The Message That Returned
227 Words
Aria couldn’t shake the dream.
Elena’s voice echoed in her sleep, soft, urgent, terrified. She woke with a gasp, the image of her sister’s face burned into her mind.
She needed answers. Now!.
Back at the office, she returned to the folder. This time, she noticed something new: a slip of paper tucked behind the top page. Faded. Torn. But still legible.
“You’ve been chosen.”
Her blood ran cold.
She’d seen those words before. In her dream. In Elena’s voice.
She rushed to the archives, searching for anything: emails, logs, or security footage. But the system glitched every time she typed Elena’s name.
It was like the company itself was hiding her.
Damian found her there, surrounded by files and frustration.
“You’re not going to find her that way,” he said quietly.
Aria looked up, eyes burning. “Then tell me how.”
He hesitated. Then sat beside her.
“There’s something wrong with this place,” he said. “Something old. Something my family bound themselves to long ago.”
Aria’s breath caught. “A curse?”
He nodded. “It takes what I love. Every time.”
She stared at him. “And you think it’ll take me?”
“I know it will.”
Silence fell between them.
But this time, it felt like a beginning.
- Writer
