The past never disappears. It goes quiet, it waits—and when it comes back… it doesn't ask permission.
"No, I don't see anything," Sophie answered Aria, as silence swallowed the room.
The screen had just gone black with a sharp click.
Sophie didn't move. Aria stayed lying down, eyelids heavy. Neon light washed over her bandaged arms.
Sophie exhaled.
"I can't believe they're actually sending civilians out there… like, for real… people like us?"
"Yeah…" Aria stared at the wall.
"And I think… I'm starting to remember."
"What?"
"Not just yesterday. Before that, too."
Sophie froze.
"…Aria, don't freak me out like that."
"I remember specific things."
Her gaze trembled.
"The deer-man… he was real."
Silence.
Sophie let out a nervous laugh.
"Okay… okay, great."
She ran a hand through her hair.
"Because I've seen weird stuff too."
Aria turned her head.
"Oh yeah?"
"Yeah." Her voice dropped.
"And I swear, I do NOT like it at all."
"I dreamed voices were calling me. Like my mom. And that… that scares the hell out of me, Aria."
She clenched her jaw. Aria gently placed a hand on her shoulder.
"You're not her."
"You don't KNOW that!"
She looked up, eyes bright.
"She said the same thing at first—'just sensations.'"
Silence.
"And look where it took her."
Aria didn't look away.
"You're not sinking."
She leaned her shoulder lightly against her friend's back.
"You're trying to understand."
A breath.
"And that… isn't the same thing."
Aria pushed herself up a little, a worried crease cutting across her forehead.
"Yeah… but I think I'm reconnecting pieces."
A pause.
"Not just from yesterday… but from way before."
Sophie turned toward her.
Aria stared at the wall like something was playing out on it.
"I'm remembering more and more… and it's completely terrifying."
Her voice had changed—lower.
"The doctor was right."
Silence dropped again. Sophie inhaled.
"And these memories… what are they like? Clear… or still blurry?"
"They're getting clear."
Aria slowly turned her head. Her eyes were restless.
"I'm seeing specific things."
A beat.
"The deer-man… he was real."
Sophie's fingers tightened on the sheet. She looked down.
"Me too… I've seen weird stuff these last few days."
Her voice shook a little.
"In a dream. And if… I turn into my mom?"
Aria reached out without hesitation.
"You're not crazy."
A faint smile flickered.
"You've always picked up what other people refuse to see."
"Like… almost nobody, except maybe when they're under some kind of influence…"
Sophie lifted her head slightly, a barely-there smile—but her eyes stayed scared.
"I dreamed I was running… and voices were calling me."
She swallowed.
"They kept telling me to come home. Like my mom."
They stared at each other.
Then Sophie whispered:
"I'm scared, Aria. What if I end up like her?"
Aria shook her head gently.
"No."
Sophie took a deeper breath, like she was trying to steady herself.
"Without you… all of this is just chaos."
She forced a fragile smile.
"You're the one who makes it make sense."
Aria held her gaze. She looked exhausted, but she was here.
"You feel things. I look for answers."
A soft breath.
"Together… we hold on. Together… we're unstoppable."
They leaned into each other like the room had turned into a shelter.
Aria closed her eyes for just a second, then opened them.
"My parents… they taught me never to give up."
Her voice was calmer, more fragile too.
"Keep going, no matter the cost."
A pause.
"When I was little… they were my heroes."
Sophie blinked, surprised.
"That's weird… you never talk about them. They… worked for Kaissa, right?"
Something shifted in Aria's face. A veil dropped over her eyes.
"Yeah. And that's why they died."
The words hit hard. Sophie lowered her head. She couldn't find anything to say.
Aria breathed slowly. Her voice almost cracked.
"Before… we were a real family. All four of us."
Her eyes closed. And this time, the images came back without warning.
"I was sitting on the floor…"
Her voice drifted farther away.
"Book in my hands, sunlight coming through the window, birds singing."
A simple, peaceful moment.
"I loved those moments… Then—noise, so brutal."
"BOOM. The door. Voices. Orders I couldn't understand."
Her breath caught.
"And my dad… he shouted in Spanish."
"Corre. Debajo de la cama. Ahora!" (Run. Under the bed. Now!)
Her fingers trembled slightly.
"It was for me. To make me run without them understanding."
Her stare went distant.
"I ran—my legs were shaking—and I slid under the bed."
Aria's breathing got shorter.
"My heart… I thought they'd hear it."
Silence.
"There were three men. Heavy black boots came into the room. They stopped so close to me. Then a cold voice."
"Nobody here. Move faster. Use your weapons."
A shiver ran through Aria.
Sophie lifted her head a little, not daring to speak.
"My mom…"
Aria's voice wavered.
"She tried to negotiate. I can still hear her."
"Who are you? I'm Aurelia Reyes. I work for Kaissa." Then my dad's voice—
"Touch one hair on my family and—"
BANG.
A shot fired—he wasn't even done.
"Salvador, no!"
Panic.
"Take my research! I'll give you everything! Just don't touch him!"
A dry laugh. A pause.
"I've got a schedule to keep."
Then a second BANG.
Aria jolted slightly in the bed. Her voice dropped to almost a whisper.
