EPISODE 2

KEILAH

“Cora, listen to me,” I said softly, placing a hand on her arm. “We’ll talk about this when I get back from Auntie’s memorial, okay? Right now, I need to be there. You know how important today is.”

Cora nodded, her expression softening. "Alright. We’ll talk when you get back."

She stepped aside and opened the door, giving me space to leave. I hesitated for a brief moment, glancing back at her one last time before walking past her and into the living room, where the twins were waiting eagerly.

I bent down with a smile as both of them planted a kiss on each of my cheek. "Tell Grandma we said hi!" Avery said cheerfully.

"Yeah, and that we miss her!" Zoe added, her little face bright with sincerity.

Cora chimed in from behind. "And please tell her that we love her. Tell her to forgive me that I couldn’t visit her this time."

I nodded at them, smiling despite the heaviness in my heart. "Of course. I’ll make sure she knows."

I slipped into my boots, tightened the laces, and headed out the door. I climbed into the taxi waiting for me and gave the driver a small nod, signalling that I was ready. The drive to our old residence, where my aunt’s grave was, passed in silence.

When the taxi pulled up, I stepped out, taking a long, steadying breath as I fought the tears that threatened to spill. The familiar ache in my chest grew as I walked up the small hill toward my aunt’s grave.

As I approached the gravestone, I noticed fresh roses lying on the ground. They looked as if they had been placed there just moments before. I frowned and glanced around, wondering who could've left them, but no one was in sight. With a sigh, I knelt down, placing my own roses beside the others. I ran my fingers over the stone, tracing the engraved letters of my aunt’s name. For a moment, it felt like the whole world had gone silent, like even the trees and the breeze were holding their breath, waiting for me to speak.

"Hi, Auntie," I whispered, my fingers tracing the cool surface of the gravestone. "It’s me. How are you doing over there?"

The words felt heavy on my lips, and I had to struggle to get them out. "I know it's been a while. Things have changed so much since you’ve been gone. I feel like... I don’t know how to keep up with everything. But I’m trying. I’m really trying."

I paused, imagining her gentle voice urging me to ease up on myself. "I can almost hear you telling me not to be so hard on myself," I said softly, a shaky laugh escaping me. "But it’s hard without you, Auntie. I just... I wish you were still here. But then I remind myself that you’re with my little Evan, keeping him company and making sure he doesn’t miss me too much.”

I broke down, my shoulders trembling as the thought of my little boy overwhelmed me. "It tears me apart every day that I can’t be with my baby anymore," I choked out, my voice cracking with emotion. "I’m sure he misses me just as much as I miss him. I can’t help but think he’s angry with me, that he’s avoiding me in my dreams because he thinks I'm a terrible mother—which I am. What kind of mother doesn’t visit her child?"

I sniffled, trying to calm myself as my head throbbed from the tears. I took a deep, shaky breath before continuing, "Aunt, please—please tell my little Evan that I’m so sorry. That I miss him terribly. If he could come to me in a dream, even just for a brief moment, I’d be the happiest mother in the whole universe."

I pressed my forehead against the cold stone, trying to steady my breathing. The silence around me felt heavy. I closed my eyes, imagining my aunt’s comforting presence and hoping that somehow, somewhere, my little Evan could feel my love reaching out to him.

I kept my forehead pressed against the cold stone, letting out heavy sobs, but then a sudden wind swept through the cemetery, darkening the clouds above. I wiped my tears, trying to collect myself. “Auntie, I think it’s going to rain. I have to leave.

Just as I finished speaking, the first heavy drops of rain began to fall. I glanced up at the sky, the raindrops growing more insistent. “I’m off, Auntie,” I said quickly, pulling out my phone to order a taxi. I turned to leave the cemetery, hurrying through the rain as it began to pour.

