That morning, Zelia was still holding the necklace she had found beneath the window. Her mind had been restless since the night before. The inscription engraved on the back of the necklace kept replaying in her thoughts.
"Who gave me this necklace?" Zelia muttered.
She tried to clean the necklace. When sunlight hit it, the small engraving on the front became clearer. It was a strange circular symbol with lines like the branches of a tree.
Zelia felt like she had seen that symbol before.
"I've seen this somewhere before..."
She then went to the storage room in the house. The room was filled with old belongings that had once belonged to her family. After searching for a while, she found a small wooden box tucked into the corner of a cabinet.
When she opened the box, Zelia was shocked.
Inside was an old photograph.
The photograph showed the same house, the same old tree, and someone standing in front of the yard.
Zelia picked up the photograph.
The figure in the photograph had the same shadowy face as the figure she had seen the night before.
"That can't be..."
Suddenly, she heard footsteps behind her.
"You found that photograph?"
Zelia turned around. Her older sibling was standing in the doorway.
"You know about this?" Zelia asked.
Her older sibling looked hesitant.
"I saw it when I was little. But I was forbidden to talk about it."
"Why?"
Her older sibling stepped closer and looked at the photograph.
"Because the person in that photograph wasn't an ordinary person."
Zelia gripped the photograph tighter.
"What do you mean?"
Before her older sibling could answer, there was a knock at the front door.
Knock... knock... knock...
They looked at each other.
No one usually came by that early in the morning.
Slowly, Zelia walked toward the door. Her hand stopped just above the doorknob.
"Don't open it," her older sibling whispered.
But before Zelia could answer, a voice came from outside.
"Zelia..."
Zelia's expression immediately changed.
It was the same voice as the whisper she had heard the night before.
She took several steps back.
"It's looking for me..."
A few seconds later, the knocking stopped.
When they opened the door, no one was outside.
There was only an old envelope lying on the floor.
Zelia picked it up carefully. Her name was written on the front of the envelope.
"For Zelia."
Inside was a short letter.
Zelia read it slowly.
"If you found this necklace, it means the figure has returned. Don't be afraid of it. It hasn't come to hurt you. It's come to show you the truth that has been hidden all this time."
Zelia stopped reading.
"There's another part..."
She continued.
"Look for the hidden room in that house. That's where all the answers are."
Zelia looked toward the old house where she had lived all this time.
A hidden room?
She began recalling every part of the house she had ever explored. But there was one place that had always been locked since she moved in.
The old attic at the back of the house.
Night came earlier than usual. Zelia stood in front of the attic door, holding the necklace and the letter.
"I have to find out who it really is."
When her hand touched the doorknob, she heard a whisper from inside.
"Zelia..."
She froze.
The voice sounded closer than before.
Slowly, the attic door opened by itself.
Cold air spilled out of the dark room.
Zelia stared inside.
Among the piles of old belongings, she saw a shadow standing perfectly still.
The figure had appeared again.
But this time, Zelia could see something in its hand.
An object exactly like the necklace she was holding.
The figure raised the object and showed it to Zelia.
As if it wanted to say that there was still another piece of the secret she had yet to uncover.