Chapter 59 Sharpen Senses

• Bertha's POV
• I feel it—the sudden shift in the air, the quiet, and the insidious pull of being followed. At first, I thought I was just being paranoid. After all, the world has been a bit too still lately. The calm before the storm, they say. But no—there's something there, a subtle ripple in the atmosphere.
• I stop and the wind nips at my face as I continue down the path, quiet, at the edge of the forest. It's late afternoon already, the sun lower in the sky, long shadows stretching on the ground. The woods are familiar, comforting, yet different now.