The Awakening

Charlene slowly turned the knob to her mother’s bedroom door. Please, Lord, let her be asleep.

Tiptoeing forward, every floorboard beneath her feet seemed to betray her. Crick. Crick. Crick.

“Oh my goodness,” she whispered, her eyes wide with anxiety.

Snap!

A sudden silence swallowed the room. No creaks. No whispers. There is no sound at all. Charlene froze, her back straightening in alarm. What just happened?

The air felt thick, as if something unseen hovered in the room with her. Her breath caught in her throat. She stepped back, then, with a sudden shiver, realized she wasn’t alone.

ReNew’s voice echoed in her mind—a calm voice - yet filled with urgency. "Quickly—remove the charm from around your mother’s neck. Be careful not to wake her. We need her to recover her memories."

Charlene nodded instinctively, her movements becoming more deliberate. She crossed the room with gentle, cautious steps. Yet every inch she took seemed to push her back, as though an invisible force was repelling her, pulling her away from her mother. She tried again—closer this time—but it felt like an unseen hand was forcing her to retreat.

"ReNew!" she thought aloud, frustration tinging her voice. "What is happening? I can’t move."

ReNew paused for a long moment, the weight of the situation settling in. Then, a cool response, "I know. I feel it, too. Let me think..."

Charlene watched as ReNew closed their eyes in deep concentration. A soft glow filled the room, and suddenly, an x-ray-like vision appeared before them. A swirling, pulsating wave radiated from her mother’s neck, encasing the charm in a protective bubble.

"The charm is protecting itself," ReNew explained in a steady tone. "We need to break through it, but we must get closer."

Charlene’s heart raced. "How? How do we do that?" she thought desperately.

"Fight power with power, Charlene. We have no other choice."

The words struck her like a thunderclap. Power against power… She took a deep breath. "But how do I use the spear? I’ve never done this before."

ReNew’s voice became reassuring. "You’ve already done it once. Think of what you need—what you want. Say it, and it will be."

Charlene blinked in confusion. "That’s it? It’s that simple?"

"Yes. But be cautious. Don’t wake your mother."

She swallowed hard, the weight of the moment pressing on her. With trembling fingers, she touched the spear lightly. In a breathless whisper, she said, "Scissors."

To her surprise, a pair of gleaming steel scissors appeared, floating effortlessly in the air before her.

"I see where you’re going with this." ReNew’s voice was approving. "Let me help you."

Charlene adjusted her stance, her hands now gripping the floating scissors. She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath as she visualized the motion she needed. Her hands began to move in a rhythm—slow and controlled—just as the ocean waves she used to watch crashing on distant shores. She could feel the scissors pressing against the invisible force, slowly making progress as she rocked her hands back and forth.

"Try an alligator’s bite—slow and steady," ReNew instructed.

Charlene visualized an alligator’s powerful jaws snapping shut, and with a sharp movement, the scissors bit into the charm’s protective barrier, cutting through it inch by inch.

Snap!

The charm’s chain finally broke in two. The heavy pendant dropped softly beside her mother’s neck, and the room seemed to breathe again, as if the air itself had been released from a tension-filled grip.

"You did it!" ReNew exclaimed, relief flooding their voice.

Charlene’s chest rose and fell with heavy breaths. She turned, about to leave the room, when—

A shimmer, faint at first, began to take form in the corner of her eye. It was a figure.

The form clapped.

But there was no sound.

It clapped again.

Silence.

It wasn’t until the figure grinned that Charlene realized what was happening. The sound was being suppressed. With a snap of the figure’s fingers, the sound returned.

Clap. Clap. Clap.

Charlene’s heart skipped a beat. She whirled around to face the intruder, her pulse pounding. “Who are you?” she demanded. “What are you doing in here?”

The figure smirked, its face cloaked in shadow. "I’m just here to give your mother her thirty pieces of silver."

With a swift motion, the figure conjured a small bag of coins and tossed it high into the air, sending it spiraling down toward her mother.

Tamara’s eyes fluttered open, the sound of the bag landing on her chest rousing her from a deep sleep.

“Ow,” she groaned, blinking in confusion. Slowly, she sat up, disoriented, eyes landing on the strange form at the foot of her bed.

Her gaze locked onto Charlene with a flicker of recognition. “Charlene—what are you doing here? What is this?”

Charlene’s stomach turned. Her mother’s voice, usually so comforting, was now full of fear.

“Mom?” she said softly.

But Tamara didn’t respond. Instead, she jumped out of bed and rushed toward the foot of the bed, positioning herself between Charlene and the figure. The silver coins scattered across the floor, rolling in every direction.

“Tamara, why are you so upset?” the figure asked with feigned sympathy. “I’m here to reward you for a job well done. A life for a life, remember?”

The words struck Charlene like an icy wind.

The figure’s gaze shifted to her. “Your mother traded you… for her beloved Seth.”

Charlene’s chest tightened, the sting of betrayal sharp and bitter.

“Yes… that’s it,” the figure cooed, watching her closely. “You understand now. Your mother betrayed you. She chose him over you.”

Tamara’s face twisted with anguish as she clenched her fists. Without warning, she lunged forward, grabbing the broken necklace chain and wrapping it tightly around the figure’s throat.

With a desperate scream, she squeezed, choking the life from the creature.

"Go!" she cried out in agony. "Go to the realm! Help your father! You’re the only one who can!"

"Mom, no! Please come with me!" Charlene begged.

"I can’t," Tamara’s voice cracked. “Only the dead—or those about to face the final judgment—can enter. I’ll hold it off as long as I can. I love you, baby. Now go!"

Tears flooded Charlene’s eyes, but she didn’t hesitate. She looked toward ReNew. “You heard her. Let’s go.”

Taking a deep breath, Charlene leaped into the swirling portal that had opened before her.

The last thing she saw was her mother’s face, etched with love and sorrow, as the portal closed behind her.

The darkness enveloped Charlene. It swallowed her whole, the void stretching endlessly before her. She felt weightless, as if suspended in time.

Fear gnawed at her. “What’s going to happen to me? What’s going to happen to ReNew?”

Her mother’s voice echoed in her mind, desperate and determined: “Find your father. Help him. Only you can save him now!”

Charlene gritted her teeth, forcing herself to push past the fear.

“I’m coming, Dad,” she whispered fiercely. “I’m coming to save you.”