Reflections Of Us

Threads In The Dark - Chapter 10

🎶 - https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3blWeIDE8FYn00FGB31675?si=epMOJx2EQhqpsc-2yeG9Pg

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Zeva's POV:

The dorm room was quiet except for the faint hum of the air conditioner. The lockbox sat on my desk, heavier than it looked, almost like it carried the weight of decades. I ran my fingers over its scratched surface, my pulse quickening.

I slid it toward me, heart hammering. The key I had found tucked away in a drawer at the house seemed small and fragile in my hand, but it fit perfectly into the lock. With a slow twist, the lid clicked open.

Inside, I found a bundle of old photographs, yellowed papers, and a small journal. The first photograph made my stomach tighten — my parents, smiling in a sunlit yard, carefree in a life I barely remembered. But there were others, pictures of strangers, letters with cryptic phrases, and hints at something my grandparents had been trying to protect.

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Jazmine's POV (Texting Zeva):

Z, you okay?

I typed back slowly, careful not to reveal too much.

I'm... looking through some stuff. It's a lot.

Take your time. Don't push too hard. You don't have to solve it all tonight.

I set my phone aside. She was right, but I couldn't stop now. Every paper felt like it was calling to me, whispering fragments of the truth. 4

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Zeva's POV:

I opened the small journal. My grandparents' handwriting curved across the pages, neat but hurried.

"Never let the past be forgotten... shadows hide truths..."

My chest tightened. The deeper I dug, the more I felt the pull — a thread that led back to my parents, to questions I'd been too scared to ask. Some entries mentioned names I didn't recognize. Others were half-written warnings, unfinished thoughts that begged for answers.

Tears blurred my vision. The grief, the longing, the need to understand — it all collided, and I sank into the chair, clutching the journal.

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No One's POV:

The lockbox had finally been opened. Its secrets were no longer contained, but only fragments had been revealed. The truth waited, tangled in pieces, ready to pull her into a world of questions she wasn't yet prepared for.

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Kiante's POV (Texting Zeva):

Don't get lost in it, Z. Pace yourself. If it gets too much, step back. I can't be there physically, but I'm right here if you need me.

I read his message and nodded. He was right. But the first thread had been pulled. And now... I couldn't stop.

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Zeva's POV:

A stack of letters tied with a faded ribbon caught my attention. I untied it carefully, revealing envelopes addressed to my grandparents in careful handwriting — some familiar, some not. One letter mentioned a date and a location, almost like a meeting. Another had a short, chilling note:

"Be careful – she must never know the truth."

I froze, my chest tightened. My grandparents had left a trail of cryptic warnings, fragments of a story I wasn't allowed to see yet. Whoever "she" was, the urgency in the words made it clear this wasn't about the past — it was about protecting someone, or hiding something.