The droplets pounded harder against me, soaking through my clothes. My steps quickened as I raced down the path toward the main road. But in my haste, I stumbled over an unseen obstacle and fell hard onto the ground. The impact jarred my body, sending me rolling roughly until I landed in the middle of the road. Pain surged through me, and I cried out as I lay there, battered and bruised.

I pushed myself upright, my heart racing as I tried to move out of the road, but my legs wouldn’t respond. I strained to move them, trying again and again, but they remained stubbornly immobile. Panic surged through me as I struggled, feeling as though my legs had been bound by invisible threads. Panic surged through me as I let out a piercing scream…

"Help! Please, someone help me!" I called out, my voice trembling, but the only answer was the sound of the rain and my own desperate cries.

Then, my eyes widened in terror as I saw a car approaching, its music blaring loudly. What chilled me even more was the driver’s eyes, glowing with an unnatural light, locked onto me with a menacing focus. My breath came in ragged gasps as the car got closer,

The car continued its relentless approach, and an intense feverish heat surged through my body. My vision began to blur, the world darkening around the edges. I felt my strength waning, my body unable to move, as the car’s lights grew ever closer.

My last thought, amidst the pain and terror, was that maybe, just maybe, I’d finally get to meet the people I missed. With that, everything around me faded to black.

***

My body ached as I drifted in and out of consciousness, the soft beeping of machines echoing faintly in the background. I tried to open my eyes, but my eyelids felt heavy, weighed down by the fatigue that clung to me. Slowly, the sounds became clearer—a distant murmur of voices, the hum of machinery, and the distinct sound of footsteps.

My skin felt as though it was on fire, especially around my neck. Instinctively, my hand shot up to scratch at the irritation, but my fingers grazed over a patch of plaster covering part of my neck where the irritation itch comes from. Confusion clouded my thoughts, the memory of how I ended up here slipping through my grasp.

Before I could think any further, the hospital curtain divider swung open with a soft swish, revealing a nurse in a crisp uniform. She gave me a warm, professional smile as she stepped closer to my bedside.

"Ah, you're awake, Ms. Keilah," she said, her voice calm and soothing. "How are you feeling?”

I blinked, trying to gather my scattered thoughts. "I... I'm not sure," I murmured, my throat parched and rough. "What happened? How did I get here?"

The nurse glanced at the clipboard in her hand before meeting my gaze. "The taxi you ordered found you lying unconscious in the middle of the road.

The nurse's words barely registered as a new sensation surged through my body—a heat so intense it made me shiver. My skin prickled with it, starting from my toes and racing upward like a fire being kindled from within. It grew hotter and hotter until it centred around my neck, where the plaster covered.

I clamped a hand tightly over the patch, trying to contain the heat, but it only intensified. My breath quickened, the heat rushing like a flood, making my head spin. My heart pounded in my chest, and confusion gripped me. Something wasn’t right.

The nurse noticed my distress and frowned, stepping closer. "Ms. Keilah, are you alright? Should I call for the doctor?”

I shook my head slightly, trying to focus. "Why does my body heat up like this? And then... the heat goes onto the side of my nec—" I stopped abruptly, realization dawning like a lightning strike. My pulse raced faster than before, panic slowly crawling up my throat as I pieced it together.

No. It couldn’t be.

The nurse opened her mouth to say something, but I cut her off, my voice a little shaky. "Excuse me, nurse. I need to use the restroom.”

Without waiting for a response, I swung my legs over the bed, ignoring the dizziness that hit me as I rushed through the crowded hallway. Nurses and patients blurred around me as I stumbled my way to the bathroom.

I burst into the nearest bathroom and slammed the door behind me, leaning heavily against the sink. My reflection stared back at me in the mirror, pale and drenched in confusion. My breath came out in shallow gasps as I reached up, trembling fingers brushing against the edge of the plaster on my neck.

With a sudden, swift motion, I ripped it off, my eyes widening as they took in what lay beneath.

The mark.

Damien’s mark that had disappeared four years ago had returned, clear as day on my skin.