EPISODE 16: THE CHOICE
626 Words
Maya stood completely still.
Her mother’s smile frightened her more than anything else in the house.
Beside her, Ellie wasn’t moving.
Neither was the girl.
Three faces.
Three versions of the truth.
Maya looked at them one by one.
“Which one of you is real?”
Nobody answered.
Then Ellie stepped forward.
“Maya, listen to me.”
Her mother interrupted.
“Don’t listen to her.”
Ellie looked at her.
“You’ve lied to her for seventeen years.”
Her mother’s eyes darkened.
“And you died seventeen years ago.”
Maya’s heart stopped.
She looked at Ellie.
“Is that true?”
Ellie lowered her head.
“Yes.”
Maya felt tears forming.
“Then what are you?”
“A memory.”
The word echoed through the corridor.
Maya shook her head.
“No.”
Ellie smiled sadly.
“The house kept a piece of me.”
“Why?”
“Because I was there that night.”
Maya’s mother stepped closer.
“Ellie saw everything.”
Maya stared at her.
“Then tell me.”
Ellie looked at the little girl.
“She was supposed to be sacrificed.”
The little girl looked away.
“And you stopped it,” Maya whispered.
Ellie nodded.
“I tried.”
“What happened?”
“The house punished me.”
Maya looked at the little girl.
“And my sister?”
“She survived.”
“Then why is she still here?”
Ellie swallowed.
“Because someone had to take the punishment.”
Maya looked at her mother.
“You?”
Her mother shook her head.
“No.”
Maya’s face changed.
“Me.”
Nobody spoke.
The house began to tremble.
Maya suddenly remembered.
She remembered standing in front of the red door as a little girl.
Her sister was crying behind it.
Maya had the key.
Her mother had told her:
“Whatever happens, don’t open it.”
But Maya had opened it.
Not to escape.
To save her sister.
The house had reached through the doorway.
And taken something from Maya.
Her memories.
Her name.
Her childhood.
Everything.
Maya fell against the wall.
“I gave myself to the house.”
Her mother nodded.
“Yes.”
“And you let me forget?”
“I had no choice.”
“You always say that.”
Her mother’s face broke.
“I was trying to keep you alive.”
Maya looked at the little girl.
“What does she want?”
The girl answered herself.
“Freedom.”
“And what does the house want?”
The girl smiled.
“You.”
Maya closed her eyes.
Then she understood the choice.
If she left, the house would keep her sister.
If she stayed, her sister would be free.
But there was another possibility.
Maya opened her eyes.
“What if I destroy the house?”
Her mother whispered:
“Then everything inside it dies.”
Ellie looked at Maya.
“Even me.”
Maya’s voice trembled.
“I’m sorry.”
Ellie smiled.
“Don’t be.”
The little girl stepped toward Maya.
“There’s only one way.”
“What way?”
“You have to remember the first night completely.”
Maya looked frightened.
“What happens if I do?”
The girl answered:
“You’ll remember what the house is afraid of.”
Maya took a deep breath.
“Then let’s remember.”
The walls cracked.
The floor split open.
Every photograph in the corridor burst into flames.
And somewhere beneath the house, something enormous began to wake.
Maya heard her own childhood voice whisper:
“I know your name.”
The house screamed.
And for the first time…
Maya realized the house was afraid of her.
- Writer
- chap_listContents
- likeADD