Where the walls still whisper

The Memory That Doesn’t Belong To You

The first time it happens, I think I’m fainting.

Not because I feel weak.

Because the world just… slips.

Like something loosened the thread holding everything together for a second too long.

I’m walking.

Kael is beside me.

Orin is gone.

At least… I think he is.

The street looks normal. Too normal. The kind of normal that feels like it’s pretending.

Then I hear it.

Not outside.

Not around me.

Inside.

A soft c***k.

Like ice splitting somewhere behind my eyes.

“Lira?”

Kael’s voice reaches me, but it sounds far away.

Distant.

Like he’s speaking through water.

The ground tilts.

And suddenly—

I’m somewhere else.

Not the street.

Not Ebonreach.

A hallway.

Long.

Dark.

The wooden walls feel… alive.

Breathing.

Candles flicker without wind.

And the ocean—

The ocean is inside the house.

That’s the first thing I notice.

The second—

My feet aren’t touching the ground.

I’m running.

I don’t know why.

I just know I have to.

Like something is behind me that I can’t afford to see.

“Lira…”

The voice calls me.

Not Kael.

Not my aunt.

Something deeper.

Older.

It knows me.

I turn—

And I fall.

Back.

Hard.

My knees hit the ground.

Air rushes out of me as I gasp, grabbing at it like it might disappear again.

Kael is in front of me instantly.

“What happened?”

My lips tremble. “I… I don’t know.”

But that’s not true.

Something inside me does know.

It just won’t say it.

“You spaced out,” he says.

“I didn’t space out,” I whisper.

A pause.

“I left.”

He goes still.

“Left where?”

I look at him.

And for a second—

I see it.

Something behind his expression.

Not confusion.

Something worse.

Recognition.

Like this isn’t new to him.

“I saw a place,” I say slowly. “A house. But it wasn’t right. The ocean was inside. I think I was running.”

“Running from what?”

I open my mouth.

And stop.

Because I don’t know.

But worse—

I almost do.

Kael stands slowly.

“Don’t go near the cliffs today.”

I frown. “That’s your solution to everything?”

“It’s not a solution,” he says quietly. “It’s survival.”

Before I can answer—

A voice cuts in.

Soft.

Close.

Too close.

“You were faster last time.”

I turn sharply.

Orin is there.

Of course he is.

I didn’t hear him.

Again.

Kael moves in front of me immediately.

“Stop doing that,” Kael snaps.

Orin doesn’t look at him.

Just me.

Always me.

“You saw it,” Orin says.

I swallow. “Saw what?”

“The house remembering you.”

A chill spreads through me.

“That wasn’t real.”

He tilts his head.

“Then why does it feel like it hurt?”

Silence.

Kael’s tense beside me.

“What is he talking about?” Kael demands.

Orin finally looks at him.

And something in his face shifts.

Colder.

Not emotional.

Just… certain.

Like Kael doesn’t matter.

Like he’s temporary.

“She doesn’t belong in your version of this town,” Orin says quietly.

Kael steps forward. “That’s not your decision.”

Orin’s voice lowers.

“It already was.”

That pressure builds again.

Behind my thoughts.

Like something knocking from the inside.

Trying to get out.

“Stop,” I say suddenly.

They both freeze.

My voice shakes. “I don’t understand what you’re talking about.”

Orin softens slightly.

Not kindness.

Something else.

Recognition.

“You will,” he says.

Kael exhales sharply. “You’re confusing her.”

Orin ignores him.

Still looking at me.

Like Kael isn’t even there.

Then—

He says it.

Quiet.

Certain.

“You died here before.”

Everything inside me goes still.

The words don’t make sense.

Not logically.

But they hit somewhere deeper.

My breath stops.

“What?” I whisper.

“Don’t listen to him,” Kael says quickly.

But Orin doesn’t stop.

He steps closer.

Slow.

Unavoidable.

“The house remembers everything it loses,” he says. “Including you.”

Something hits my mind.

Not a memory.

A feeling.

Cold water.

Darkness.

A scream—

Mine—

almost there but not fully.

I stagger.

Kael catches me. “Hey, look at me. You’re fine. You’re here. He’s messing with you.”

But I’m not fully here anymore.

Something in my chest tightens.

Like a thread pulling.

Orin watches me.

Waiting.

Like he already knows.

And then—

It happens again.

The world cracks.

Not fully.

Just enough.

A flash.

Something layered over reality.

The ocean.

Not outside.

Inside me.

Rising.

I gasp—

And I’m falling again.

Not here.

Not now.

The cliff.

The wind.

The night.

My feet slipping—

Hands reaching—

Too late.

A scream.

My scream.

And then—

Dark water.

Everything gone.

I snap back so hard I almost collapse.

Kael’s holding me tighter now.

“What is happening to you?” he asks, shaken.

But I’m not looking at him.

I’m looking at Orin.

Because now—

I see it.

In his eyes.

And it scares me more than anything else.

Grief.

Old grief.

Not fresh.

Not fading.

Something repeated.

Over and over.

“You were there,” I whisper.

He doesn’t deny it.

“I tried to stop it.”

Silence drops between us.

Heavy.

Unsteady.

The ocean sounds louder now.

Closer.

Kael pulls me back. “We’re leaving. Now.”

But I don’t move right away.

Because something inside me has shifted.

Not clear.

Not whole.

But real.

Like a c***k spreading through glass.

Kael leads me away.

I let him.

But I feel Orin behind us.

Still.

Watching.

Certain.

And just before we turn the corner—

I hear him again.

Soft.

Final.

“You always remember right before it happens again.”

I stop for half a second.

Kael keeps walking.

Maybe he doesn’t notice.

Maybe he does.

But the worst part?

I almost believe him.