Alice Syndrome

It was a crisp, autumn evening when I stepped out of school. My backpack felt heavy against my small frame as I stumbled over uneven earth while I headed home. It had been a long day of lectures and essays. All I wanted to do was to go home and do some reading—or maybe take a cat nap. I yawned as leaves gently crunched underneath my boots, a slight shiver running up my spine when the cold wind caressed my body. I hummed silently as I skipped towards the house, glancing over at the trees that lined the pathway. My house backed the woods—something I had always enjoyed. It added a bit of eeriness to my life, even if it was something as small as a creepy howl at night.
But there was something different about today. I stopped short, blinking several times at the line of trees. I could’ve sworn I heard someone whisper my name. Which was odd, of course, seeing how strange my name was. I cocked my head to the side, taking a step towards it. “Hello?” I called, frowning slightly.
There was no response.
I shook the confusion from my head and shrugged a little. “Guess I was just imagining things,” I murmured quietly to myself as I turned back and headed up the front steps towards the front door. I fished around in my pocket before producing a key and pushing it into the keyhole.
Axis
I whirled around, once again hearing the whisper. I bit my lip, glancing around. Maybe it was a friend, playing a prank on me. I rolled my eyes and decided to ignore the whisper. I stepped inside, turning to close the door where I saw something out of the corner of my eye. It was a tall man with long, white hair, staring back at me, just outside the forest. I tensed, my heart beginning to pound wildly. I quickly slammed the front door closed and went to a window, my hand clasped around the house phone. I peered out the window to find that he had gone. Perhaps it had been my imagine…
Again.