The night sky shimmered with quiet beauty above her, a tapestry of light that never failed to soothe her soul. Devika doubted she’d ever tire of it. In the absence of others, the stars had always been her silent companions, ever constant, ever shining. They drifted across the heavens like ancient sentinels, always within reach of her gaze.

She sat motionless beneath the towering pines, her soft blue eyes fixed upward. And yet… something was wrong.

These stars, why did they seem so unfamiliar?

Their patterns were strange, unfamiliar constellations etched across the dark. A quiet dread stirred in her chest, settling low in her gut like a stone in still water. The sky she had known, trusted, had changed.

Lowering her gaze, she took in her surroundings with new wariness. The trees stood tall and quiet around her, cloaked in snow and shadow. Rising slowly, she moved among them, silent, deliberate. She was a part of this forest as much as the wind or the snow-draped branches.

Her steps made no sound, blending with the hush of winter’s breath. In that familiar silence, the unease began to fade, soothed by the rhythm of the forest she thought she knew so well.