GLASS HEART STONE WORLD

RECORDING: BEYOND REAL TIME

Recording: Beyond Real Time

The set disbanded in the early morning. The crew was tired, but before Lysander packed up the last camera, he noticed. The camera was recording on its own. And during the recording, there was someone else in the frame. Amelie. She seemed to be sitting alone on the beach. But then… There was a distortion in the image. The sand rippled. Just like air shimmering from heat. Then a second figure appeared in the frame. It seemed to emerge from the sand.

A little girl. Elia. Her eyes pitch black, her hair wet and long. A doll in her hand. There was an almost innocent expression on her face. But one of the cameras recorded that her shadow, along with Amelie's, was also distorting.

The shadow had now split in two.

At the Grave

The next day, Lysander and Amelie went to the old cemetery on the beach. According to a village woman's story years ago, there was a stone carved with Elia's name there. When they found it, the stone was covered in moss. They scraped it fiercely. It read:

“Elia - Came with sand, left with sand.”

Lysander took the shovel. He started digging. As he dug, the stone softened. Until… its bottom was revealed. The grave was empty. There were no bones, no clothes, no markings inside. Only... A doll. With a name woven into its back: "Jonah."

Pablo's True Story

That night, Amelie saw Pablo in her dream. But this Pablo was not the innocent brother she knew. This child was now made of darkness. He approached her. "Why did you die?" Amelie asked.

Pablo’s voice echoed: “I… was taken in your place.” “That night, do you remember the game you played while watering my mother’s grave?” “You were playing with Elia. She wanted a body. A girl or a boy. But you were too strong. She couldn't take your soul. And I… I was small.”

Amelie woke up screaming. She looked at her hands. Her palms were covered in mud. An old doll sat at the foot of her bed. On its back was written: “You were chosen.”

Lysander Reviews the Notes

That night, Lysander shuffled through his notebook. He had written down everything Amelie told him. But something was strange: One of the pages... was not there before, then it appeared. A note:

"The children with shadows are seven. The eighth is a reflection. If the reflection falls, the sand pulls back."

Lysander suddenly dropped the notebook. Because the date at the bottom of that page was: Today's date.

The Whisper of Truth, The Voice of Hope

The night was heavy. The village silent, the sea black and still. There were neither stars nor moon in the sky. The suffocating darkness had seeped into the earth. Amelie knelt before the grave. In her hands, a small doll, her face shrouded in shadow, her breath ragged. Just then, a voice echoed from the darkness. “Now I know,” said Lysander. Amelie flinched, turning her eyes behind her. “What do you know?” she asked, her voice both frightened and hopeful. “Everything,” Lysander replied, weary but resolute, as if he had won a battle. His eyes, though plunged in darkness like the night, held a light that continued to burn within. “Elia is not just a ghost. She is... an unfinished pain, an echo, a curse. And you, Amelie... you are her key, the solution itself.”

Amelie clutched the doll tighter. Tears were at the brink but did not fall. Storms raged within her, but she showed no outward sign. Lysander sat beside her; after a long silence, he began to speak. “I saw your dreams. Many times. The sea black, your hair wet, your eyes lost. But I always recognized you. In those dreams, Elia was there; sometimes a small girl, sometimes hands reaching from a grave, sometimes just the word ‘sand’ whispered.” Amelie turned her head, “Why are you dealing with this curse? You are famous, your life is different,” she said, fragile but reproachful. Lysander took a deep breath, smiled. “Because for years I lived with questions. Now I have found the answer. You are at the center of this curse. This is your story, but I have a mission: to save you.” For the first time, the darkness within Amelie gave way to emptiness. She was tired and exhausted. “This village won’t let you go,” Lysander said. “Elia’s grave is empty, because she is here. This land is calling her, nourishing her, waiting for you.” “But you can escape. Come with me. Get away from this village. She won’t be able to follow you anymore.”

A moment of silence... Then Amelie, with a trembling hand, reached out to Lysander. For the first time, when someone told her "come," her fingers trembled. Lysander took her hands, "I don't want you to run away. I just want you to be free. Darkness is not your destiny. I promise you a real future. In a distant city, a place where the sun brings not just warmth, but hope." "And believe me... I came not just to solve the curse, but to love you." At that moment, lightning struck the sky, without thunder. It was like a sound rising from beneath the earth. Amelie suddenly stood up, “Jonas…” she whispered. A voice was heard, from afar, from within the darkness: “I am leaving, but my trace will remain…” Amelie closed her eyes, Lysander took her by the arm, “Come with me. Now. Otherwise, this village will swallow you forever.” As she took a step, for the first time, there was a real decision in her heart. Not to escape, but to live. But the night was not over. Footsteps were heard from afar. The mysterious guardians of the village... Time was running out for Lysander and Amelie.

Lysander pulled Amelie, guiding her to an old path. "This is no longer your past," he said. But darkness would not release its pursuit. The shadows emerging from among them grew with every step. "I know you're afraid," Lysander said, "but I'm here. This night is not over." Amelie slowly looked at Lysander. A fire burned within her; there was as much hope as fear. "Our journey is long," she said. "Yes," said Lysander, "but you will no longer walk alone." And that night, two souls clung tightly to each other. No matter how deep the darkness, there was a light. Born from within them. And this light became the whisper of truth, the voice of hope.

Yet, Amelie remained undecided. Could she truly leave her siblings behind? She couldn't bring herself to do it. That night, they didn't set off, and Amelie asked Lysander for more time to think. She didn't know if leaving would truly be the right thing to do. She would just think. Perhaps she would never leave the village, and instead live in that swamp with Elian's spirit. She would think about it. To leave or to stay? Was her life worth gambling with?Amelie thought of her father. If she left with Lysander, her father would be heartbroken and would blame her for the rest of his life. Yet, if she told him she wanted to go, he would never allow it. She was trapped in a two-dimensional equation with no apparent solution. She was only 17, not even an adult, and she didn't know how right it was to trust a man she had just met, heart and soul, and simply leave. she couldn't keep up with the speed of her own thoughts as they raced through her mind.