Amy decided to return to her hometown.
The letter, the nursery rhyme, the cold unease creeping up her spine—everything pointed to a place she had tried to forget: Red Maple Forest.
That forest had become infamous after Mary disappeared. Villagers whispered strange tales behind closed doors. They said the forest housed "dolls"—figures that mimicked the missing, standing silently among the trees to lure others in.
> "If you see her standing there, don't get close."
"She won't speak, won't move... but if you approach, you'll take her place."
On her first night back in the village, Amy dreamed of that rhyme again. She stood at the edge of the forest, watching a little girl in a white dress, back turned, hair covering her face.
She called out, "Mary?"
The girl slowly turned around, revealing a blurred, faceless visage—except for a wide, unnatural smile.
Amy woke with a jolt, heart pounding. The air in her chest felt frozen. Her window had somehow been opened, and the curtain billowed in the breeze.
On the desk, the letter had been flipped over. A new message was written on the back:
"Didn't you promise… you'd be my friend forever?"