They kept running until they reached an old cabin. The cabin they arrived at was not merely an ordinary shelter; it was a structure that seemed to breathe with the clay of time and its secrets. The cracked, ancient wooden walls groaned with every breath of cold wind, and the broken planks of the floor told stories of those who had lived there before. They entered slowly. Celine closed the door behind them, and the sound trembled through the quiet space like a whisper even forgetfulness itself had forgotten. Their breaths began to fall into rhythm with the murmur of the rain outside, while darkness wrapped the place like an old cloak steeped in the scent of the past.
Lilia sat down on the floor, surrounded by a heavy feeling, as though every part of her were struggling against unseen clouds. She lifted her shining eyes, trying to take in everything around her, then whispered in a delicate voice barely audible:"
_I see things… things I didn't know I knew… but they aren't mine."
Celine looked at her deeply, her heart racing with tenderness and a tight ache: _"Everything will be all right. I'm here, I promise you that. I won't let them take you again."
But outside the cabin, among the branches of the trees, the shadows watched in silence. Threads of danger were still coiled around them, slipping into every corner, waiting for the right moment to strike.
As Celine held her little sister in her arms, she felt that the real conflict had not yet begun, and that the greater battle lay in the heart, in the memories, in the truth that intersected between them.
Minutes passed inside the old cabin, stretching as though they were hours. Celine sat close to Lilia, watching the small changes in her expression, searching her eyes for a glimmer of hope, for a sign that the girl was beginning to reclaim some part of herself. But Lilia was still sinking into a vortex of mystery, where words blended with images, and fragmented memories tangled with strange sensations that defied explanation.
"Do you feel anything?" Celine asked softly.
Lilia blinked slowly, then whispered:" It's like I… hear voices. Whispers. Sometimes my mother laughs, and sometimes I hear screaming… things I don't recognize."
Celine smiled, despite the pain echoing in her voice, and said:"We'll figure everything out. Together."
At that moment, Celine's eyes caught something strange in the corner of the room. It was a small wooden box, tightly sealed, bearing an old engraving that resembled a disguised emblem. She approached cautiously and opened the box slowly. Inside were brittle papers and old photographs of a woman and a young girl whose features closely resembled Maryam and… another mysterious person.
To be continued...