"I couldn't see… but I understood."
Her fingers clenched in the sheets.
"His body…"
She swallowed.
"He hit the floor hard."
Silence.
"I saw his legs, motionless, not far… right there."
Her breathing shook.
"My mom was screaming. Ezra was crying."
She kept saying, Ezra, close your eyes!
More shots. BANG… BANG…
Then nothing. A crushing silence, like the world hit pause.
"Then a chemical smell—then the strike of a match. A sharp sound."
"Fire."
Her eyes opened a little.
"The heat. The air turning unbreathable. I didn't move. I couldn't."
A broken breath.
"I didn't go see them. I didn't do anything."
Her voice cracked.
"I ran out the window as fast as I could."
After a long silence, Aria opened her eyes again. They were shining.
"I knew. I knew they were going to die—or they were already dead."
"And I did nothing."
Her voice broke.
"NOTHING."
Silence dropped heavier than anything.
"That day… something broke forever."
Sophie stayed frozen.
"They're sick…"
Her voice trembled.
"That's not possible… this isn't just a 'story,' Aria…"
She stepped back.
"They executed them? Like that?! In front of you?!"
Aria didn't answer. Sophie dragged a hand down her face.
"And Kaissa… she let that happen?"
A beat.
"Or worse… maybe she—?"
"You were just a kid… what could you do?" Sophie whispered.
Aria didn't answer right away. Her eyes stayed locked on nothing.
"They didn't have time to run. It was fast and cold."
She breathed in.
"And me… I just ran out the window."
Her fingers tightened slightly.
"And then I watched everything disappear into flames."
Sophie clenched her teeth.
"You're alive. They would've killed you too."
Aria nodded faintly.
"I know, but it doesn't change anything."
Her voice barely trembled.
"This emptiness… it's still here. So I search."
She lifted her eyes, more determined than ever.
"I want to understand why. Why them and not me."
Silence.
Aria took a deep breath, like she was switching gears.
"A week ago…"
She hesitated for a fraction of a second.
"I found—along with her old notebooks—my mom's external hard drives."
Sophie raised her head slightly.
"Hidden at my grandma's. Data she wanted to protect."
"She was researching the nature spirits."
Sophie frowned.
"Seriously?"
"She completely rejected the official story."
Sophie held her gaze.
"Everything Kaissa says."
Silence.
"She knew things."
Sophie sat up a little.
"You think they use all that to manipulate people?"
Aria hesitated.
"It's possible."
Something shifted in Sophie's eyes—sharper.
"Aria… come look."
She pointed to the window.
"You can see the Wall from here."
Aria moved—and winced.
"Hold on…"
She grabbed her IV drip and stood. Her legs shook, but she held herself up. Her eyes didn't waver. They were locked in.
"If we want to understand…"
A pause.
"We have to go there."
Sophie turned toward her.
"Into the forest?"
A shiver passed through her.
"Where it all starts?"
Aria nodded.
"With the crack… for the first time, we might actually have a chance. My mom went there a lot."
Sophie's mouth twitched into a small smile.
"Like always… great spirits find each other."
Aria didn't answer. In her head, thoughts clicked into place like a forbidden puzzle.
"My mom talked about something…"
Aria hesitated.
"Three worlds."
Sophie frowned.
"Like what?"
"Not worlds like you imagine."
Aria searched for words.
"More like… realities. Truths we don't even imagine. Things they never taught us at school, or in our families."
Silence.
"Yeah. Three worlds. Ours."
"Another… where spirits live."
"And a third… way older. Like a source."
Sophie stared at her.
"And she really believed that?"
"More than that. She proved it."
Something had changed. Aria straightened, stronger.
"She said Kaissa was lying."
"About what?" Sophie asked.
Aria lifted her eyes.
"About everything."
Their eyes glinted. They looked at each other and smiled—same idea, same moment.
"Forward into the forest, toward the truth."
Aria pressed on.
"And I'm going to finish what she started."
Suddenly, a vibration sounded. Sophie's phone.
She jolted and looked at the screen.
All color drained from her face as she read Jazz's message out loud.
Total emergency.
They're taking your mom to psych (psychiatric hospital) RIGHT NOW.
"No…"
Her voice cracked.
"That's not possible…"
Aria put a hand on her arm.
"Go. We'll talk later."
Sophie clenched her teeth, eyes bright, and ran out. The door slammed.
Aria stayed still, facing the window, facing the Wall.
The crack out there pulled at her, not just like danger, but like a real answer.
One beat, then another. The pain was still there, but behind it… something stronger and clearer.
She inhaled slowly.
"That's where it all started… I'm sure and that's where I'll find the truth."
Her fingers tightened on the windowsill. This time, she wouldn't look away. This time, she would act…
The Guardian Angel: Aurelia, Aria's mother, searched for truth through science… but when she took her work to its limit, she touched something else. Something far older. A world where everything is alive. Where everything watches. Where everything answers. Where everything has a soul…
Unfortunately, that world… doesn't let itself be approached without consequences.
To be continued… ❤️🔥
Thank you for reading. What do you think matters to me and your comments mean a lot to me 😍.
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Elea 🤩
Further echoes of this universe can be found here:
https://linktr.ee/worldsreconciled