For the past three years, ever since I, Ethan Winters, rescued my wife Mia, I've been plagued by something. Our long-awaited daughter was born recently, and though I'm at the peak of happiness, a nagging headache torments me.
"...The girl was trapped in a mirror… Oh, she's asleep."
"Scary. That's no story for a baby, Mama… Right, Papa?"
"…This tale's too creepy, don't you think? She's only six months old."
Mia was reading our daughter Rosemary a disturbing picture book, supposedly a story from her hometown. I grumble, and a girl, about ten years old, floating before me chimes in. Her name's Eveline—the source of my headaches. I ignore her and continue talking to Mia. Eveline, now upside-down, keeps yapping, but I tune her out. Responding only eggs her on, and it's exhausting. She calls us "Mama" and "Papa," but let me be clear: Eveline is not my daughter. Rosemary is my only child.
"I'm over it. You're the one still hung up," Mia says.
"Hey, Papa, isn't Mama acting weird? I mean, the hysteria and mushroom-hating are normal, but still," Eveline quips.
"I'm hung up… with her floating right in front of me."
"Huh?"
"What? What'd you say, Papa? Say it again!" Eveline presses, excited.
"Forget it. My bad. I'm not hung up—just cautious."
I wince at my slip-up, placating Mia while swatting at Eveline like a mosquito, though my hand passes right through her. She's a phantom only I can see.
Eveline. Three years ago, in a creepy Louisiana mansion—the Baker house—I went to save Mia and encountered her. Not a girl, but a devil in a girl's form: black hair, black dress, black boots. She was the root of every horrific event Mia and I endured.
"Papa? You listening?"
Her innocent tone belies the monstrous acts she committed. Eveline drove the Bakers mad, forcing them into her twisted "family," turning visitors into corpse-like "friends." She called Mia "Mama," controlled her, and made her attack me. The awful sensation of hurting Mia still lingers in my hands.
After uncovering Eveline's origin and weakness, I confronted and defeated her. Maybe I pitied her pathetic existence, but…
"Eee-than? Ee-than? How's my Lucas impression, Papa?"
How did it come to this? She appeared on the escape chopper, whispering, "Shh, make a fuss, and they'll think you're crazy and take you from Mama again." I had no choice but to tolerate her. For three years, I've lived with this headache-inducing phantom. Once, she watched Mia and me in an intimate moment—I could've died of embarrassment. She backed off, thank God.
"It's fine, Rose. Mama doesn't want to remember… and who could blame her? I'd rather forget too, if she wasn't here."
"You say something?" Mia asks.
"Nothing. I'll put her to bed."
Recalling those days, I carry Rose upstairs as Mia starts dinner. Eveline floats over my shoulder, staring at Rose with a goofy grin, smitten with the sister she claims.
"So cuuute!"
"Stop with the creepy voice. What if Rose hears?"
"She can probably see me anyway, right, Rosemary?"
She's right. I thought only I could see Eveline, but Rose, maybe because we're blood-related, tracks her with curious eyes. I just hope she doesn't pick up bad habits. I don't need a delinquent kid.
"Calling me a delinquent? Rude!" Eveline pouts.
"Stop reading my mind, or I'll stick my hand in your face."
"Please, no! Sorry!"
Her one weakness: she hates when I "grab" her face, phantom or not. It's my only way to get back at her mind-reading. After tucking Rose in, I return downstairs to Mia's meal—local Romanian cuisine, since we moved here.
"Looks tasty. All I got was that gross zombie-gut slop back then. I want real food," Eveline whines.
Her complaints are background noise as Mia and I eat, chatting casually. Our usual routine. I thought it'd continue, with Rose growing up alongside us. Then a gunshot shattered it all—Mia's shoulder, pierced.
"What the—?!"
"Mama?!"
"Mia, get down!"
More bullets rain as the lights go out. Eveline, rushing to Mia, gets "shot" too, flailing in annoyance. What's happening? Why?
"Mia… why…?"
"Papa, you okay? Wait, what?"
"Eveline, what's… Chris? Why you?!"
There stands Chris Redfield, the man who rescued us three years ago and trained me. Why would he take Mia's life? He glances at me, then at Mia's body, aiming his handgun. I lunge, but he fires.
"Sorry, Ethan."
"Stop!"
"You jerk, hurting Mama!"
Five bullets riddle Mia. Eveline swings at Chris, but her fists pass through. I collapse, helpless, surrounded by armed men—Chris's team. What did we do?
"Why…?"
"Move it!"
"Get away from Papa!" Eveline screams.
I'm dragged to the door. Eveline's resistance is futile—she's invisible to them. Then a man descends from upstairs, holding my daughter.
"Rose! What're you doing to her?!"
"Target secured. Here."
"Give Rosemary back, you creep!" Eveline shouts, pummeling Chris uselessly.
"Take her," Chris orders.
"Don't touch Rose!"
"Ethan, stand down."
"Papa, stay strong!" Eveline cries.
"Rose…"
Her desperation spurs me to fight, but a rifle butt to the head knocks me out. Eveline's voice fades as Chris's men drag me away, my mind consumed by powerlessness and rage. I'm a failure as a father…
"Wake up, Ethan! Ethan!"
I come to in a forest, head pounding. Eveline, unusually calling me by name, hovers nearby. Dead soldiers—Chris's men—litter the ground. A crashed vehicle suggests an accident.
"Eveline! Where's Chris? Rose?!"
"Sorry… I blacked out when you did. I only exist when you're conscious, I guess."
"That's not your fault. What the hell happened?"
"Dunno. Their phone was ringing, but it's busted now. What's that paper say?"
I grab a document near a dead soldier. "…Operation brief: Eliminate target, recover body. Secure Rosemary and Ethan Winters for transfer to Site C for testing. But Rose isn't here."
"Someone took her?" Eveline asks.
"More like someone attacked them."
"It's cold. Let's find shelter."
"You feel cold, huh?"
With snow falling and Eveline floating beside me, I trudge forward. I couldn't save Mia, but I'll take Rose back—no matter what.
Eveline is cute. That's the truth (ramblings of a mold-infected fool).
Ethan Winters: Protagonist of Resident Evil 7 and Village. Haunted by Eveline's phantom for three years, he's grown used to her. Now, with Eveline, he rises to reclaim his daughter, Rose.
Eveline: The mastermind behind Resident Evil 7. She's back as a phantom only Ethan can see, though she won't say why. Unable to touch objects, she playfully messes with Ethan and adores her "sister," Rosemary.