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Chapter 31: The Price of Remembering

Penulis: Alele Tombra
last update Terakhir Diperbarui: 2025-03-20 19:36:19

The room still felt wrong. Even though the illusion had shattered, the weight of it lingered. The air was too thick, pressing against Isla’s skin like invisible hands trying to pull her back under. The scent of lavender was gone, replaced by something old and damp, but she could still taste it at the back of her throat.

She had fallen to the floor when the illusion broke, her body shaking with the force of it. Now she was still, her breathing ragged but slowing, her hands splayed against the cold wooden floor.

Elliot waited. He didn’t speak, didn’t move, didn’t push. He had learned that this was the hardest part the moment after, when the truth settled in and the mind tried to make sense of what it had just been forced to face.

Finally, Isla exhaled. It wasn’t a sigh of relief. It was something else. Something hollow.

“I remember,” she said. Her voice was raw, barely above a whisper.

Elliot nodded, staying crouched beside her. “Tell me.”

She squeezed her eyes shut for a moment, her fingers pressing against the floor like she needed something real to hold onto. Then she swallowed and opened her eyes.

“I lived here,” she said, her voice barely audible. “A long time ago.”

Elliot had suspected as much, but hearing her say it made something inside him shift. He had seen the way the house reacted to her, the way it bent itself to her presence. It didn’t just want her. It knew her.

“How long ago?” Elliot asked.

Isla hesitated, shaking her head. “I don’t know. I was little. I don’t remember much, just… flashes. My mother was here. My father, too, but not as much. He was always gone. She used to sit by the window, waiting for him.” Her fingers twitched against the floor. “I remember the smell of lavender. I remember… I remember singing.”

Her voice caught slightly on the last word, like it hurt to say.

Elliot watched her carefully. “And what else?”

Isla inhaled sharply, her shoulders tensing. “I don’t know,” she said quickly. “It’s blurry.”

She was lying.

Or maybe not lying, but resisting. Elliot had seen it before. The house never showed everything at once it broke its victims apart piece by piece, letting the truth sink in just enough before pulling them deeper. Isla was only at the edge of it now. There was more.

Elliot sat back slightly, his gaze steady. “Then we need to find the rest.”

Isla snapped her head toward him, her eyes wide. “No.”

He raised an eyebrow.

She swallowed hard, shaking her head. “I don’t I don’t want to find the rest.”

“You don’t have a choice,” Elliot said simply.

Isla’s breath hitched. “That’s bullshit.”

Elliot exhaled slowly, pushing himself to his feet. “You think you’re in control of this?” He motioned around the dimly lit room, the walls still trembling slightly from the house’s last attempt to hold onto her. “You think this is over just because you walked away?”

Isla flinched but held his gaze. “I broke free.”

“No,” Elliot said. “You woke up. There’s a difference.”

She pressed her lips together, looking away.

Elliot ran a hand through his hair, pacing slightly. He didn’t enjoy this part, the moment when reality came crashing down and the weight of the house’s demands fully settled.

But he had to push her. If she didn’t face it now, the house would pull her under again.

And next time, she might not come back.

He stopped pacing, turning back to her. “Tell me something, Isla. If you lived here, why don’t you remember?”

She swallowed, her throat bobbing.

Elliot stepped closer. “What are you really afraid of?”

Her hands clenched into fists. “Shut up.”

“Is it your mother?” he pressed. “Is it something she did? Or something you did?”

“I said shut up!” Isla’s voice broke as she surged to her feet, shoving him back with both hands. It wasn’t much she was smaller than him, weaker in this state but the force of it was enough to send a message.

Elliot barely reacted. He just looked at her, waiting.

She was breathing heavily, her face pale, her hands still trembling at her sides. Her eyes were glassy with unshed tears.

Elliot exhaled through his nose. “You want to run. I get it.”

Isla let out a short, bitter laugh. “You get it? You have no idea”

“You think you’re the first person to stand where you’re standing?” Elliot cut her off. “You think you’re the first person to wake up in this house and realize it’s not done with you?”

She stared at him, her breath coming in short bursts.

“I’ve seen people break,” Elliot said, his voice quieter now. “I’ve seen people run. You know what happens to them?”

She didn’t answer.

He took another step toward her. “They don’t make it out.”

Isla shook her head. “I I just need a second”

“You don’t have a second,” Elliot said sharply. “You remember something now. That means the house knows you remember. And it will use that against you.”

