chapter4: The truth she was never told
1609 Words
The strange events continued for another week.
By then, Miracle had stopped trying to explain them.
There was no explanation.
Things vanished and reappeared.
Doors opened by themselves.
Lights flickered for no reason.
And no matter how many times she told herself she was imagining things, the uneasy feeling remained.
Something was wrong.
Very wrong.
One evening, after returning from work, she sat alone in her living room staring at the television.
The screen was on.
But she wasn't watching it.
Her thoughts were elsewhere.
The police had searched her house and found nothing.
Her neighbors hadn't seen anyone suspicious.
The locks were intact.
There was no evidence of a break-in.
Yet the strange occurrences continued.
Miracle rubbed her temples.
She was exhausted.
Tired of being afraid.
Tired of doubting herself.
Tired of feeling like she was losing her mind.
Then suddenly, a memory surfaced.
Her aunt.
More specifically...
Her aunt's friend.
The elderly woman had been one of her aunt's closest companions for years.
Miracle remembered overhearing their conversations as a child.
Her aunt had always seemed unusually protective whenever the topic of family came up.
At the time, Miracle had never questioned it.
Now she wondered if she should have.
Perhaps the woman knew something.
Perhaps she could explain what was happening.
It was the only lead Miracle had.
And at that point, she was desperate enough to try anything.
---
The following afternoon, Miracle drove across town to visit her.
The elderly woman lived alone in a modest house surrounded by flowering plants and neatly trimmed hedges.
The place looked peaceful.
Almost comforting.
Yet as Miracle approached the front door, she felt strangely nervous.
She knocked.
A few moments later, the door opened.
The woman stood there.
The moment her eyes landed on Miracle, something changed.
The smile on her face vanished.
A look of sadness replaced it.
Not surprise.
Not confusion.
Sadness.
As though she had been expecting this day.
As though she had feared it for years.
"Miracle," she whispered.
The old woman stepped aside and allowed her in.
---
They sat in the living room.
For several moments neither spoke.
Finally, Miracle broke the silence.
"I need your help."
The woman looked down at her hands.
She already seemed to know why Miracle had come.
Miracle took a deep breath and began explaining everything.
The disappearing objects.
The moving furniture.
The flickering lights.
The feeling of being watched.
The shadow beside her bed.
Everything.
As she spoke, the woman's expression grew increasingly troubled.
By the time Miracle finished, the old woman looked pale.
Almost frightened.
The room fell silent.
Then the woman sighed heavily.
A sad, weary sigh.
"I warned your aunt."
Miracle blinked.
"What?"
The woman slowly shook her head.
"I warned her."
"I told her she couldn't keep hiding the truth forever."
Miracle frowned.
"The truth about what?"
The woman looked at her.
And for the first time, Miracle saw genuine fear in her eyes.
The old woman rose from her chair and disappeared into the kitchen.
A few minutes later she returned carrying two mugs of coffee.
The rich aroma filled the room.
She handed one mug to Miracle before sitting down again.
Her hands trembled slightly.
For several moments she simply stared into her coffee.
Gathering courage.
Preparing herself.
Finally, she spoke.
"There are things your aunt should have told you a long time ago."
Miracle leaned forward.
Her heart began to pound.
The woman continued
your family..."
She stopped.
Swallowed.
Then continued.
"There is something connected to your family that should never have been forgotten."
Miracle's pulse quickened.
"What thing?"
The old woman opened her mouth.
Ready to answer.
Ready to finally reveal the truth.
Then suddenly—
She froze.
The mug slipped from her fingers.
CRASH!
The coffee cup shattered against the floor.
Coffee splashed across the carpet.
The woman grabbed her throat.
Her eyes widened in terror.
A choking sound escaped her lips.
Miracle jumped to her feet.
"Auntie!"
The woman gasped desperately for air.
Her hands clawed at her neck.
As though invisible fingers were squeezing it.
As though something unseen was strangling her.
"Auntie!"
Miracle rushed forward.
The woman's face began turning red.
Then pale.
She tried to speak.
Tried to say something.
Anything.
But no words came out.
Only desperate choking sounds.
Fear exploded inside Miracle.
She grabbed her phone.
Called for emergency assistance.
And stayed beside the woman until help arrived.
---
The ambulance reached the house minutes later.
Paramedics rushed inside.
They worked quickly.
Attaching equipment.
Checking her breathing.
Lifting her onto a stretcher.
Miracle followed them outside.
Her heart raced the entire time.
Nothing made sense.
The woman had been fine one moment.
Then suddenly unable to breathe the next.
As the ambulance doors closed, Miracle climbed inside beside her.
Moments later, the vehicle sped toward the hospital.
Neither of them noticed the darkness gathering inside the now-empty house.
---
The living room sat silent.
Coffee stained the carpet.
