Chapter 9
782 Words
The forgotten night
The words on the paper blurred in front of Amara’s eyes.
"Amara, if you are reading this, it means I failed to protect you."
Her fingers tightened around the letter.
"My mother wrote this."
Nobody spoke.
Even the forest seemed to become silent.
Adrian watched her carefully.
"Are you sure?"
Amara nodded slowly.
"I know her handwriting."
Her voice shook.
"She used to write notes for me when I was younger."
The stranger looked down.
"Then she knew this day would come."
Amara looked at him.
"You knew about this letter?"
A pause.
"Yes."
Her expression changed.
"And you didn't tell me?"
The stranger looked away.
"I promised your mother I wouldn't."
Amara let out a quiet breath.
A painful smile crossed her face.
"Everyone makes promises around me."
She looked at the letter.
"But nobody tells me the truth."
Adrian stepped closer.
"Amara..."
She looked at him.
For once, she didn't see the man who doubted her.
She saw someone who was just as lost as she was.
"Open it," he said softly.
Amara looked back at the paper.
Her hands trembled as she continued reading.
Amara,
If you are reading this, then the truth has finally started to find its way back to you.
Her breath caught.
She knew her mother's words.
She could almost hear her voice saying them.
I wanted to tell you everything, but I was afraid. Not for myself... for you.
Amara swallowed.
The stranger looked away, giving her a moment.
Adrian watched her face carefully.
Every emotion appeared and disappeared too quickly.
Fear.
Confusion.
Pain.
The night you lost your memory was not an accident.
Amara froze.
Her eyes moved faster across the page.
Someone wanted you to forget what you saw. Someone wanted the truth buried forever.
A cold feeling moved through her.
"What did I see?" she whispered.
Nobody answered.
Because they were all afraid of the same question.
She continued reading.
You were too young to understand what happened that night. But one day, you will remember. And when you do, you must trust the person who protected you.
Amara stopped.
Her eyes lifted slowly.
"The person who protected me..."
She looked at Adrian.
Then at the stranger.
"Who was it?"
The stranger's expression changed.
Because he already knew the answer.
"The person who protected you..."
The stranger looked at Amara.
"...was Adrian's father."
The words hit harder than she expected.
Amara stared at him.
"No."
Her voice was barely a whisper.
"He protected me?"
The stranger nodded.
"He knew something was going to happen that night."
Adrian looked down.
His father's name had always been connected to pain.
To questions.
To a loss he could never recover from.
But now...
it was connected to Amara.
"What did he know?" Adrian asked.
The stranger was quiet.
Then he said:
"That someone close to your family was planning to betray you."
Amara felt a chill run through her.
"Someone close to my family?"
She searched her memories.
But all she found was darkness.
Rain.
A voice.
A promise.
Adrian stepped closer.
"Why didn't anyone tell us?"
The stranger looked at him.
"Because the person responsible was never caught."
Silence filled the space between them.
Amara looked back at the letter.
There was something else written at the bottom.
Something she hadn't noticed before.
A name.
Her hands began to shake.
Because it was the one person she never expected to see.
Amara stared at the name.
Her mind refused to accept it.
"No..."
The word escaped her lips.
Adrian looked at her.
"What is it?"
She didn't answer.
She couldn't.
The stranger stepped closer.
"Amara?"
Slowly, she handed him the letter.
His eyes moved to the name.
And for the first time...
he looked afraid.
"That can't be possible."
Adrian took the paper from him.
His expression changed as soon as he saw it.
"Who is it?"
Neither of them answered.
Amara looked at Adrian.
Her voice was quiet.
"It was someone my family trusted."
A heavy silence followed.
Because suddenly, the past didn't feel like something that happened years ago.
It felt alive.
Still moving.
Still hurting people.
A sound came from the trees.
Everyone turned.
The stranger immediately stepped back.
"We need to go."
Adrian folded the letter and placed it safely away.
"But we still don't know the truth."
The stranger looked toward the darkness.
"You know enough to understand one thing."
"What?"
The stranger's voice lowered.
"The person who destroyed both families is closer than you think."
Amara felt a cold wave pass through her.
Because deep down...
she already knew.
The truth wasn't waiting somewhere far away.
It had been standing beside them all along.
- Writer