She swallowed, her throat tight. “I don’t know what I’m supposed to do.”

Elliot held her gaze. “You’re supposed to face it.”

A heavy silence filled the room.

Then Isla’s chin trembled, just slightly.

“I don’t know if I can,” she admitted.

Elliot nodded once. “Then let’s find out.”

They left the room behind.

The hallway felt different now, the air thicker, like the house was pressing against them, listening to their every word. Isla walked slightly ahead of Elliot, her arms folded tight across her chest, her shoulders hunched.

Elliot knew better than to push more right now. He had gotten her to admit that she remembered. That was the first step. But the house wouldn’t wait long before it tried again.

They had to stay ahead of it.

They reached the grand staircase. Isla hesitated at the top, staring down into the dimly lit foyer. “Where are we going?”

“To find the truth,” Elliot said.

She let out a sharp breath. “Yeah, real specific.”

Elliot stepped past her, descending the stairs. “Come on.”

She followed, but her steps were slow, reluctant.

The house creaked softly around them. The shadows stretched.

And then

A sharp knock echoed through the hall.

Isla stiffened. “What the hell was that?”

Elliot didn’t answer. He already knew.

He reached the bottom of the stairs and turned toward the front doors.

Another knock. Louder this time.

Isla took a hesitant step down. “Elliot”

Then, before either of them could react, the doors swung open.

And someone was standing outside.

The figure in the doorway was drenched from the storm outside, their dark coat dripping water onto the marble floor.

They looked up, their face pale, their breath coming in short, panicked bursts.

“I got a letter,” they said, their voice shaking. “And I think I made a mistake.”

The house had called another.

And Elliot knew their time was running out.

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  • The Echoes we Bury   Chapter 32: Another One Answers

    The storm raged outside, wind howling through the skeletal trees that lined the long, winding road to Wintercroft Hall. The figure in the doorway shivered violently, their breath coming in ragged gasps as rain dripped from their soaked clothes onto the marble floor.Elliot didn’t move. Neither did Isla.The house had chosen again.The newcomer clutched a damp, crumpled envelope in their trembling fingers. Their knuckles were pale, their hands shaking as they held the letter out like proof of something they still didn’t fully understand.“I—I got this,” they stammered, their voice raw with panic. “I don’t know why. I don’t even know why I came.” Their wild eyes darted between Elliot and Isla. “I think I made a mistake.”Elliot exhaled slowly, his fingers curling at his sides.They always say that at first.The house was never wrong.“You should come inside,” Elliot said.The figure hesitated, looking over their shoulder as if debating whether to turn and run.Elliot had seen that hesi

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  • The Echoes we Bury   Chapter 33: When the House Decides

    Ethan sat by the fire, his hands still gripping the damp letter like it could anchor him to something solid. His breathing had slowed, but his eyes darted around the room, flicking to every shadow, every flickering candle. He wasn’t just cold he was aware.The house had taken hold.It always started like this. A creeping, crawling unease. A presence pressing just beyond the edges of awareness. The mind searching for a way to rationalize what it already knew, but wouldn’t yet accept.Elliot had seen it before.He leaned against the fireplace, arms crossed. Isla hovered near the door, her expression unreadable. She hadn’t said much since Ethan arrived. She was still shaken from her own encounter, still processing the weight of her memories clawing their way back to the surface.Ethan was next.The house would dig into him, same as it had with her. Same as it had with Elliot.The only question wasHow long would it take before Ethan stopped fighting?And how much would the house take bef

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  • The Echoes we Bury   Chapter 34: The Room That Knew His Name

    Ethan moved slowly, each step cautious, controlled. The hallway stretched ahead of him, long and narrow, the walls pressing inward like the house was breathing around him. The air was thick too thick and it made every inhale feel heavier, like something unseen was pressing against his ribs.The whisper had stopped.But he had heard it.He wasn’t alone.He didn’t know how he knew that, but he did.The shadows flickered as he passed beneath the dim candlelight. The house was watching him now. Waiting.Then, without warningA door creaked open at the end of the hall.Ethan froze.The door hadn’t just opened.It had welcomed him.A sharp chill ran through his body. The air beyond the threshold was darker, thicker, like a void waiting to be stepped into. He couldn’t see what was inside just the faintest glimmer of something past the doorway, something half-hidden in the shadows.His heartbeat pounded in his ears.He knew somehow that if he walked through that door, something inside would b

