The next morning, Sooha woke with a jolt, the remnants of a nightmare clinging to her like cobwebs. Shadows from the night before danced in her mind, particularly the sensation of something cold creeping along her spine. Was it just a figment of her imagination? She struggled to separate reality from the echoes of her sleep.

"Sooha, dear! Come down for breakfast. Are you still sleeping?" her mother called from downstairs, her voice ringing with the warmth of normalcy. The sound wrapped around Sooha like a comforting blanket, and she sighed with relief.