For several seconds, no one moved.
Elvarra stared at the wooden door in front of her while the woman's words from behind it continued to echo in her mind. I am your mother. The words were simple, yet somehow they felt like something that had just torn through the deepest part of her.
She slowly turned to Rowan.
"Father..."
"Don't."
His voice was quiet but firm.
Elvarra frowned. "She said she's my mother."
"I heard her."
"So she's lying?"
Rowan didn't answer right away.
The simple question was apparently too heavy to answer.
Elvarra looked at her father's face and realized for the first time that something was far more frightening than the possibility that the woman was her mother.
Rowan himself didn't look certain.
"Why are you being quiet, Father?"
"Because I'm thinking."
"You've always had an answer for everything."
"Not this."
Elvarra held her breath. "What does that mean?"
Rowan walked toward the door, then stood directly in front of it. He raised his hand but didn't touch the handle.
"If she comes in, don't believe anything she says right away."
Elvarra almost laughed nervously. "That's funny. Everyone's been telling me not to trust other people. But not one of you has explained who I should trust."
Rowan turned toward her.
"Then trust yourself."
Before Elvarra could answer, the voice from behind the door spoke again.
"Still the same as ever, Rowan. Always so good at making a child believe that lies are a form of protection."
Elvarra stared at the door.
"Who are you?"
There was a brief silence.
Then the woman answered, "You really don't know me?"
"I've never seen you."
"Of course you haven't."
There was sadness in her voice this time. Not anger, nor a threat.
"Because they've made sure you forgot me."
Elvarra felt her palm grow hot again. She tugged up her sleeve slightly and saw the grayish mark there beginning to glow faintly.
The woman behind the door suddenly gave a soft laugh.
"She's starting to remember."
Rowan immediately turned toward Elvarra.
"What's happening?"
"I don't know."
"Show me your hand."
Elvarra hesitated, but finally held out her left hand.
Rowan's face changed when he saw the mark.
"It shouldn't be happening yet."
"What shouldn't?"
Rowan didn't answer.
Elvarra pulled her hand back. "You know this mark."
"I do."
"Since when?"
"Since you were born."
The answer seemed to drain the air from the room.
"Since I was born?"
Rowan nodded slowly.
"Why are you only telling me now?"
"Because I hoped the mark would never appear."
Elvarra looked at her palm. "And now?"
Rowan shifted his gaze to the door.
"Now it's too late."
The door handle moved again.
This time Rowan immediately held the door shut.
"Don't come in."
The woman outside gave a quiet chuckle.
"If you're sure she's your daughter, why are you afraid to let me see her?"
"She doesn't belong to you."
"Is that so?"
The woman's voice turned cold.
"Or are you afraid she'll remember who really saved her that night?"
Elvarra looked at Rowan.
"What night?"
Rowan didn't answer.
"Father."
"Elvarra, listen to me."
"Just answer me."
"I can't."
"Why not?"
"Because if I tell you now, you may never forgive me."
Elvarra fell silent.
She wanted to ask more, but something from behind the door stopped her.
The woman was no longer speaking.
There were no footsteps.
No sound of breathing.
Only silence.
Then Rowan slowly removed his hand from the door.
Elvarra stared at him in confusion.
"What are you doing?"
"She's gone."
"How do you know?"
"Because she always does that."
"Does what?"
"Shows up, says something that makes us doubt everything, then disappears before we can get any answers."
Elvarra stared at the door.
"So she's been here before?"
Rowan fell silent.
"How many times?"
There was no answer.
"How many times, Father?"
"Elvarra..."
"If she's not my mother, say so now."
Rowan met her eyes.
For a long time.
Then he said, "I never said she wasn't your mother."
Elvarra felt her entire body go rigid.
Rowan walked past her.
"Father!"
But Rowan didn't stop.
Elvarra hurried after him out of the shed. "Wait! What do you mean?"
Rowan continued toward the house.
"Father!"
"Go inside."