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  • The Echoes we Bury   Chapter 35: The Promise He Broke

    Ethan couldn’t breathe.The room was spinning, the walls stretching and closing in at the same time. The shadows near the closet deepened, curling at the edges like ink bleeding into paper. The hand reaching through the gap trembled slightly, fingers flexing, waiting.Tyler.The name burned in Ethan’s chest, scraping against ribs that felt too tight, lungs that wouldn’t expand properly.This wasn’t real.It couldn’t be real.But he couldn’t look away.The hand moved again.“Why did you leave me?”The voice his brother’s voice was so soft, so broken, that Ethan felt something splinter inside him.He staggered forward before he could stop himself, his breath coming in quick, shallow bursts.“I didn’t,” he rasped. “I”But the words caught in his throat.Because he had.A memory surfaced, sharp and raw.Ethan was eleven. Tyler was seven. The storm had knocked out the power, plunging their small house into darkness. Their father had already disappeared for the night, leaving them alone.“S

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  • The Echoes we Bury   Chapter 1: The Invitation

    The letter arrived on a Monday.Elliot almost didn’t open it. Bills and threats from creditors came regularly, shoved through his mail slot like a slap in the face. This envelope, though, stood out—thick, cream-colored, and stamped with an unfamiliar crest. The handwriting on the front was sharp and precise, spelling his name as though someone had carved it there.He slit it open with the edge of a key, curious despite himself.“Wintercroft Hall invites you to uncover the truth. A story you won’t forget. Your passage will be arranged.”No signature, no explanation. Just an address, and at the bottom, a postscript: “Some things refuse to stay buried.”Elliot tossed it onto the cluttered coffee table, next to an empty whiskey bottle. He tried not to think about it. Wintercroft Hall? It sounded like one of those haunted tourist traps rich people paid to renovate.But by Wednesday, he’d Googled it. By Friday, he was packing.The ferry rocked against the tide, the spray of saltwater biting

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  • The Echoes we Bury   Chapter 2: Tension Builds

    For a moment, no one moved.Vivienne Ashworth sat slumped in her wheelchair, skeletal fingers draped over the armrests. She looked impossibly old, as if she’d crumble into dust at the slightest gust of wind. But her eyes—those pale, piercing eyes—moved over the group with disconcerting sharpness, as if she could see straight into their thoughts.“You’ve been brought here,” she said, her voice trembling but deliberate, “because the past always finds a way to surface. Even when we bury it, deep as we dare.”Elliot’s stomach twisted. He was good at spotting performance—an occupational hazard of chasing down stories for years—but there was something about Vivienne that didn’t feel staged. It felt raw. Real.Before anyone could respond, she motioned toward the butler, who handed her a small black box. Vivienne opened it, revealing seven folded pieces of paper.“One for each of you,” she said, her voice rasping like dry leaves. “Your past follows you here.”She extended a trembling hand, ho

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  • The Echoes we Bury   Chapter 3: The First Death

    The scream tore through Wintercroft Hall, sharp and full of terror.Elliot froze in the doorway, his fingers tightening around the brass candlestick. For a moment, the storm outside seemed to quiet, as if the house itself was holding its breath. Then the sound of frantic footsteps echoed down the hallway.He turned to see the auburn-haired woman from earlier—Emma, if he remembered her name right—running toward him. Her face was pale, her eyes wide with panic.“Someone’s dead,” she whispered, her voice shaking. “In the stairwell. There’s… there’s blood everywhere.”Elliot didn’t wait for more. He followed her down the hall, the cold air of the mansion biting at his skin. When they reached the grand staircase, the rest of the group had already gathered, standing in stunned silence.At the base of the staircase, sprawled awkwardly across the marble floor, was the body of the impatient man in the tailored coat. His head was twisted at an unnatural angle, and a dark pool of blood spread ou

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  • The Echoes we Bury   Chapter 4: Secrets Exposed

    The morning brought no comfort.The storm had lessened to a steady drizzle, but Wintercroft Hall remained shrouded in gloom. The lingering scent of damp wood and decay seeped into Elliot’s senses as he descended the grand staircase. The bloodstain from the previous night had been scrubbed away, but the memory of the body sprawled there was harder to erase.The group gathered in the dining room, their movements tense, their faces drawn. Breakfast had been laid out—perfectly arranged plates of fruit, toast, and eggs—but no one touched the food.“Did anyone sleep?” Emma asked, her voice breaking the uneasy silence.“I wouldn’t call it sleep,” muttered the man with glasses. He glanced toward the hallway, where the butler had disappeared moments before. “And I didn’t hear anything from Henry, either.”Elliot stirred his coffee, his thoughts elsewhere. The figure he’d seen in the hallway last night—it wasn’t just paranoia. He was sure of it.Vivienne’s note still sat in his pocket, crumpled

