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Written By Jiya

Chapter Three

Elene had learned not to seek what might undo her. But the smile of the little girl still unnerved her.

She came a little closer. “Hello, I’m Ella… and you are?” Her round eyes sparkled with curiosity.

A lump formed in Elene’s throat. She swallowed and said, with some difficulty, “Hello, I’m Elene…” Then she paused.

But that was all the girl needed.

“You know, when I saw you the other day, you looked so sad. I wanted to hug you, but then Mama called me, and I didn’t say hello. Then I got busy, so I forgot ….but when I saw you today, I got so happy! Do you live here somewhere? Do you come here every day?”

The little girl spoke in one breath. She sounded like a talkative child, and it put a smile on Elene’s face. She loved listening to her small talk.

“Yes, I live nearby,” Elene said quietly.

Ella smiled. “Great! So when I come here, I can meet you, right?

Elene nodded, and Ella looked at her more openly.

“You don’t talk much, do you?” she asked, as if they were already friends….like she was speaking to someone her own age. “But don’t worry, I can talk for both of us. I’ll tell you all about me. But Mama says not to trust strangers easily…”

She paused, studying Elene.

“You feel… familiar. I don’t know why.”  It’s like I’ve met you before… but what do I know, Elene?”

Hearing her name so suddenly made Elene go still.

“Hmm,” she replied softly. “You won’t hurt me, right?”

Ella tilted her head. “Well, even if you wanted to hurt me, it’s not like I could do anything about it.”

Elene’s smile faltered. “Why would I want to hurt you? Did someone hurt you before?”

Ella only smiled. “I’ll tell you… but not now. I’m going home.” She stood up and took a few steps forward. Elene kept staring at her.

Ella turned back with a bright smile. “Will you be here when I come again?”

“Of course,” she said…..before she could stop herself. 

Ella’s eyes sparkled with joy. “Great! Then I’ll bring my mama next time. Bye, Elene!”

The world did not shatter. The sky did not darken. Nothing dramatic occurred.

Elene found herself smiling for no reason. She felt… happy, for the first time in a long while.

She had not given her name to many. Names had power….especially hers, bound by a curse. She had always been terrified of letting others speak it.

For a century, she had avoided it. And yet, nothing happened.

Now, she found herself waiting… waiting for Ella to come back to her again.

***************

Ella didn’t come for the next two days, and Elene found herself growing worried. By the third, doubt had already begun to whisper. 

Myriad thoughts gripped her mind.

What if it was all an illusion? What if it wasn’t real?  What if it had all been conjured by her yearning heart… just to see her daughter again?

She sat beneath the tree near the river….the same place where she had told Ella they would meet again. Her eyes lit up when she saw her.

Ella was coming toward her. But she wasn’t alone. Another woman walked beside her, someone who looked to be in her mid-thirties.

When Ella saw Elene, she smiled brightly and waved.

“Hello, Elene! I’m sorry I couldn’t come before, but today Mama was free, so she let me come with her.” The woman smiled as well. Elene returned it, a little cautiously.

“So, you must be Elene,” the woman said. “Ella has been talking about you non-stop, with so much enthusiasm that I wanted to meet you too. I hope she wasn’t bothering you.”

Elene smiled, a hint of fondness in her expression. “No, not at all. In fact… she feels like a long-lost happiness of mine.”

Yet beneath that warmth, fear lingered. Ella was untouched by her curse…but what about her mother?

As if unaware of the tension, Ella became distracted by a colorful butterfly fluttering nearby and ran after it. Taking the moment, the woman turned back to Elene.

“I’m Selene,” she said gently. “Ella’s mother.”

“Well… to be honest, I wasn’t completely sure at first,” Selene said with a small, apologetic smile. “When Ella told me she met a sad person by the riverbank… my child says many things. Some I believe, some I don’t. But I’m relieved to see that you are real…and that she found you here.”

Elene frowned slightly. “Real…? I’m sorry, I don’t understand. And…Selene, may I call you that?”

The woman nodded. “Of course.” She hesitated for a moment before continuing.

“Since she was nine, Ella has been having strange dreams. She speaks of an altar… of a woman standing in darkness… and a voice calling her name.” Selene’s gaze softened, but there was worry beneath it.

“She used to call that woman a ‘wandering sadness’…a sorrow given form. It frightened me. The town we lived in before… people started talking. Some even began to avoid her.” Her voice lowered.

“We had to leave. It affected Ella deeply. My husband didn’t agree at first, but… we couldn’t watch her sink further into those dreams. She’s our only child.” Selene let out a quiet breath.

“When we moved here, we didn’t expect anything to change. But then she found this place… and she started smiling again. Truly smiling.” A faint, grateful expression touched her face.

“So when she told us about you…about Elene…it worried us. But she insisted. She said, ‘Mama, I’ll let you meet her.’ That’s why I came today.”

She gave a small, nervous smile.

“My husband wanted to come as well, but he’s a physician. He rarely has the time.” Then her tone softened, more vulnerable now.

“I’m sorry for telling you all this. I just… I don’t want to see my daughter on the verge of collapse again. She’s still a child, but sometimes it feels like she has seen more than we have.” Selene looked at Elene steadily.

“So when I saw you… it was a relief. That she found someone. That she found you.” Elene was stunned as she listened to Selene speak about Ella.

Her heart began to pound the moment she heard about the altar… and the voice.

“Ella… she…” Elene’s voice trembled, but the words wouldn’t come. She paused, trying to steady herself.

Selene watched her, as if waiting for her to finish.

“What I mean is…” Elene tried again, more carefully. “Does Ella talk about anything else? When she saw me… I mean. You said she’s been seeing these things since she was nine, so…” Selene understood and let out a quiet sigh.

“To be honest… you do resemble the woman she talks about. I know because she’s drawn her dreams many times.” She hesitated, her expression turning uncertain.

“Sometimes, I feel as if she’s…” She stopped, searching for the right words.

Elene looked at her expectantly, as though she were listening to someone recount memories that weren’t theirs….but somehow belonged to her.

“…remembering something that hasn’t happened yet,” Selene finished quietly. Then she gave a small, nervous laugh.

“I know how that sounds. I’m not doubting you, but… it’s strange, isn’t it? We move here, and within a month, you appear.” She shook her head slightly.

“Don’t get me wrong. I just… I’m starting to believe that Ella might have some kind of connection to you.” Her voice softened.

“But I’m just a mother who wants to see her daughter happy. And if that happiness lies here…” She met Elene’s eyes.

“Then I won’t stop her from meeting you.”