Broken pieces of ceramic lay scattered across the floor.
Then shadows began to move.
Darkness gathered unnaturally in one corner of the room.
Twisting.
Growing.
Spreading.
Like black smoke.
Slowly, it rose.
Taking shape.
Forming the silhouette of a man.
Two glowing eyes appeared within the darkness.
Cold.
Ancient.
Filled with hatred.
A low voice emerged from the shadows.
"I'm not done playing with her yet."
The darkness shifted.
Anger radiated from it.
"She cannot know the truth."
The room grew colder.
The creature's eyes burned brighter.
"Not yet."
Then the shadows dissolved.
Leaving the room empty once more.
---
The next morning, Miracle sat beside the old woman's hospital bed.
She had barely slept.
The events of the previous day replayed endlessly in her mind.
The choking.
The fear.
The impossible look on the woman's face.
Hours passed.
Finally, movement stirred beneath the blankets.
The woman's eyes slowly opened.
Relief flooded through Miracle.
"Auntie?"
The woman looked at her.
Recognition appeared in her eyes.
Then confusion.
Then panic.
She tried to speak.
Nothing came out.
She opened her mouth again.
Still nothing.
Her hands began shaking.
Frantically.
---
Later that morning, the doctor arrived.
Miracle immediately stood.
"Doctor, what's happening?"
The doctor reviewed the chart.
His expression was serious.
"The damage was severe."
Miracle's heart sank.
"What kind of damage?"
"The vocal cords suffered extensive trauma."
He hesitated.
"It may take a very long time before she can speak again."
Miracle stared at him.
The doctor's expression softened.
"I'm sorry."
With that, he left.
---
Silence filled the room.
The old woman sat motionless.
Then suddenly she raised a trembling hand.
Pointing.
Miracle followed her gesture.
A notebook rested on a nearby table.
Beside it sat a pen.
Immediately understanding, Miracle grabbed both and placed them in the woman's hands.
The woman began writing.
Slowly.
Carefully.
Her hands shook the entire time.
When she finished, she pushed the notebook toward Miracle.
The message read:
BE VERY CAREFUL.
YOU ARE IN DANGER.
A chill ran through Miracle.
She looked up.
The woman nodded.
As if confirming every word.
Then she wrote again.
This time much faster.
More urgently.
When she finished, Miracle read the new message.
IT DOESN'T WANT YOU TO KNOW THE TRUTH.
Miracle's blood ran cold.
"What doesn't?"
The woman shook her head.
Unable to explain.
Unable to write fast enough.
Then she reached into her cloth
Slowly, she removed a small cloth pouch hanging from a cord.
It looked old.
Very old.
The fabric was faded with age.
The woman pressed it into Miracle's hand.
Then quickly grabbed the notebook once more.
She wrote:
KEEP IT WITH YOU.
ALWAYS.
NEVER GO ANYWHERE WITHOUT IT.
Miracle stared at the pouch.
"A charm?"
The woman nodded.
Her expression remained deadly serious.
Miracle wasn't someone who believed in charms.
Or talismans.
Or protection amulets.
But refusing it felt wrong.
Especially after everything that had happened.
So she slipped the pouch into her handbag.
The woman visibly relaxed.
As though a great burden had been lifted.
---
That evening, Miracle returned home.
The house greeted her with silence.
For the first time in weeks, it didn't feel threatening.
Just quiet.
Normal.
She completed her usual chores.
Prepared dinner.
Washed dishes.
Changed into comfortable clothes.
Then she remembered the charm.
Curious, she removed it from her handbag.
The small pouch felt warm in her hands.
Strange.
Almost alive.
She shook her head.
"You're imagining things."
With a faint smile, she hung it near the entrance of the house before continuing with her evening.
---
Outside, darkness lingered beyond the property.
Watching.
Waiting.
The creature stood hidden among the shadows.
Its glowing eyes fixed upon the house.
But it could go no further.
An invisible force blocked its path.
Every attempt to approach ended the same way.
Pain.
The creature snarled.
Black mist swirled violently around its form.
The talisman.
It recognized it immediately.
A protection charm.
Ancient.
Powerful.
And incredibly inconvenient.
For the first time in weeks, it could not enter the house.
Could not move objects.
Could not whisper through the darkness.
Could not torment her.
Rage burned inside it.
But beneath that rage, something else emerged.
Patience.
If it couldn't reach Miracle directly...
It would find another way.
Eventually she would remove the charm.
Lose it.
Forget it.
Throw it away.
And when that happened—
He will be ready for her.
---
Inside the house, Miracle slept peacefully.
For the first time since moving in, nothing vanished.
Nothing moved.
No lights flickered.
No shadows watched from the corners.
The house remained perfectly still.
And though she didn't realize it yet...
The small talisman hanging near her door had changed everything.
- Writer
