Róisín was on her way home. She walked through the park faster than she normally would as she tried to escape the heat. She heard a loud squawking sound above her and looked up, her eyes squinting in the brightness of the sun. A single raven sat on a tree branch, each feather a different shade of red. Curious, Róisín walked to the base of the tree to get a better look. The bird was definitely red, she concluded. She climbed the tree slowly, enthralled in the mystery of the red raven. When she reached the branch it sat on, she looked down at the people strolling through the park below, some were running or jogging, others sitting on benches enjoying the day out with their friends. None of them seemed to notice the strange bird, or Róisín, who was now sat on the branch nearest to that of the raven. She reached her hand out to it slowly, so as not to scare it away. As soon as her fingertips touched the first crimson feather, however, the bird squawked loudly in Róisín's face. She was knocked off-balance and fell out of the tree, wind rushing past her as the earth rose up to meet her.

Róisín opened her eyes. It was night and the sky was filled with stars, unusually clear for an autumn night. She stood up slowly, her head and neck still sore from her fall. She looked around, surprised to find that she didn't recognize her surroundings. In place of the populated park she had been walking home through, she now found herself in a forest. Filled with trees and wild plants but completely void of people. Róisín heard twigs breaking through the trees on her left. Is there someone else here? she thought. She felt that she should go investigate, but fear kept her frozen in place.  

"Hello?" she called. "Is there anyone here?" She took a deep breath, mustering all her courage, and took a step to her left, in the direction of the sounds she heard earlier.                                                                                  

"Help!" Róisín froze, staring in the direction of the voice, unsure as to if she should follow it.                                                                                                    

"Somebody help me!" Róisín warily stepped forward, moving slowly through the trees in the direction of the screams. As she stumbled through the forest, she heard a familiar sound. The raven. She ran faster, stumbling over roots and leaves alike. Her foot caught on something big and she fell to the floor, catching dirt in her mouth as the world span around her. She struggled to her feet, looking behind her to see what had made her fall. A body. Róisín stood frozen in fear, her hand over her mouth in a desperate attempt not to scream. The girl was lying face down in the dirt, her black hair scattered around her shoulders.                                                                                          

Róisín knelt down beside her and rolled her body around so that she could see her face. Róisín screamed when she saw the girl's face. It was her, it was Róisín, lying dead on the forest floor. It looked exactly like her. As if she was some sort of echo. The girl was covered in small cuts, each one still fresh and bleeding. Róisín checked her pulse, nothing, the girl was dead. Róisín's chest was heaving, her body shaking as she tried to understand what was going on. She stood up slowly and saw the raven watching her from a tree branch. It flew overhead in slow circles, like it was stalking its prey. It flew down in a flurry or wings and feathers until Róisín was lost, drowning in a sea of red.

Róisín's head was throbbing. She opened her eyes slowly, not recognizing her new surroundings. Was she in a forest? She stood up. Her pained muscles complaining with the effort. She walked around the trees, trying to figure out where she was. She stepped on a group of twigs, with a loud snap as they broke beneath her boots. She wandered more and more until she heard a voice through the trees. "Hello?" the voice yelled, echoing through the forest. "Is anyone here?!" Róisín moved slowly in the direction of the voice when something sharp scraped off of her knee. Her skin was caught in a bush of wild roses, her whole body was cut by its thorns as she tried to free herself. "Help!" she called, hoping that the other voice would hear. "Somebody help me!" She finally struggled her way out of the rose-bush, her skin and clothes covered in small cuts. When a bird fluttered into view, sitting on a tree above her. It's glossy black eyes staring directly into hers. It squawked and flew upwards. She ran as fast as she could away from it, only stopping after tripping over something. She stood up to see what she had tripped over, and was shocked to see that there was nothing there. In her confusion, she forgot all about the red raven that was chasing her. The whole ordeal felt familiar in a way that Róisín couldn't explain. The forest, the raven, the screams in the trees. She looked around desperately, searching for any trace of her pursuer.                                                                                        

She spotted the raven flying directly above her, flying in slow circles. It flew down at her and Róisín realized too late why the forest felt familiar. She had been here before.

Róisín lay on the forest floor, her face and clothes covered in cuts. The cold autumn wind whipped around her, Spreading her dark hair haphazardly around her back. She wanted to get up, but was in too much pain to move. She could hear the sounds of someone moving through the forest around her. Twigs breaking and leaves crunching.                                                           

"Hello?" came a voice from the trees. Róisín recognized the sound. "Is anyone here?" She thought back at all she remembered. Walking home from school, the red raven. She felt like there was a block in her mind, some memory that she just couldn't get.                                                                    

 "Help!" Another voice. The same voice. Róisín's voice. She had been here before. "Somebody help me!"                                                                        

Róisín remembered everything; the forest, the raven, the shrieks and screams. So what was next? If everything was happening to Róisín again then she needed to find out what was next. The raven. As if on cue the raven squawked overhead and Róisín heard footsteps coming towards her in the forest. She was the body that she had found in the woods, she remembered. So that was next then. The past Róisín would find her lying here, thinking she's dead.                                                                                                            

The footsteps came closer. Róisín felt a sudden pain in her side as her past self tripped over her. The echo of Róisín turned her over and Róisín shut her eyes, playing dead. What's next? Róisín thought. She was about to be killed by the raven. As the past Róisín stood up, Róisín opened her eyes and saw the red raven circling overhead. She needed to stop this. But how do you stop the future? she thought, You change it. The past Róisín was about to be killed, but what if Róisín saved her? It would make a paradox Róisín thought. It might not work, but it was all she had. She jumped up and shoved her past self out of the way, letting the raven kill her instead. As the raven pecked and pecked, it gave an angry squawk, as if realizing its mistake. But it was too late, the past Róisín had already vanished. Róisín smiled uncertainly as her world turned black.

"Little girl. Can you hear me." Róisín opened her eyes, squinting in the bright sunlight. There was a man and two women leaning over her, worried expressions on their faces. They helped her stand up, and offered to call her parents but she assured them that she was fine. She looked up at the tree she had fallen out of and smiled. There was not a raven in sight.