"I want answers."
"And I'll give them to you."
"When?"
Rowan stopped.
He looked at his daughter in a way that made Elvarra realize the answers she'd been seeking all this time might be far worse than anything she had ever imagined.
"When you're ready to hear that part of your life doesn't belong to you."
After saying that, Rowan started walking again.
Elvarra remained standing in the yard.
The wind blew through the trees.
For the first time, she began to question all the memories she had always believed were hers.
That night, Elvarra couldn't sleep.
She sat by the window with the black book she'd found in the shed that afternoon. Rowan had taken the book after they returned home, but Elvarra hadn't simply handed it over.
Before leaving the shed, she had managed to hide several loose pages from the back of the book.
Now those pages lay on her bed.
The writing on them was almost impossible to read. Most of the ink had faded, but a few sentences were still visible.
Seventeenth day.
The gate is beginning to open.
The child still remembers nothing.
Elvarra read the next line.
Veyra refuses to return to the shadows.
She stopped.
"Veyra..."
The name felt closer somehow.
She turned to the next page.
If Elvarra wakes before her time, don't let her see Nocthollow.
Elvarra frowned.
She remembered the gate she had seen the night before.
That meant someone already knew the gate would appear.
And worse, someone had written about her as though they were documenting an experiment.
Her hands trembled as she opened the last page.
There was only one sentence.
If everything fails, erase her memory before she discovers who she is.
Elvarra stared at the sentence for a long time.
Then she heard a voice outside the window.
"Don't trust that book."
Elvarra flinched and immediately turned around.
There was no one there.
She stood and opened the window.
Fog covered the yard.
"Who is it?"
There was no answer.
Elvarra was about to close the window when a shadow appeared behind the fog.
A girl stood there.
Veyra.
This time, she wasn't on the floor as a shadow.
She was truly standing in the yard.
Elvarra froze.
Veyra lifted her face.
For the first time, Elvarra could see her eyes clearly.
Their eyes were the same.
Even the shape of her face was nearly identical.
Elvarra whispered, "You..."
Veyra gave a faint smile.
"You can finally see me."
Elvarra didn't know what to say.
"Who are you?"
Veyra gazed at her for a long moment.
"You still like asking the same questions."
"I don't know you."
"I know."
"Then why do you keep coming?"
Veyra stepped closer.
"Because I know you better than anyone."
Elvarra eyed her suspiciously. "How is that possible?"
Veyra stopped several steps from the window.
"Because before they made you forget..." She touched her own chest. "...I was the part they took from you."
Elvarra fell silent.
"What part?"
Veyra didn't answer.
Instead, she raised her hand and pointed toward the forest.
"Tomorrow night, don't let Rowan take you there."
"Where?"
"Nocthollow."
Elvarra felt her heart begin to race.
"Why?"
"Because if you go in before remembering who you are, you won't come out as Elvarra anymore."
Veyra turned away.
"Wait!"
The girl stopped.
Elvarra stared at her back.
"If you really want to help me, tell me one thing."
Veyra turned slightly.
"Was that woman really my mother?"
Veyra didn't answer right away.
For the first time, the smile disappeared from her face.
"Yes."
Elvarra gasped.
"But there's something you don't know yet."
"What?"
Veyra looked at her with eyes full of sorrow.
"The woman who came tonight really is your mother."
She paused for a moment.
"The problem is..."
The wind suddenly blew hard. Fog drifted between them.
"...your mother died twelve years ago."
Elvarra didn't have time to answer.
Veyra disappeared into the fog.
And in the distance, the old bell rang again.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
Elvarra stood by the window, her face pale.
Behind her, the bedroom door slowly opened.
Rowan stood there.
His gaze went straight to the open window.
"Elvarra."
She turned.
"Father..."
Rowan looked at his daughter's face.
"What happened?"
Elvarra stared at him for several seconds before asking in a voice barely above a whisper,
"Who died twelve years ago? Continue to Chapter 4..."