The Last Light

The Whispering Veil

Downstairs, where Novera’s mom was, she has been restless ever since Novera’s diagnosis. The word leukemia had shattered her like glass yet she still moved through the house like someone trying to pretend everything was fine. For a moment, Tavros closed his eyes. The image of Novera lying pale in her hospital bed haunted him. She’d been discharged only a week ago, smiling as if nothing had happened, but he saw it, the quiet exhaustion beneath her bright voice.The next morning, sunlight spilled through Novera’s curtains. She brushed her hair carefully, determined to look normal again. Her uniform hung a bit loose now, her face thinner, but her spirit still glimmered like dawn.“First day back,” she whispered to her reflection. “Let’s make it count.” At school, the halls buzzed with life. Her best friend, Veyra, squealed the moment she saw her. “Novera! You’re actually back!” She threw her arms around her, careful not to squeeze too tightly. “Yeah,” Novera laughed softly. “The doctors said I needed normal air again.” They hurried to class together, chatting about everything she’d missed. When they reached their literature class, Novera noticed Arlo, sitting two rows ahead. He glanced back at her — that same shy, nervous smile she’d seen before she was admitted.He’d asked her out the week before she got sick, but she never replied. She’d been too scared to let anyone get close, not knowing what the future held. Now, his eyes met hers again, curious and hopeful. She quickly looked away. “Miss Novera,” said Miss Shirley, their literature teacher, adjusting her glasses. “You were supposed to present your poem two weeks ago. Do you have it?” Novera froze for a moment. “I…I wasn’t in school, ma’am,” she said quietly. “I was in the hospital.”The class fell silent. Even Veyra stopped fidgeting.Miss Shirley expression softened. “I see. Then you’ll have your chance now. Do you have your poem with you?” “Yes,” Novera said, clutching her notebook like it held her heartbeat. She stood, walked to the front, and took a deep breath. Her voice was shaky at first, then steadied as she read:“I saw the world from behind glass skies,And dreamed of wings I couldn’t rise.But hope, it hums where silence dies —A spark that never says goodbye.”…When she finished, the room was still. Then, gentle applause filled the air. Miss Shirley nodded approvingly. “Beautifully written, Novera. Welcome back.” Novera smiled shyly, but as she walked back to her seat, she caught Arlo’s gaze again. He mouthed, That was amazing.Her cheeks flushed. She quickly looked down, pretending to check her bag, her heart thudding like a drum. Later that day, during lunch, Veyra nudged her. “So… are you ever going to answer Arlo?” Novera blinked. “What?”“Oh, come on. He’s been staring at you all morning.” “I just got back, Veyra,” she said softly. “It’s too soon.” Veyra sighed. “You almost died, Novera. Maybe it’s not too soon to start living.” Her friend’s words lingered in her mind long after the bell rang.That night, Tavros stood in the attic. The old chest gleamed faintly under moonlight, the strange symbols etched into its surface pulsing like veins of light. He had found the letter their mother’s confession. She wanted to give to him Incase of any emergency rises up, but he saw it first and read it. It says;“You were not born of this world, Tavros. You were chosen — a bridge between the living and the lost. Protect Novera from what calls to you. The Veil hungers for your soul.”…His breath caught. Protect Novera. But how could he protect her if he was the very thing that could curse her? The chest whispered again — faint and melodic, as if something alive slept within it. “Blood of the fallen… bound to the Veil…” The words slithered through his mind, cold and certain.“Tavros?”He turned. Novera stood at the attic door, still in her uniform, eyes soft under the dim light. “You missed dinner. Mom’s worried.” He forced a smile. “Just needed to think.”“About what?”He hesitated. “About leaving.”Her expression fell. “Leaving? Why? I just got better. I thought we could, you know? Hang out.”He looked away, guilt slicing through him. “If I stay… I’ll hurt you, Vera. I don’t belong here.”“That’s not true,” she whispered, stepping closer. “You’re my brother.”He smiled sadly. “And that’s why I have to go.”She wanted to stop him, to demand the truth, but something in his eyes that faint, unnatural glow froze her words. So instead, she nodded, tears slipping silently down her cheeks. “Then promise me you’ll come back.” “I will,” he said, voice trembling. “I swear on the stars.”That night, when the house fell silent, Tavros packed a small bag and slipped into the forest. The mist curled around him, thick and silvery, as if the night itself was guiding him forward. At the heart of the woods stood the ancient arch half stone, half shadow, whispering his name. Tavros… Tavros…He touched the pendant. “For you, sister.”And stepped through the Veil. The air rippled like shattered glass. The forest fell away, and light swallowed him whole. Far away, Novera awoke with a gasp. Her room flickered, shadows twisting into shapes that whispered her brother’s name. On her desk, the silver pendant she’d found by her window glowed faintly warm against her fingers.She didn’t understand it yet, but something had awakened between them a bond that defied the boundary of life and death. The spark she had felt earlier that day during her poem, during Arlo’s glance was only the beginning. Something ancient had chosen her too