Three nights passed since Elira found the drawing in the wind.
Each day, she kept it close, hidden under her pillow. She would take it out and stare at the picture of the Heart Tree, the stones, and the little golden eye. She didn't know who sent it, but she could feel it in her chest—someone was calling her.
On the fourth night, the sky turned strange.
Elira was brushing her hair when Nana called from outside.
"Elira, come look at the moon."
She hurried out and gasped.
The moon was red.
Big and round, glowing like a giant lantern in the sky.
All the villagers stood outside their homes, pointing and whispering.
"It's the blood moon," someone said.
"It means change," another said.
But Elira just stared. Her chest felt warm, like the silver ring was glowing under her nightgown.
Nana stepped beside her and put a hand on her shoulder.
"Your mother was born on a red moon," she said. "She changed under the sky, just like this."
Elira looked up at her. "Changed how?"
Nana didn't answer right away. Her eyes looked far away again, full of secrets.
"She turned into something wild. But not bad. Just different."
Elira touched her heart. She didn't feel scared.
That night, while the moon hung red in the sky, Elira couldn't sleep. Her dreams were too loud.
She saw the Heart Tree.
She saw the silver wolf, standing by the stones.
And she saw herself.
She was standing in the clearing, arms out, face to the sky. Her hair blew around her, and her eyes glowed gold.
She was changing.
She was becoming.
Then Elira woke up.
The room was quiet, but she heard something outside.
A low sound.
A howl.
She got up and crept to the door. The village was still. But far beyond the trees, the howl came again.
It wasn't scary.
It sounded like home.
Elira held the drawing in one hand and the silver ring in the other.
"I think I'm ready," she whispered.
The red moon watched from above, calm and full.
And somewhere, deep in the forest, something waited for her.