It was the third day of her arrival in the small town of Auburn, and the people were stirring with gossip about the strange girl who had appeared suddenly and seemed to have blown in with the autumnal leaves.

 “There she goes,” said Earl to the butcher as the newcomer walked past his diner, “look at how she moves— like a zombie.”

     The butcher saw the girl’s distant green eyes and disheveled hair and agreed something was unsettling about her. “Bud said he saw her out on the beach, half past midnight, standing there like a statue. Just staring at Shigir’s peak. Said when he started to approach she just up and disappeared.”

“I believe it. What’s Martha got to say about her?” said Earl.

     “Martha said the girl hasn’t spoken all of but two sentences since she checked in. Paid cash. Said the girl hasn’t turned off her lights or eaten since she’s gotten there either.”

     “She tell you her name?”

     “Sure did. Said her name is Lille.”

---

The freezing water drove coarse sand between Lille’s toes as the waves wrapped their icy claws around her ankles, sending goosebumps surging up her legs. The frigid water on her skin roused her from the dream that had carried her to the empty beach. Her eyes opened suddenly as she fell to her knees onto the cold wet sand, gasping for air as the tide crashed against her body. Lille looked up at the looming peak that jutted out into the sky above the town like an ancient overseer: “Is this where you want me to go!?” she screamed into the crashing waves. Her chest heaved as salty tears fell into the ocean.   “I’ll do it,” she said through exasperated breaths, “I’ll go. But please, just let this be the end. I can’t take it anymore!” she cried, her voice trailing into sobs.

Lille wasn’t sure how much time had passed as she kneeled there, staring up at the mountain that had appeared in her dreams like a ghoul. Just as she wasn’t sure exactly when she started having the dreams that led her to Auburn, Lille only knew that the dreams and the voice that called to her from within them had consumed her every waking thought since they had begun.

Lille could see her isolation in the waves as they crashed against the jagged foot of the mountain and hear the voice that brought her, in desperation, to this small town.

As she stared up at the mountain feeling herself ripped apart at its sight, the body’s primal need for nourishment threatened to tear her apart even further. Until she could no longer ignore her aching stomach and gathered herself to begin walking back towards the town.

The old copper bells hanging from the diner door rattled loudly as Lille entered. The abrupt silence that hung in the air as the door closed and the stares that followed her soggy trail of sand as she made her way to the bar went unnoticed by Lille in her wretched state.

     “Morning, mam!” said Earl, breaking the silence. “Uh, are you alright there, miss? Is there anything I can get for you?”

     “Coffee, please. And a menu.” muttered Lille, seating herself on a red stool at the bar.

     “Sure, sure, sure. But, here, how bout you take this towel and place it on that stool. Wouldn’t want the water to soak into the leather if you don’t mind.”

Lille looked down at her dripping pants, and the trail of water she’d left behind, and offered an apathetic, albeit sincere, apology.

     “It’s alright, darling,” said a scratchy woman seated beside her at the bar. “Earl will get you fixed right up, won’t you, Earl?” Earl frowned but complied with the woman’s request, knowing from experience that the woman’s scratchiness belied an even scratchier temperament.

     “Thank you, Earl. Now darling, how about you tell me your name?”

     “My name is Lille.”

     “Nice to meet you, Lille. I’m Mary. Since you’re new in town, I’ll let you in on a little secret. The omelet is the only thing worth eating for breakfast on Earl’s menu.”

     Earl could be heard huffing at Mary’s assessment as he moved about the kitchen.

     Lille did not protest as Mary placed an order on her behalf, accepting any help that brought her closer to calming her growling stomach. She had half hoped that the woman would lose interest in the idle chatter if she went along with her recommendation, but, being a small town, Mary took the capitulation as an invitation to press further. With a self-satisfied grin, Mary set to work on her prey: “So, darling, tell me. What brings you to our little town?”

     Lille, her hopes dashed, said, “I…came to hike Shigir’s peak.” At the mention of Shigir, Mary’s smile quickly faded, and the diner fell into a hush. But the prying and friendly facade promptly returned, “Shigir? Why would a cute little thing like you want to go there?”

     Just as Lille was about to conjure up a lie to answer Mary’s question, Earl placed a hearty omelet in front of her, which she scarfed down in earnest.

     Mary, preferring one-way conversations anyway, continued: “The Beaumont trail is a far better hike than the peaks, and it’s only two miles north of here. You’d be best to stay clear of Shigir if you know what’s good for you.”

     “What’s wrong with Shigir?” asked Lille innocently, watching Mary closely between chews.

     Earl, who had been eavesdropping since Lille seated herself at the bar, took the question as an opportunity to chime in. “That’s where the mayor’s brother disappeared,” he said with wide, goading eyes.

Lille watched as Earl expertly avoided Mary’s darting glances, “Disappeared?”

“Yep, happened about ten years ago. Round the time this town started started to pick up. Steve Auburn had just been elected and, his younger brother, Will, was the deputy mayor. Will had big plans for this place. Bigger than Steve and the rest of us were ready for.”

