Alexandra Kathleen Blade Author

The thick vegetation made it easy to gather dry branches and leaves for the funeral pyre. With movements driven more by necessity than skill, they laid Brenda’s body on the stacked wood.

Leyla and Sean lit the first branches. Evelyn, calm yet resolute, stepped forward to lead the improvised ceremony. Her purpose was clear, help Brenda close the circle and face whatever waited beyond the mortal world.

For a long, reverent moment, broken only by the crackle of the fire, their eyes stayed fixed on the flames consuming her body. The sky was beginning to lighten, and the last stars faded into the newborn dawn.

The fire hissed and snapped, wrapping Brenda in a dance of light and ash. The air grew thick with acrid smoke, harsh, choking, sharp enough to burn the lungs.

Sean stared at his wife’s burning body, feeling the world collapse around him. His knees gave out, and he dropped to the ground, clutching his hair in sheer agony. Tears streamed down his face as a guttural cry tore through his throat, a raw sound of grief too heavy for words.

Leyla and Evelyn stayed close, silent witnesses to his devastation. Their tears mingled with the smoke drifting around them. Words were useless, Sean’s cries said everything language couldn’t.

The fire burned fiercely, but it was nothing compared to the flames consuming Sean’s heart. Loss, helplessness, the sheer absurdity of what they were living through, all of it condensed into that moment, that image destined to scar them forever.

They’d reached a bitter acceptance, a surrender to the inevitable, as if it had all been written in the Prophecy. And with it came the grim understanding: without a way out before dawn, they would be trapped on Island of the Moon until the next full moon. Yet one question still lingered, what fate awaited them?

“It’s time,” Sean said, his voice heavy with duty and sorrow.

The horizon blushed with the first shades of dawn, a fragile promise of rebirth after a night that refused to end. Sean moved toward the drawbridge, pausing to take one last look. He held his breath, etching every detail of the place he was leaving behind. Then he turned to Leyla and Evelyn, his companions in pain and courage.

“I’m grateful,” Sean said, emotion thick in his voice. “For helping me honor Brenda. For us, fire is purification, it lights the path of the dead to the other world.”

The women nodded, their eyes bound by a quiet, wordless understanding.

“There’s no need to thank us,” Evelyn said softly, her expression tender. “Like Leyla said, we’ll always owe you.”

They spoke of Brenda as if she were still there, because, in a way, she was. They all knew life and death were just two sides of the same existence. In that moment, she still lived among them.

“So what now?” Sean asked, glancing up at the sky as it began to brighten. “Evelyn, can you check the map?”

She bent over the parchment, searching for the glowing path. It was different this time. Not the same route they had taken before, but a new one, shorter. The trail led straight back to the boat they’d left anchored.

“This is incredible! Fate’s giving us one last shot. If we move fast, we might just make it,” Sean said, a spark of hope breaking through the grief.

He adjusted his pack and started forward, determination in every step. Leyla and Evelyn followed close behind, their silhouettes cutting through the smoke of the pyre.

As they walked, their eyes drifted back to the map.

That’s when it happened. The drawn lines came alive, glowing under the first rays of sunlight. For a breathless moment, the parchment seemed to whisper its final direction, then a spark flared, quick and fierce, consuming it in a burning dance. Within seconds, the map turned to ash, as if it had fulfilled its purpose.

Reaching the edge of the plateau, they caught sight of the boat below. Time was against them, yet hope pushed them onward.

They slid down the dew-soaked hills. During the descent, Leyla felt her mother’s eyes on her, sharp, probing, burning right through her.

“Leyla, what’s with that look?” Evelyn asked.

“It’s nothing, Mom. I’m just… thinking,” she replied, her tone evasive.

“I can read your face, Leyla. You know you can’t lie to me.”

Leyla lowered her gaze, biting her lip.

“I know. It’s just that… I was thinking about Taylor. If he really shows up, like he promised…”

“And doesn’t find you,” her mother cut in, voice firm as steel. “I was just waiting for you to say it out loud.”

Leyla froze, as if the words had hit her square in the chest.

“But… what do you want me to do?”

Evelyn stepped closer, taking her daughter’s hand with a gentleness that contrasted sharply with the intensity in her eyes.

“It’s not for me to decide, sweetheart. But today, you saw what you’re capable of. That power, that light in your hair when you came back, it didn’t happen by chance. It’s your gift. It’s always been there. Only now it’s showing itself for what it truly is.”

Leyla took a step back, her brows furrowed.

“But why now? What does it even mean?”

They locked eyes. Sean kept moving down the slope, leaving them behind in the crisp morning air, the dawn climbing higher behind them. Evelyn squeezed her daughter’s hand again.

“In your heart, you already know. This is the end of one chapter, and the beginning of something bigger. But you don’t have to face it alone. I’m with you. Always. No matter what you choose.”

Leyla said nothing. Then a single tear traced her cheek, followed by another. She broke down, throwing her arms around her mother in a desperate embrace.

Evelyn held her tight, as if she could take the pain away herself.

“You’re not alone, Leyla. You never will be.”

Leyla sobbed, her voice trembling.

“How am I supposed to leave you again? I know I have to go, I can’t turn my back on the ones who need me, but what if I fail? What if I can’t help them?”

Evelyn lifted her chin gently, forcing her to meet her gaze.

“Your gift brought you back. It showed you that you can move through space and time as if it were air. This isn’t random, Leyla. And it’s not a dream, it’s a chance. Even if it feels more like a burden than a blessing right now, in time you’ll learn to accept it. Maybe you’ll even bring someone home again. And if you manage to save just one life… that’s already enough. We’re not here to change the world, only to make a difference where we can.”

✦✧✦✧✦ 𝓛𝓮𝔂𝓵𝓪 ✧✦✧✦✧

The map has turned to ash, and an ancient power has finally awakened within Leyla. Will they manage to leave the island in time? Leave a ⭐ if this chapter moved you, and tell me your theories: what will be the price of Leyla’s gift? I’m reading all your comments!