A primal light.
A woman’s pleading voice.
Sobs. Distant moans.
The chirping of crickets and the hum of the night blended with Leyla’s half-sleep.
She tossed and turned, or at least she thought she did, trapped in a restless dream, jolted by tremors that kept her balanced on the razor’s edge between awareness and the void.
Cool air brushed against her face, too fresh to belong to her room. The damp touch of grass grazed her ankles, vivid and real.
The scent of wet earth and crushed leaves hit her all at once.
A breeze traced a path down her back. A shiver. Instinctively, she curled up, seeking shelter. But there were no sheets.
Beneath her, no mattress, only the heartbeat of living soil.
The sounds of the night grew sharper. And among them, a voice.
One she knew too well. Not just any voice. Her mother’s.
Evelyn.
Leyla’s eyes flew open. Her heart hammered wildly in her chest.
A scream caught in her throat.
She wasn’t in her bed anymore.
She was somewhere else.
“Mom!… Mom!”
The syllables shattered in the air like breaking glass.
Something inside her was stirring—an ancient, buried force awakening after years of silence. Her senses sharpened, as if a veil had been lifted from her eyes. Everything was clearer, too real to belong to a dream.
Evelyn flinched, hit by a wave of emotion. A shiver ran through her as her mother’s words resurfaced in her mind.
From where I stand, I can see the strength of your gift. Trust me. The moon pendant… hides arcane powers.
At that very moment, the translucent gem Evelyn held between her fingers, shimmering between white and pearly gray, flared to life, bursting in a surge of silvery light. It vibrated, spinning on itself, and shot out a beam of pure brilliance that sliced through the darkness like a lighthouse in a starless night.
Evelyn moved toward Leyla, her feet barely seemed to touch the ground, each step defying time itself.
“Leylaaa!”
The name slipped from her lips like an ancient call, cracked by emotion.
Leyla was there, right in front of her. And yet, something in her eyes betrayed the struggle to believe it.
Evelyn pulled her into a raw, desperate embrace, one overflowing with tears and relief.
“Mom… Where are we? What’s happening? Edenlost, Helen, Taylor… was it all a dream? Or a nightmare? But if this is real… then…”
“Sweetheart, breathe. Calm down. I know, it’s a lot to take in. But yes, this is real. As real as everything you’ve lived until now.”
Then her gaze drifted down to her daughter’s legs, pausing in stunned silence.
“Leyla… you’re standing. Without crutches?”
Only then did Leyla seem to realize it. A wave of panic crashed over her.
“I’m losing my mind… this is insane! Where are we? Who’s that man over there? And why is he bending over that body? Mom, please, tell me what’s going on!”
The words tumbled out of her mouth, fast, breathless, desperate, as if each inhale might betray her and drag her into panic.
Evelyn was the beacon in that storm of confusion, and Leyla clung to her with everything she had, searching for an anchor in a reality that had just upended everything she thought she knew.
“Breathe, sweetheart. Come here, sit beside me. Let’s give Sean a moment to recover. I’ll tell you everything I can… though, believe me, seeing you here, alive, clear-minded, your memory back, and your legs finally free from paralysis, was as much a shock to me as it is to you.”
Evelyn gently ran her fingers through Leyla’s hair, letting the strands slip softly between them. She smiled, a smile so tender it could have embraced the world. Then, with a solemn gesture, she lifted a lock of Leyla’s hair toward the moonlight.
“Look. See this strand? It catches the moon’s glow, sometimes it even shimmers silver. That’s the sign. All of this is tied to your gift. It’s always been inside you, silent, waiting for this very moment.”
Leyla stared at her hair as if seeing it for the first time.
“Now look at mine,” Evelyn went on, lowering her voice to a near-whisper, like she was sharing a secret meant only for them. “Here’s where my raven-black strand hides. It’s our mark. Passed from mother to daughter for generations, so long ago that no one even remembers when it began.”
“A symbol of the dawn of a hidden existence,” she added, with a soft, reassuring smile.
Leyla listened in silence, spellbound. Those words seemed to open something inside her, a door she hadn’t known was there, yet had somehow been waiting for all along.
“Each of us is born with a unique power. And each discovers it in her own way. It’s never the same. And it never happens by chance. It reveals itself only when we’re ready to embrace it. It grows with us. It demands trust, and a touch of courage.”
Evelyn turned to her, her gaze warm and full of love.
“For us,” she said, her voice carrying a quiet solemnity, “this gift has always been a treasure, but also a secret. It protects us, yet it sets us apart. It makes us special… but also vulnerable. That’s why we’ve always guarded it with discretion.”
A moment of stillness settled between them, broken only by the quick rhythm of Leyla’s heartbeat.
“You never asked why we had to keep it hidden,” her mother said gently. “And do you know why? Because deep down, you already knew. Just as I did. And as your grandmother did before us. It’s something sacred, something to be shared only with those we truly love, and only when the time is right.”
Leyla lowered her gaze. Memories of her grandmother surfaced, soft-spoken stories, moments of misunderstanding, fear, and quiet exclusion.
“I remember the talks you used to have with Grandma,” she murmured. “About all those people who couldn’t accept what we are. The ones who were afraid. The ones who lashed out in anger… or worse. Now I understand why this gift must be protected. It’s rare. It’s powerful. But it’s also fragile.”
Then she lifted her gaze. “And still… I never imagined it was inside me too.”
Evelyn pulled her close. Time seemed to dissolve. They stayed there, wrapped in each other’s arms, surrounded by whispered words and promises that had never been spoken aloud. They had found each other again. The nightmare of the past had finally faded.
But the pull of reality returned, breaking the spell with the sound of heavy footsteps.
Sean approached, his face marked by pain. Even faced with Leyla’s impossible reappearance, his gaze did not waver. It was dark, hollowed by grief… and yet, deep down, something genuine still flickered.
“Hi, Leyla. I’m Sean. And… that woman over there, she’s my wife, Brenda. I’m grateful her death wasn’t in vain.”
His voice was rough, as if scraped from the depths of an abyss.
Leyla met his eyes. There was no room for hesitation.
“The pleasure’s mine, Sean. I’m so sorry. My mother told me everything. We owe you both, for what you did, for honoring the Prophecy.”
Evelyn nodded slowly. Thoughts crowded her mind, but words wouldn’t come out.
Where would she find the courage to say they had to go? To suggest it would be wiser to leave Brenda’s body here and head for the boat? Dawn was coming…
Sean seemed to see right through her.
“Brenda can’t come with us. Not anymore. That’s only a body. Her spirit will follow us, and that’s what matters.”
Evelyn stared at him. She didn’t speak, but her eyes said everything.
“I only ask one thing,” Sean said then. “One gesture. A rite. To help her find peace. Please, Evelyn, help me give her a proper farewell. After that… we’ll set the body on fire. It’s what she would have wanted.”
Silence fell like a shroud.
“Don’t worry,” he added, his tone softer, almost clinical. “I know we don’t have time to linger. But a beginning will be enough. Once the flames take hold, we can go.” Evelyn nodded, her heart tightened in a vice, torn between the instinct to stay and the urgency to leave. But she knew what had to be done.
✦✧✦✧✦ 𝓛𝓮𝔂𝓵𝓪 ✧✦✧✦✧
The veil has been lifted, and the Prophecy has claimed its first sacrifice. Leyla is standing, her gift has awakened, but the cost was etched in blood. Can a new light shine when it is born from such darkness? Leave a comment with your theories.
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