Nicolas and Sierra were walking back toward the house.
They were both confused about the vision they had seen.
Nicolas questioned.
"What do you think?"
Sierra answerd.
"Which thing are you talking about?"
"I meant the vision of the town." Nicolas continued "Why do you think we saw that?"
"Guess. The mirror wanted us to know about the town."
"So, what about that man? Who was he? And why did he do that?"
"Let's ask Grandma Claire when we get there."
"Yeah. She might know."
They had many questions in their minds.
They stopped talking and focused back on reaching the house.
As they were walking, they realised how lively this town really was in the vision they just saw compared to now.
The only thing that now remained was the ruins.
A while later...
The sun was about to set. They have almost reached their destination of today.
There was a question Nicolas had been wanting to ask Sierra for several days. But he couldn't ask for some reason or other. He couldn't hold back anymore. And so he started.
"Sierra... I have a question?"
She replied.
"Didn't we agree we would ask Claire when we got there?"
Nicolas blushed and spluttered.
"I... I am not talking about those questions."
She looks at him and than asked.
"Then?"
"You know... we have been through so much together. But I realized I don't know anything about you. Where do you live? What do you like to do? Something like that."
Sierra said in a playful tone.
"Ohhh. Guess you're charmed by me. Should I also tell my horoscope."
Nicolas got flustered and said.
"No... No. I was just asking out of curiosity. If you don't want to tell. Then no pressure"
Sierra saw the reaction Nicolas gave and teased him a bit further
"I was just joking. I can't believe you became flustered just from this." She continued "well... As for my hometown. It's Brindlewood. As for what I like to do is... Well I hadn't given it much thought before. I just do what is necessary to do at the time surviving and all."
"Then. What do you do when you are free?"
"I do some writing whenever I have free time. Not always, just sometimes."
"Ohh. A writer. So,what do you write?"
"Just some stories."
Nicolas said excitedly.
"I would love to read your stories." He continued "we don't have any books you've written here. So, you could tell me yourself, I am a good listener so I will listen."
Sierra smiled at him and said.
"Ohhh. Aren't you happy enough with the mystery horror that is happening in our own story? Or you still want something extra?"
Nicolas paused.
"Ahemmmm... Well now that I think. I'm not in the mood to listen stories."
Hahahahaha
Sierra laughed after listening to what Nicolas just said.
Nicolas looked at her.
"sorry I'm not—" haha "laughing. I just it was funny." Haah
She couldn't control herself.
Nicolas looked happy.
"No. It's good that someone could laugh because of me."
She looked at him and said.
"You worry about anyone and everyone, don't you?"
Nicolas had a good feeling in his heart about this.
Sierra looked at the front and cutting the topic short.
"looks like we have reached the house in time after all."
"Let's go inside first. Monsters can come anytime soon."
They reached Claire's house. It was Twilight. Monsters were about to appear.
But they both have reached safely before that.
Nicolas said with a cheerful face.
"Grandma Claire— we are home."
Claire was sitting on a rocking chair but got up to greet them.
"Come. Come. I have made potato mash for you. get fresh and come to dining area I will serve it."
"Yeah. We will."
after washing up.
They sat at the dinner table and started eating the potato mash.
Sierra asked the question she wanted to ask her for a while to Claire.
"Grandma, there's one thing I don't understand. This potato mash, tea or other things... Where do you get the ingredients in this ghost town?"
Claire replied.
"Ohh. You never noticed?"
"What?"
"There are animals."
She reacted in shock.
"Where? I've never seen one."
Nicolas was also shocked.
"Really?"
Claire replied to Sierra.
"That would be the case. Because the animals don't go to that side of the town where you were staying till now."
Sierra asked.
"Ohh. So where are they?"
"They are not here. They go out of this town before sunset and come back after sunrise."
Nicolas said.
"...Does this mean these animals can go in and out of this town anytime?"
"Yeah. I noticed that after living here for some time. But they don't stay here at night."
Sierra said.
"So they only come here during the day."
"Yeahh"
There was a long silence after this.
No one said anything after that.
The dinner was finished and Nicolas was cleaning the table. Claire was washing utensils. And Sierra has gone to take a shower.
He started the conversation with claire.
"Grandma— we found the first object."
Claire hands stopped rubbing the dishes.
"What was the object? And where was it?" claire wanted to know where this acursed object was hiding all this time.
"The object was a mirror. It was on top of the Church's bell tower."
Claire asked again.
"and what was it for?"
"That's what Sierra and I wanted to ask you."
Then Sierra came out after a bath while rubbing her hair with a towel and said.
"What are you guys talking about !? without me."
Nicolas begain explaining .
"Sierra— i was telling grandma about the mirror vision."
"Ohhh. Grandma there was a lot of things happeneing there as...." sierra started explaining their experience and what they saw today !!
Sierra told Claire everything that happened in the vision. From the clock tower to that mysterious man killing the priests and the bright light that appeared in front of them.
Claire summerised while thinking.
"So, you saw a vision through the mirror where you entered in Arcadia around 400-500 years ago and then a mysterious guy came and he destroyed it in a few minutes."
"Yeah. That's about it."
Nicolas asked.
"Do you know anything about this or that man?"
Claire replied.
"Child, I'm old, but not that old enough that I can know things from that time."
Sierra said.
"That's also valid."
Claire asked.
"But why would the mirror show you that?"
Nicolas replied.
"We don't know , perhaps it might have a deeper meaning and we haven't discovered it Yet?"
Claire asked after some thought.
"Was something off in the vision you saw?"
Nicolas started thinking back about the day's event.
"Something off...?"
Sierra thought for a second and replied.
"I can't exactly say it was strange, but when the man entered the town. It looked as if the church already knew that he would come. But the church still didn't tell the townspeople about it."
Nicolas said.
"Yeah. They were ready as if they were about to enter a battlefield."
Claire contemplated for a moment, while her hands were on her forehead.
Hmmmm
and said finally.
"I will think of this while i try to rest." She continued "You two should go to bed. It's late now."
Sierra replied with.
"Okk grandma, let's go Nicolas."
Nicolas also went to his room after hearing this.
Sierra was sharing room with Claire. While Nicolas room was beside theirs.
Nicolas sat on his bed and saw the crescent moon in the sky shining brilliantly . It looked absolutely mesmerizing and beautiful from the window.
Nicolas while watching it from the window mumbled to himself
"Guess someone said true when they said. The more beautiful something is, the more cautious we should be. Otherwise the beauty itself could bring you down."
He opened the diary that they have written riddles in , And opened the page containing the second riddle.
He read it silently and thinks.
The lock has no shape,
yet the key still waits.
When roads abandon their names,
and stone begins to wander—
follow not what opens,
but what is left behind.
Where no path remains,
the rusted one sleeps.***