Behind Closed-eyes

Mr. Park rubbed his temples, his desk buried under stacks of case files. The incidents surrounding Maya were unlike anything he had ever encountered, yet they bore a disturbing resemblance to cold cases he had stumbled upon years ago. Women vanishing without a trace, each of them reporting strange bruises and haunting visions before disappearing.

He pulled out a dusty folder labeled "The Vanished" and began cross-referencing details. The similarities were chilling. Each victim had received bruises that seemed to move and change shape. Witnesses reported sightings of shadowy figures near their homes before their disappearances. And then there was the most disturbing pattern—each case was tied to an object, something mundane yet imbued with an inexplicable aura.

Maya sat across from him, her arms crossed tightly over her chest. "So, what are you saying? That I'm next?"

Mr. Park nodded solemnly. "I don't want to alarm you, but yes. These incidents suggest you're the target of something… ancient. Something that doesn't follow our understanding of the world."

He slid a file across the desk. Inside were photos of other victims, their bruises eerily similar to Maya's. "These marks, they're not random. They're symbols. They've been documented in folklore, associated with curses and malevolent entities."

Maya agreed to a 24-hour police watch, though the strange events continued unabated. Officers reported hearing whispers during their shifts, and surveillance footage often glitched, missing crucial moments. The doll appeared in random places despite being locked away in evidence storage. The sense of dread grew heavier with each passing day.