beyond their comprehension. The pages smelled of old paper and dampness, and each sentence was like another clanging of a warning bell.

**Dated 1945**.

"The night was full of whispers. Something that lurked between the trees and slipped into our dreams. We gather at night - me, Mary and Ruth - with flashlights and notebooks. Our parents say we're exaggerating, that it's child's play, but we see, we hear.... Yesterday Mary swore she saw something moving among the fog. Something that had no face. It's not just a forest. It's something more. And we need to discover it before... before it's too late."

**Dated 1953**.

"We found a symbol. Carved on the bark of an old oak tree, it looks like an ancient sign - a circle surrounded by lines that resemble rays or blades. We have no idea what it means, but we feel it's important. Maybe it's a warning? Or maybe... a summons? They say the forest has a memory. What if this is true? What if this sign is an echo of something that used to be here?"

**Dated 1962**.

"Dreams are changing. We hear sounds more and more often, even in closed houses. Last night something passed through our garden. Footprints were left on the ground - perfectly round, as if made by heavy bullets. We sleep with knives under our pillow, though I don't know if that will protect us. Today we discovered a strange hollow at the edge of the forest, as if someone had buried something big there. Maybe we can find answers there? But what if the buried thing is still alive?"

Alex felt chills travel along his spine. The girls weren't just investigating mysteries, they were part of something that seemed to elude reality more and more. The further he read, the stronger he felt that their fates resembled his own. And then he stumbled upon 1971.

**Dated 1971**.

"Sara began to speak in dreams. It wasn't any known language - the sounds she made were like a whisper of hundreds of voices at once. We recorded it. When we tried to understand what she was saying, it turned out to be a mixture of words from different languages - Latin, Greek, and even something no one could identify. What if it's not a human language? What if it's a message they're trying to give us? We can't stop, though sometimes I'm afraid we're getting too close..."

Alex swallowed his saliva, feeling the pressure in his head rise. His eyes burned and his hands trembled as he flipped the page. And then he came across the year 1980. Something in him triggered an immediate reaction - a feeling as if time around him had suddenly slowed down.

**Dated 1980**.

"Today I spent the whole day in the library again. In the piles of dusty books I found an old piece of paper - there was a map and strange symbols on it. The same ones I had seen before on trees. Alex... I met a boy who is also investigating what is happening in Heaven Arcane. He is convinced that it all makes sense, that we are on the trail of something bigger. His name sounds familiar, like an echo that repeats in my dreams. I don't know where this feeling comes from, but when I look at him, I feel like we've known each other for a long time. These symbols mean something. They are a key. I can feel it. But there is something else... Something that hides in the forest. Each night brings more dreams, and in them Alex and I stand on the edge of darkness. I know that if we go there, there will be no turning back. But I can't stop. I must know what the forest hides. Even if it costs me everything.

Alex pushed the journal away, his heart pounding like crazy. He felt like the blood was draining from his face and the world around him was beginning to wobble.

- Fuck... - he whispered. - What's going on here?

The words rolled around in his head, echoing.

Alex... Heaven Arcane... symbols... us both

But the worst came when he realized something that had previously been only a vague premonition.

- Emma... It is Emma, after all... - His voice trembled, and his hands tightened on the edge of the desk.

Images moved before his eyes - Emma in the woods, Emma in the library. Words from the diary wove their way into their shared conversations. Everything he had previously thought to be a coincidence suddenly took shape. But was it possible? Could time have just turned back like that, intertwining their fates with girls from decades ago?

He stood up abruptly, the chair toppled over with a bang. His legs were like cotton wool, and his mind was filled with questions. Everything pointed to one thing - the mystery they were investigating was not only about the past. She was engulfing them, drawing them into her vortex. But the most important question was: would they be able to escape before they became part of the same story?

In the semi-darkness of the room, Alex nervously flipped through the yellowed pages of his journal. Words from the past seeped into his mind, and reality seemed to blur into a thin mist that smelled of paper and dust. With each entry, he discovered facts so gruesome that his own imagination began to paint pictures he didn't want to see. He felt as if the diary was a living flashback - an echo of events he knew only from yesterday.

 Journal, September 9, 1980.

