It started as a whisper.
Not a voice, but a sensation. A pull.
As Constance nursed Jaiden late one night, her body tensed. A warmth bloomed deep within her, not the warmth of affection, but of activation. Of something waking up inside her again.
She knew the feeling.
The same pull she felt the first time she became pregnant.
"No," she whispered, holding Jaiden tighter.
But the old woman's prophecy returned in her mind like thunder.
"While you still nurse this one… you will feel the stir again."
Days Passed. Then Weeks.
She didn't tell Ray.
How could she? He was already overwhelmed, changing diapers, juggling school, trying to make ends meet. He called her a warrior. A miracle.
But she didn't feel miraculous. She felt cursed.
The pregnancy test came back positive.
Six weeks.
It didn't make sense biologically. She'd bled after the birth. She was still recovering. It should've been impossible.
But it wasn't.
Because this child was different.
This child had already come once before.
Some nights she would stare at Jaiden in his crib, peaceful, innocent, and feel an ache deep in her bones. She loved him. But a question kept gnawing at her:
"Why did he kill his brother?"
It sounded insane. Monstrous. But in her dreams, she'd seen it, the spiritual war inside her womb. Jaiden's soul was loud, dominant, burning bright like a storm.
Aiden had been quieter. Watching. Waiting.
She remembered the garden. The glowing souls.
She whispered to her belly one night:
"Come back gently this time."
This second pregnancy was different. The dreams resumed, vivid, colorful, and filled with shadows. She often saw Aiden in them, standing beneath the dead tree from the underworld garden, holding a glowing orb.
He didn't speak.
He just watched her.
The doctors said everything looked normal, even healthy. But Constance knew this wasn't a normal child.
Sometimes, Jaiden would stop mid-cry, turn his baby head, and stare at her belly. He would giggle. Or frown. Or go still.
Ray joked, "He knows he's gonna be a big brother."
But Constance saw something else.
Recognition.
As if Jaiden remembered Aiden.
As if he knew…
Aiden was coming back.