Where The End Begins
Where The End Begins
Written By Jiya
Chapter Four
After meeting with Ella’s mother, they fell into a routine of meeting. But instead of gathering by the riverside, at Selene’s request, Elene would visit their home. When the family of three saw her only as Elene and not some twisted desire, Elene’s heart settled a little.
She had only met Ella’s father twice, as he was often busy, but she found the man dependable. They all saw her as just Elene, not some phantom. As Ella grew more accustomed to Elene’s presence, it became one of those normal days when Elene had come to see her.
Though they were a family of three, they lived in a small cottage. That afternoon, the weather shifted, and rain began pouring from the sky. It was usually around that time that Elene would leave, but when Selene saw the torrential rain, she asked her not to go in such weather. Even Ella pleaded with her to stay.
So Elene stayed. She slept in Ella’s room, and everything was going well, until midnight, when the darkness was at its peak and the blanket of night had covered everything. Elene heard Ella whimper in distress. She got up to soothe her, but when she touched her forehead, Elene felt the room spinning.
She was transported again to that same wretched altar which had given her daughter life but had ruined her own. Dread washed over her, yet Elene could do nothing to return to Ella’s room. So she gulped and moved forward. If she was here, that meant she was here for a reason and that reason she found as she stepped ahead.
It was Ella….her own daughter, the one she had saved and been cursed for in return. She was crying in front of the altar, now a grown woman with a child in her arms.
Ella’s painful whimpers broke into words. “Stop this madness. Just kill me. Why must I bear the consequences of my mother’s foolishness? I didn’t want this life. This grief is not mine… and now, because of me, my children will have to bear it too.”
“I understand my mother’s grief and sorrow, and yet I did not like her decision of saving me. Speak, why must you stay silent…?”
As her cries grew louder, the same black fog appeared, the one Elene remembered all too well.
“It was never me who begged your mother,” it whispered. “It was your mother who came to beg me. I can do the same for you as I did for her.”
“Noooo!” The scream was louder this time. “You want my life as a curse, just like you did with my mother!”
Elene couldn’t listen anymore. What had she done? The weight of her decision back then now fell heavily upon her shoulders. She hadn’t saved Ella, she had ruined her own bloodline. Somehow, the curse had spread, touching even Ella’s family.
Then… the one Ella who looked like her daughter, the one she had met accidentally by the riverside…wasn’t she her kin? Who was she? And why was she having these dreams?
Elene felt herself slipping, her thoughts unraveling. At this rate, she was going mad.
Just when she thought she was caught between the confrontation of the fog and Ella, she felt her head spinning once more. This time, she was at a riverside…the same river she had tried to drown herself in. Her heart started pounding in her chest. What happened? Why had the scene changed?
She moved a little farther and saw a woman in a white dress, the hem of it touching the water. The river brushed against her feet and then retreated again. Her brown, wavy hair swayed in the wind, and she stood with her back to Elene.
A moment passed. It seemed the woman sensed her presence and turned around. Elene’s breath caught in her throat. She was breathtaking, but above all, her eyes were filled with grief and sorrow.
She was none other than Ella.
For centuries, she had been surrounded by silence and noise from people at the same time…but now, when her own daughter stood in front of her, she choked. Her eyes stung, emotions overflowing from them. Something flickered briefly in Ella’s eyes when she saw her mother, but it did not harden into anger as Elene had feared.
The river moved below them, steady and unhurried. And then Ella smiled…a slow, warm smile. “It’s been a long time, Mother. Time surely hasn’t touched you, but it has still left its scars on your soul.”
Elene didn’t know what to say. “Ella…” was all she could manage.
Ella’s smile widened. “I thought you would have a lot to say to me, but you are silent. Don’t you have questions, Mother?”
Elene’s eyes filled with tears, and she spoke in a choked voice, “Can I hug you?”
Ella laughed softly, her own eyes stinging with tears, though her smile never wavered. Then she sniffed. “I’m afraid, Mother, you can’t. I am but a mere projection… not real.”
Elene clutched her chest in trepidation. “What have you done?”
Ella’s tears started pouring as if they would never stop, her smile wavering. “Well, Mother… somebody had to stop the curse. Unfortunately, I couldn’t do that for you. As for my family… they didn’t survive either.”
She took a shaky breath. “At first, I was furious at you. But then I understood… when I went to the same altar as you, with my child. Oh, how tempted I was when the fog offered me the same solution.”
Her voice trembled. “At that time, I didn’t know the whole truth about you coming to that place. I had only heard bits and pieces in the village, so I had my own version of your story. But when I faced the fog myself, and it gave me that same book, I saw a vision… and I learned about your predicament.”
Tears streamed down her face. “So I chose not to follow the fog… and my baby died.”
By now, Ella had fallen to her knees.
At this point, both mother and daughter were mirroring each other’s grief.
“Look at my hands, Mother. With these hands, I buried my own baby… and with her, I buried my resentment for you. Maybe if you had known about the curse beforehand, you wouldn’t have saved me either. But that belongs to the past now.”
Ella took a slow breath. “So I read that book, and I didn’t understand anything at first. I had to go from place to place, searching for clues. It wasn’t easy…I spent five years learning the book and trying to find a solution to your curse. And guess what I found, Mother?”
By this point, Ella had calmed down, but Elene had gone pale. She remained on her knees, unable to find the courage to look into her daughter’s eyes. Shame had covered her completely.
To Be Continued…
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