My muse

Red ruby

Ting

Another message arrived.

The love of my life, how could you be so cruel?

Chally was tired utterly exhausted by the torment. And now, he no longer wanted to pretend to be naïve around a dangerous criminal like him.

His fingers trembled over the keyboard, hesitating. The phone screen had gone dark.

Should he confess?

About how he had actually entered the attic Rid had forbidden, and found an old photo album carefully preserved in a tin box. That he had opened it, even though it was a foolish and despicable act.

Chally truly regretted it. His curiosity had overridden reason, and with it, any thought of something as basic as privacy.

He had convinced himself that a murderer like Rid didn’t deserve respect. He had peeked through everything, taken the album, climbed out the window and ran.

The boy wasn’t sure he’d be safe if he admitted what he had done.

The screen lit up again.

What’s on your mind, sweetheart? You seem a little distracted from me.

This wasn’t going to end well. At least not if there was still a sliver of hope for a normal life. Otherwise, Chally would pay the price for what he’d done.

Please stop! I know what you want, Rid!

Chally’s heart pounded like it was awaiting a verdict.

Then tell me—what do you think I want?

He glanced around the room, trying to gather his thoughts. Curling up under the blanket as if he could somehow hide.

I admit it! I took your album… I’ll return it and we’ll have nothing to do with each other again...

Ting

Oh, bless poor sinful little Chally! Your guilt is enormous. Now bring that album to me—before daylight breaks!

The church bells echoed across town, and to Chally, it felt like a terrible omen. Dawn was fast approaching.

It’s almost morning… I don’t think today is the right time…

My dear Chally, your damned confession could excite the spirits themselves. The night I reign over is fading fast, and your sins are the offering that could breathe life into the dead. You should’ve behaved better—it would’ve made everything so much easier. Hurry! We don’t have much time!

To Chally, Rid sounded like a madman caught in one of his favorite novels, desperately hoping to unlock some ultimate power.

He looked out the window. Whether it was pure fantasy or terrifying truth, his instincts whispered that he should believe Rid.

Chally got out of bed, lifted the mattress, and pulled out the tin box. The ruby on its lid sparkled faintly, while the pale light of morning crept across the windowsill.

He tried to pry the box open but couldn’t. Every time his fingers touched the lid, a chill shot through him. He felt breathless.

The memories of the photo album were becoming blurred. Chally didn’t know what he was even searching for anymore. But curiosity was killing him all over again. The images inside his mind faded to fog, and the cold, echoing voice in his ears brought him to his knees on the frozen floor.

His hand brushed against a sharp pair of scissors he had unknowingly knocked over earlier. A sting of pain made him wince.

Morning light kissed the corners of his eyes, and panic flooded him. He grabbed the box, desperate to find Rid.

His blood mixed with the ruby on the album’s cover. The air stilled for a moment. Chally's entire body froze.

Then, the ruby blazed—brighter and redder than any light mankind had ever seen. The album slipped from his hands and hit the floor.

His wound closed up. For a moment, his mind went completely blank—then surged with shards of fragmented, aching memories.

Chally collapsed.

He couldn’t hear a thing. His body floated, weightless and powerless, lost in a place where nothing made sense anymore.