"Today I found them. Bones. Scattered in the dark heart of the forest, covered with a layer of rotting leaves and moisture, as if nature had decided to obliterate their presence forever. But that's not all - on one of the bones there was a strange mark, something that looked like a burnt symbol. As if someone wanted to warn of something that happened there. I don't understand its meaning, but I know it's important. The disappearances of people, the symbols on the trees, those bones.... It all seems to connect. But how? I don't know. All I know is that there is something in this forest that doesn't want to be discovered. And I ... I can't stop looking."

Alex turned the page, his heart thudding like mad, he felt his hands begin to tremble. Each sentence drew him in deeper, enmeshing him in a narrative that seemed all too familiar. The mark on the bones - he could almost see it in his imagination, complicated, foreign, yet familiar. He rubbed his eyes, trying to believe that what he was seeing was just a fragment of a foreign story. But the next words were like a dagger thrust into his thoughts. He read on, drawn deeper and deeper into the nightmarish details.

"As I went deeper into the forest, I came across more bones. Some were torn apart, others had their hands cut off - the cut was uneven, brutal, as if someone, or something, was trying to tear them apart by force. I can't understand it. The symbols on the trees are the same as those burned on the bones. This can't be a coincidence. But what does it all mean? Did these trees see something that no one else should see? This place is cursed."

Alex pushed the journal away, feeling nauseous. His imagination, fueled by the details of the entry, suggested images too vivid, too real. What was this all about? What forces were hiding in the forest, and why did they seem to be circling around him? He leaned over the desk, trying to catch his breath. But curiosity was stronger than fear. He turned the page. But before he read the further entry, he looked at the date - 1998.

 **Journal, June 5, 1998.

"I saw him again. Alex is investigating the town, still trying to discover the truth. Years have passed, and he still carries the same determination. But now I see something more - his body bears marks, the same symbols I discovered in the forest years ago. Is it possible that now he too is part of this place? Did this place choose him, as it once chose me? I feel that we are connected - me, the forest and him. But what does that mean? Sometimes I think that I can't leave. That I am doomed to wander through the shadows of this place, to follow them in their attempts to discover the truth. Maybe we are all prisoners of this mystery. Maybe it created us and will never let us go."

Alex's hands tightened on the edge of the journal. How could this be possible? He in 1998? After all, he was a child then. Or... or surely? What if his life, his memories, were part of something bigger that he couldn't yet understand? He furrowed his brow, trying to comprehend what was going on here. And then he saw another date - 2025.

**Journal, September 7, 2025**.

"I saw Alex. After all these years... I still try to avoid him, but today something changed. He walked into the cafeteria, and our gazes met for a brief moment. I knew he recognized me. I saw a shadow of understanding in his eyes, as if he finally knew. Does he know who I am? Did he recognize me, or does he just feel that something is wrong? I don't know what to do now. Fear is squeezing my throat again. In my dreams I see the same symbols, the same circle, and Alex.... He is inside. I don't know how it's possible, but I think that all of us - me, him - are part of something that never ends. A spiral that always leads back to this place. To the forest. Does it all start over again? Are our past, present and future connected in an endless loop? Is this our destiny? If so, why? And what really lurks in this forest that has bound us forever?"

Alex closed the journal with a clatter. His hands were damp and his heart was pounding like crazy. An entry from 2025. After all, it was impossible - was it Emma? That gray, almost ghostly figure he had noticed out of the corner of his eye? How could she be writing about him in a time that had not yet arrived?Suddenly the sound of the phone rang, violently interrupting his thoughts.

- Hey - He picked up mechanically.

 - Howdy. Tomorrow we see each other after the first lesson. I found something. Something important. Emma will also be there. Your skull will explode.

 - Sure," replied Alex, feeling the words come out of his mouth automatically. - Until tomorrow.

He set the phone down on the desk and his gaze fixed on the open window. The fresh air hit him in the face. It seemed denser, as if the town of Heaven Arcane was breathing along with him, heavy and slow. He stood there for a long moment, looking at the trees, which seemed to vibrate in the light of the street lamps. It all had to make sense - he just had to find the answer.

He returned to his desk. Cold head," he repeated in his mind. Together with Max and Emma, they must put this puzzle together. But now, at least for now, he hadn't told them everything. The bones, the symbols, the strange journal entries.... It all seemed to lead to a point that Alex didn't yet understand. But he knew one thing - something in the forest was waiting for them. And whatever it was, it wasn't going to let go.