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  • The Echoes we Bury   Chapter 35: The Promise He Broke

    Ethan couldn’t breathe.The room was spinning, the walls stretching and closing in at the same time. The shadows near the closet deepened, curling at the edges like ink bleeding into paper. The hand reaching through the gap trembled slightly, fingers flexing, waiting.Tyler.The name burned in Ethan’s chest, scraping against ribs that felt too tight, lungs that wouldn’t expand properly.This wasn’t real.It couldn’t be real.But he couldn’t look away.The hand moved again.“Why did you leave me?”The voice his brother’s voice was so soft, so broken, that Ethan felt something splinter inside him.He staggered forward before he could stop himself, his breath coming in quick, shallow bursts.“I didn’t,” he rasped. “I”But the words caught in his throat.Because he had.A memory surfaced, sharp and raw.Ethan was eleven. Tyler was seven. The storm had knocked out the power, plunging their small house into darkness. Their father had already disappeared for the night, leaving them alone.“S

  • The Echoes we Bury   Chapter 34: The Room That Knew His Name

    Ethan moved slowly, each step cautious, controlled. The hallway stretched ahead of him, long and narrow, the walls pressing inward like the house was breathing around him. The air was thick too thick and it made every inhale feel heavier, like something unseen was pressing against his ribs.The whisper had stopped.But he had heard it.He wasn’t alone.He didn’t know how he knew that, but he did.The shadows flickered as he passed beneath the dim candlelight. The house was watching him now. Waiting.Then, without warningA door creaked open at the end of the hall.Ethan froze.The door hadn’t just opened.It had welcomed him.A sharp chill ran through his body. The air beyond the threshold was darker, thicker, like a void waiting to be stepped into. He couldn’t see what was inside just the faintest glimmer of something past the doorway, something half-hidden in the shadows.His heartbeat pounded in his ears.He knew somehow that if he walked through that door, something inside would b

  • The Echoes we Bury   Chapter 33: When the House Decides

    Ethan sat by the fire, his hands still gripping the damp letter like it could anchor him to something solid. His breathing had slowed, but his eyes darted around the room, flicking to every shadow, every flickering candle. He wasn’t just cold he was aware.The house had taken hold.It always started like this. A creeping, crawling unease. A presence pressing just beyond the edges of awareness. The mind searching for a way to rationalize what it already knew, but wouldn’t yet accept.Elliot had seen it before.He leaned against the fireplace, arms crossed. Isla hovered near the door, her expression unreadable. She hadn’t said much since Ethan arrived. She was still shaken from her own encounter, still processing the weight of her memories clawing their way back to the surface.Ethan was next.The house would dig into him, same as it had with her. Same as it had with Elliot.The only question wasHow long would it take before Ethan stopped fighting?And how much would the house take bef

  • The Echoes we Bury   Chapter 32: Another One Answers

    The storm raged outside, wind howling through the skeletal trees that lined the long, winding road to Wintercroft Hall. The figure in the doorway shivered violently, their breath coming in ragged gasps as rain dripped from their soaked clothes onto the marble floor.Elliot didn’t move. Neither did Isla.The house had chosen again.The newcomer clutched a damp, crumpled envelope in their trembling fingers. Their knuckles were pale, their hands shaking as they held the letter out like proof of something they still didn’t fully understand.“I—I got this,” they stammered, their voice raw with panic. “I don’t know why. I don’t even know why I came.” Their wild eyes darted between Elliot and Isla. “I think I made a mistake.”Elliot exhaled slowly, his fingers curling at his sides.They always say that at first.The house was never wrong.“You should come inside,” Elliot said.The figure hesitated, looking over their shoulder as if debating whether to turn and run.Elliot had seen that hesi

