It started like any other morning - I was getting dressed for work, moving slow but steady. I reached for my favorite necklace, the diamond one my grandmother left behind. Every time I wore it, I felt a little more powerful, a little more... seen.

But today, the moment the cool stones touched my skin, my whole body flushed with heat. Not warmth - *intensity.* A sudden pressure in my chest, like someone was standing on it. The necklace tightened around my neck, no longer elegant. It felt like it was alive, *gripping me*.

Panicked, I ripped it off and threw it into its box, the lid slamming shut like it had a mind of its own.

Still burning, I turned the ceiling fan to its highest setting and collapsed backward on the bed. My arms stretched wide, feet grounded, chest heaving. I waited for the fan to do its job, but?

Nothing.

The air wasn't touching me. The fan was spinning - but the breeze? Gone. My forehead shimmered with heat, but no sweat ever fell. Just stillness. And then, my neck began to itch - deep, crawling, under the skin. I scratched it hard, but the feeling moved.

Like something was inside me.

My ear tingled next, a faint whisper vibrating like a tuning fork. Not a sound, but a *presence*. I blinked and stared at the ceiling.

*Was this meditation?*

*Or was something watching me?*

The light flickered.

I sat up slowly, instinct telling me I wasn't alone. The box with the necklace had slid slightly - though I hadn't touched it. The fan blades? Now they were spinning *backward.*

A chill ran through me.

I whispered, "Okay... what is happening?"

From behind the walls, a low hum began. It wasn't mechanical - it was a voice, muffled and layered. I couldn't understand the words, but I felt them in my bones. A shiver rolled down my spine, and then the words started to make sense, just for a moment:

*"She's waking up."*

My breath caught. I wasn't just overheating.

I was *changing.*

The necklace didn't burn me because I was allergic.

It burned me because it knew I was ready.

Ready for what?

The room spun once - and then everything went silent.

The fan stopped. The light died. The necklace box clicked open by itself.

And I wasn't afraid.

I was *becoming.*

**The end? or maybe the beginning.**