“What plans?” Lille pressed, the gnawing sense of hunger having been replaced by a sinking feeling in her stomach at the mention of the brother’s disappearance.

“Well, he wanted to build an observatory at the top of Shigir’s peak. Said it would turn this town into a hub of innovation and scientific who knows what. But the whole town, including his brother, had other plans, and an observatory wasn’t one of them.”

Mary jumped in, trying to change the subject, “Earl, let the girl eat in peace. She doesn’t need to hear about this old wive’s tail. As I was saying, the Beaumont trail—”

“No,” said Lille, firmly, “I want to hear it.”

Earl cast a triumphant smirk Mary’s way, happy to continue his story, “Will wasn’t someone who took no very well. He started climbing up the peak every day, against his brother’s wishes, making plans for this grand observatory. Sometimes he wouldn’t come down for days, and when he finally would appear, he was all out of sorts— muttering and covered in mud. He had the whole town worried about him. Then, one night, he hiked up the mountain and never returned. He just vanished.”

“Did anyone go up and look for him?” asked Lille.

“Sure, sure, sure,” started Earl, “Steve had the whole town up there. We didn’t find a single thing.”  

     Lille felt her body sink deeper into the barstool, as a familiar nausea crept into her stomach. “What happened to the mayor?”

     “Steve? He’s been a recluse ever since. Pretty much left Mary here to run the town. Barely leaves the Auburn family farm.”

     Lille abruptly stood and paid for the meal, quickly leaving the diner and heading back to the inn for some dry clothes, intent on following the queasy sensation that arose suddenly as she learned of the lost brother. Earl and Mary called out to Lille that the mayor didn’t like any visitors, but their warnings fell on deaf ears as she was already halfway out the door.

     Lille asked the innkeeper for directions to the farm and if she could borrow a bike, surprising herself and the owner with the fervent energy behind her requests. Once properly equipped, she set off for the farm, driven by an overwhelming fixation to know more about the mayor’s lost brother and learn whatever she could about his strange disappearance into the misty peaks of Shigir. The graveled streets of the town crunched beneath Lille’s tires as she pedaled. Cold air flowed gently against her skin, transporting her mind back to the dreams whose images had frozen her world in time, and threatened her sanity with their madness. At first, the voice in the dreams had been a faint whisper, like the frigid breeze that now blew against her face, seducing her with messages that felt just beyond her reach. Every night as she would lay her head to rest, the voice would grow louder, bolder, but always just beyond comprehension, until she found herself eagerly awaiting nightfall so she could try to decipher its message. After many nights of unaddressed curiosity, finally, the voice’s words echoed clearly and unmistakably across the chasm:

     Come to me.

     Where? Lille heard herself asking, but as soon as the words were spoken she felt the dream torn away, and she found herself startled awake, covered in a cold sweat, gasping for air. From then on, her dreams became a flurry of images and echoes that she had tried desperately to unravel. But, all the voice would offer in return for her questions were the same haunting words: Come to me. Lille’s nights began to feel like an inescapable foray into the voice’s mysterious world, and her days offered no reprieve from the dreams that slithered their way around her mind, constricting her thoughts until she could think of nothing else. Months passed of this unending cycle. Most nights, Lille found herself sitting at the edge of her bed, tears streaming from her shadow-cupped eyes, fighting to stay awake for fear of how the voice would torment her next; eventually, the body’s need for rest muted all fears, and Lille would drift off to sleep, upright and half out of her mind with exhaustion.

As soon as sleep had overtaken her, she could hear the voices call: Come to me.

     Lille’s shouts echoed across the dark dreamscape: I can’t!  You have to show me where you are!

     Come to me.

     Can’t you hear me?! she yelled, her knuckles now paled as she buried her face against them. Why are you doing this!?

     Witness! said the voice.

     Lille lifted her head, a different response— in front of her was a small empty beach, its dark waters expanding infinitely in the distance. She felt herself stepping towards the tide, but where she expected to feel sand beneath her feet, she felt instead the rocky surface of gravel. The dark ocean had dropped away, leaving a single-story house in its place. Resting beside the door, Lille could see a small bronze plaque come into focus, with a name engraved on its coppery surface: Auburn. Lille whispered the name into the void, and as she did, the white house exploded into dark shadows that billowed and enveloped her in their blackness, blinding her. A pale white figure suddenly appeared in the darkness, its nude androgynous body hanging limp and twitching viciously in the void. Lille’s hands instinctively covered her ears as a piercing growl ripped through the space between her and the horrifying humanoid, sucking her in with its scream at terrifying speeds. Lille wailed in horror as the pale figure drew near, and she saw that its head wore her face. She was covered in blood, flames bursting forth from her eyes scorching her innards. Lille flailed back from the hellish sight, the forceful motion jerking her awake, only to find that her hands were gripping the cold railing of a bridge. She pushed herself back from the edge, out of view from the deadly black water below, sobbing.

The next day, she found herself on a train to Auburn.