Luhan was not sure about the house. He drove quietly through the immense autumn forest and up the winding road – he stopped at the gates. There was an eerie gloom that settled around the estate to match the lack of colour that had drained with time. He peered up at the rusting iron gates and shivered at the cold chill of the wind. Was this really the place he had bought?

Cutting the engine of his car, Luhan opened the door and stepped out onto the path, the crisp, amber leaves rustling under his feet. He made his way towards the gate and shoved it open. With a loud groan and a shift of the thick ivy covering the top, it reluctantly moved, allowing him to enter. A strong wind whipped around him and he shivered, hurrying inside.

The dust around the house was one of many clear signs that the house was very old and plagued with neglect. It was practically untouched and Luhan was amazed at how perfectly everything was arranged after so many years without residents. Once inside, he made his way up the creaking stairs to what would be his room. The open window made the decaying curtains flutter inside and ivy grew up the faded walls.

Luhan spent the day clearing the house getting rid of the ivy, the old furniture and the dust. If he wanted to make it his home he would have a lot of work to do, he knew that. When he bought the house, it had been very cheap and seemed to be the perfect hide away to escape the city and write books. With the right attention and hard work, it could become that.

As the sun started to set, he decided to take a rest from the work and go for a walk through the forest. He didn’t get very far before he came across a river in a clearing. The dim afternoon sunlight danced on the ripples in the water and made the floor of amber leaves glow beneath his feet. Small rabbits grazed happily on the other side of the river and the whole scene was so beautiful that it took his breath away. A large pine tree loomed over him with thick, low branches some of which dipped into the river. It was too tempting not to climb and he began to scramble up it. Once he reached the top he peered out over the forest and smiled towards the sinking sun. Yes, this place was perfect.

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The next morning, he set out for an early walk through the forest before working on the house again. The walk was short, the work was long and he ended another day exhausted. Despite this exhaustion he wanted to go back to the forest. Something about it, possibly its beauty, kept drawing him back there and he had to see the river again.

It was dark so he took a torch and carefully climbed the pine tree again. At the top he sat down on the highest branch and looked up. The night sky was lit up with an array of dazzling lights. He stared in awe; the stars had never been this bright in the city. He had always had a passion for space and the thought of the burning, exploding stars thousands of miles away was one that excited him. A shooting star streaked light across the sky for just a split second and he gasped. He quickly closed his eyes and thought of the wish he was going to make. He then looked up one last time before climbing down the tree again.

The dark had never scared Luhan and shining his torch to find the pathway he eagerly set off back to the house. He felt eyes watching him but assumed it was his imagination.

‘Typical,’ he muttered to himself. He was annoyed at himself for feeling jumpy and thought that he had probably watched too many films. In horror films, that one assumption of paranoia often landed the character in trouble. Except nothing did happen to him, and he made it home fine.

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The house was complete. He was surprised, after just a week of hard work it was finished. The house looked incredible and he was proud to call it his home. The forest called him and he rewarded himself by spending a day at the river, relaxing. He climbed the pine tree, skipped stones, drew sketches of the rabbits and made traps to catch them.

Finding himself at the top of the pine again he clutched his rumbling stomach and made his way down to his picnic lunch below. On the last branch he swung down and landed with a thump on the floor.

There was a figure on the other side of the river but after a second, it had hidden behind a tree.

‘Hello?’ Luhan called out. He slowly made his way up the river to stand opposite the spot where the person had been.

He spoke again, ‘I know you are there, come out.’ His eyes flickered around but there was no one there. Somehow they had snuck away.

After that day, Luhan made a habit of coming back to the river and climbing the pine every day. He noticed it clearly now. He had a second shadow. Wherever he went, whatever he did it was there, eyes watching him from a distance. There were there that night when he had walked home in the dark, and there were there now as he sat on the top branch of the pine tree. He was carefully witling a stick with his penknife, lost in his own thoughts, when he heard a yelp from below.

He quickly and carefully climbed down the tree not hesitating at the difficult parts. He knew it well now, his movements were effortless and climbing it did not require much thought. On the last branch he swung down to land with a thump on the floor. He looked around in search of the sound, expecting a rabbit to be caught in one of his traps. Instead of a rabbit, a person laid on the ground not far away, his leg caught in the snare of the trap. When he noticed Luhan, he stopped struggling and looked up with two huge brown eyes. He did not appear to be afraid and neither was Luhan.

Luhan walked swiftly over and quickly began untangling the stranger’s leg to set him free. The stranger seemed surprised and he sat absolutely still in silence until he was released. He then got up and began to walk away without a word. Luhan stood silently and watched every step he took until he could see him no more.