Chapter 5
981 Words
The first thing Rose noticed was the smell.
Clean. Sharp. Sterile.
Her brows furrowed slightly as her eyes slowly opened. The bright white ceiling above her made her squint.
For a moment, she didn’t move.
Then the memories came rushing back.
The road.
The sound of tires.
The impact—
Rose inhaled sharply.
“Easy, easy—don’t move too fast.”
A familiar voice.
She turned her head slightly.
Her father.
Relief flooded his face the moment he saw her awake.
“Dad…” her voice came out weak, dry.
“You gave us a scare,” he said, letting out a breath. “You’ve been out for days.”
Days.
Rose’s heart skipped.
Her gaze shifted.
Her room wasn’t empty.
Rosa stood near the window, arms folded, trying to look calm—but her eyes gave her away. Lily sat quietly beside her, holding a small stuffed toy, her face lighting up the moment their eyes met.
“Rose!” Lily rushed forward carefully. “You’re okay!”
Rose gave a small smile. “I’m okay.”
Diane stood a little farther back.
Silent.
Watching.
Not relieved.
Not surprised.
Just… watching.
That alone made something in Rose uneasy.
---
“How are you feeling?” her father asked.
“Sore,” Rose admitted. “But… I’m fine.”
A lie.
She didn’t feel fine.
Not even close.
---
“Do you remember what happened?” Rosa asked suddenly.
Rose hesitated.
Everyone was looking at her now.
Waiting.
She swallowed.
“I remember the accident…” she said slowly.
That part was safe.
Normal.
But then—
“I also remember something else.”
The room went quiet.
Her father frowned slightly. “What do you mean?”
Rose glanced at Diane for a second.
Then back at the others.
“There was… a place,” she said carefully. “And a woman.”
Rosa raised an eyebrow. “You were dreaming.”
Rose shook her head immediately. “No. It didn’t feel like a dream.”
Her voice was firmer now.
“It felt real.”
Diane’s gaze sharpened slightly.
---
“She said she was my mother,” Rose continued.
Her father let out a small, confused laugh. “You hit your head pretty hard—”
“I’m serious.”
The room fell silent again.
Rose’s hands clenched slightly on the blanket.
“She said I’m not… normal,” she added quietly. “That I wasn’t supposed to be… just human.”
No one spoke.
Lily looked confused.
Rosa looked skeptical.
Her father looked concerned.
Only Diane…
Understood.
---
“That’s enough for now,” Diane said gently, stepping forward. “She just woke up. Let her rest.”
Her tone wasn’t harsh.
But it ended the conversation.
---
One by one, they left the room.
Lily hugged her before going.
Rosa lingered a second longer than necessary—her eyes narrowing slightly, like she was trying to figure something out.
Then she left too.
---
The door closed.
Silence settled.
---
Diane didn’t move immediately.
She stood there for a moment.
Then finally—
She walked closer.
Rose watched her carefully.
“You believe me,” Rose said quietly.
It wasn’t a question.
Diane didn’t deny it.
---
“I was hoping this wouldn’t happen so soon,” she said.
Rose’s heart started beating faster.
“So it’s true,” she whispered. “That woman… she wasn’t lying.”
Diane pulled a chair closer and sat down.
Her expression was calm.
Too calm.
“I need you to listen to me carefully,” she said.
Rose nodded slowly.
---
“Before you were born… I couldn’t have children,” Diane began.
Rose blinked.
“I tried for years. Nothing worked.”
Her voice was steady—but there was something behind it.
Something heavy.
“Then I did something I shouldn’t have.”
Rose’s stomach tightened.
“…what do you mean?”
Diane exhaled slowly.
“A ritual.”
The word hung in the air.
“I didn’t fully understand what I was doing at the time. I just… wanted a child.”
Rose stared at her.
“And then…?”
Diane’s eyes softened slightly.
“And then I got one.”
A pause.
“You.”
---
Rose’s grip on the blanket tightened.
“…me?”
Diane nodded.
“But you weren’t just a child,” she continued. “You were something more. Something I didn’t understand at first.”
Rose’s mind raced.
“Aethra…” she whispered.
Diane didn’t react with confusion.
Only confirmation.
“Yes.”
That single word changed everything.
---
“You were already alive before this life,” Diane said. “The ritual… it didn’t create you. It brought you back.”
Rose’s breath caught.
“So I really…” she swallowed. “I really gave everything up…”
Diane didn’t interrupt.
Didn’t soften it.
“You chose to leave that world,” she said quietly. “For a reason.”
Rose looked down.
Her chest tightened again.
“…him.”
---
Silence filled the room.
---
“I don’t know everything,” Diane admitted. “But I know enough.”
She leaned forward slightly.
“And if your memories are returning now… then something has changed.”
Rose looked up.
“What do you mean?”
Diane’s expression grew more serious.
“It means they’ll come for you.”
---
Outside the room—
A shadow moved.
Rosa stood just by the door.
Frozen.
She hadn’t meant to listen.
At first.
But now—
She couldn’t move.
Her heart pounded as pieces of the conversation replayed in her mind.
Not human…
Ritual…
Aethra…
Her grip tightened slightly.
“…what are you hiding, Rose?” she whispered.
---
Inside the room—
Rose sat still.
Her world had just changed.
Again.
And this time—
There was no going back.
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