  • The Echoes we Bury   Chapter 31: The Price of Remembering

    The room still felt wrong. Even though the illusion had shattered, the weight of it lingered. The air was too thick, pressing against Isla’s skin like invisible hands trying to pull her back under. The scent of lavender was gone, replaced by something old and damp, but she could still taste it at the back of her throat.She had fallen to the floor when the illusion broke, her body shaking with the force of it. Now she was still, her breathing ragged but slowing, her hands splayed against the cold wooden floor.Elliot waited. He didn’t speak, didn’t move, didn’t push. He had learned that this was the hardest part the moment after, when the truth settled in and the mind tried to make sense of what it had just been forced to face.Finally, Isla exhaled. It wasn’t a sigh of relief. It was something else. Something hollow.“I remember,” she said. Her voice was raw, barely above a whisper.Elliot nodded, staying crouched beside her. “Tell me.”She squeezed her eyes shut for a moment, her fi

  • The Echoes we Bury   Chapter 30: The Door That Shouldn’t Open

    Elliot pressed his palm against the door. It was cold, colder than it should have been, like the wood itself was leeching the warmth from his skin. The whispers in the walls had changed. They weren’t just shifting anymore they were shaping, curling around Isla like smoke, coaxing her deeper.He had seen this before.The house wasn’t just showing her memories. It was rewriting them.Inside, Isla was silent. Too silent.Elliot’s stomach tightened. He knocked once, his voice low but firm. “Isla.”No answer.He knocked again. “Isla, talk to me.”Nothing.Elliot’s fingers twitched at his side. The house wasn’t done with her yet, but if she wasn’t responding, that meant it was pulling her in faster than it should. And that was dangerous.He took a slow breath, pressing his forehead briefly against the wood. “Damn it.”Then he did something he wasn’t sure he should.He turned the handle and pushed the door open.Inside, the warmth hit him first.The room had changed completely. It was no lon

  • The Echoes we Bury   Chapter 29: The Fractured Past

    A dull pounding filled Isla’s skull, pulling her back into consciousness. Her breath came in slow, uneven gasps as she tried to piece together where she was, what had just happened. The floor beneath her was cold, the wood pressing against her cheek.She opened her eyes.The room had changed.It was no longer dust-covered and forgotten. The furniture was clean, the books neatly stacked on the shelves. The air smelled of lavender and something faintly sweet like warm milk and honey. Soft golden light filtered in through the lace curtains, casting delicate patterns across the walls.It was… familiar.Too familiar.Isla sat up slowly, her hands bracing against the floor. Her body felt heavy, her head foggy, like she had been drugged. But no this wasn’t a dream. The wood was solid beneath her fingertips. The air was thick with warmth. This was real.A soft hum drifted through the air.Isla stiffened.The melody was gentle, lilting, something she couldn’t place but still recognized. Her ch

  • The Echoes we Bury   Chapter 28: The Room That Waited

    The hall stretched ahead of them, narrowing as the candlelight flickered in the restless air. Isla walked slightly behind Elliot, her arms folded tight across her chest, her fingers digging into the fabric of her jacket. The whisper Welcome home still echoed in her mind. It had been soft, almost gentle, but there was something suffocating about it, something that curled into her thoughts and wouldn’t let go.Elliot didn’t seem rattled. If anything, he looked resigned, like he had walked this same path too many times before. He moved with purpose, each step measured, as if he knew exactly where he was going.“Where are we headed?” Isla asked, trying to keep her voice steady.“The house will decide,” Elliot said.She let out a short, humorless laugh. “Right. Of course. Because that makes sense.”Elliot ignored her sarcasm and continued walking. The walls pressed in as they moved deeper into the east wing, the corridor narrowing just slightly, as if shifting around them. Isla swore the p

  • The Echoes we Bury   Chapter 27: The House Remembers

    Isla shifted in her chair, glancing around the room as if searching for something solid, something that made sense. The warmth of the fire didn’t seem to reach her, and despite her best effort to appear unimpressed, Elliot could see the tension in her posture, the way her fingers curled slightly into her palms. She wasn’t just uncomfortable she was unsettled.She wasn’t the only one.The house had changed the moment she walked in. Elliot could feel it an awareness pressing in from all sides. The air carried a weight now, charged with something just beneath the surface, like the moment before a storm broke. It was always like this when a new arrival came. Wintercroft Hall was patient, but not passive. It had waited for Isla, and now it was watching.Elliot leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “Tell me why you’re here.”Isla scoffed, crossing her arms. “You’re the one who’s supposed to have the answers. You tell me.”Elliot studied her carefully. “You got the letter. And som

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