Page 27 of His Blazing Witch (The Silver City #3)

"So you just left?"

I nod. We are both sitting in the back of Ben's car as he's driving us toward the seaside. Kelsi has finally dropped those stupidly huge and thick glasses, but that's all. She is still wearing her large sweatshirt and has her hair in two macaron buns, cute and childish as usual. It's not a big change, but it does feel a lot better to see her face.

"I couldn't stay there with his older brother glaring at me," I sigh. "That guy, Nathaniel... I already had the feeling when I met them before, but he and Nora's husband freak me out."

"Girl, you're not the only one," chuckles Ben. "The Black Brothers are known to be absolute monsters among werewolves. They are almost legendary in Silver City. Not only because they got rid of their father, Judah Black, but also because they are exceptional Alphas. You're lucky to be immune to Liam's aura. For us regular werewolves, all three of them give us chills like that."

He takes a turn down a smaller alley, and we can already smell the familiar sea breeze coming into the car. Ben finds a place to park his old car, and we get ready to leave, but Spark jumps down from my lap to curl up on the seat between us.

"Spark, come on, kitty!"

However, my cat doesn't move from the backseat, staring at us with his enigmatic big golden eyes. Kelsi and I exchange a glance, at a loss.

"Not fond of the sea perhaps?" she suggests.

"If he's like me, he probably doesn't like the area," I say. "Maybe we should leave him here."

"I don't think we should leave him in the car," says Ben, glancing at us in his rear mirror. "As someone who knows what it's like to be on four paws, trust me, no pet likes to be trapped in a car."

"I'm not worried about him," I sigh. "If he knew how to appear in a skyscraper without human help, he can probably get out of this car in a blink too."

"...I don't think I'll ever get used to that magic cat," sighs Kelsi. "Oh well, at least I can pet him and not sneeze and cry for hours..."

Agreeing to leave the windows open since there's nothing to steal in the rundown Toyota, we leave it there and exit the car. Kelsi immediately gets the chills and comes to wrap her arm around mine.

"You're lucky you're not cold," she says with a shiver.

Although my unique body temperature protects me, I can still feel it's rather fresh outside. I have a bit of nausea again from all the humidity, but nothing I can't endure so far. Ben comes to us with his hands in his pockets, still frowning.

"I don't like being here," he sighs. "Seaver is a real asshole..."

I chuckle.

"What?"

"It's funny, Liam said the same thing."

"What's wrong with that guy?" asks Kelsi, curious too.

Ben shrugs.

"You'll see if we run into the Sea Moon Clan... which we probably will."

Kelsi and I exchange a glance, a bit curious, but we still follow Ben. He takes off his jacket, handing it to me, and shape-shifts into his wolf to walk ahead of us. Kelsi grumbles while grabbing the clothes he left behind, putting them all into her backpack.

"I hope that was necessary, Ben. Now we can't talk to you!"

"We can talk, he just can't answer," I say. "It's probably because we are not on his clan's territory. Liam shape-shifts every time he's not on his family's territory too."

Kelsi sends me an amused glance.

"Look at you. Becoming a werewolf expert already, are we?"

I ignore her, and we keep walking along the seashore. Unlike Liam and his bike, Ben had to park a bit farther away than where we wanted to enter. The docks are privatized, for the most part, making me think this is also the Sea Moon Clan's doing. I keep glancing around, but there are no other wolves in sight. Ben is calmly trotting in front of us too.

As we keep walking, Kelsi is a bit excited to see a part of the city she had never been to before, and we chat about the fish market and the little shops around. It's a nice area, except for the fact that it makes me sick by nature. Finally, I spot Nina's diner and stop.

"This is where we ate. The hangar that got burnt must be in the area..."

Before I can look around, Ben is already one step ahead of us, heading farther down the street. He probably smelled it before us, but now that we've been following him for a few more minutes, I do notice it. The smell of cold ashes. My heart starts beating a bit faster, and I get anxious. I have no idea what I'm going to find there. What am I even looking for?

I bite my thumb, but Kelsi grabs my wrist and gives me a little smile to help me calm down. I feel a bit better because she's here with me, and Ben too. The two of them are so... normal, compared to me. It helps me keep my feet on the ground.

We finally spot a large building, and it really stands out compared to the rest. It's pitch black, although most of the roof seems to have collapsed inward. It has been burnt so badly there's nothing but the studs of the walls, even the metal was scraped, layer by layer, by the flames... The local authorities put a little security perimeter around it, some fencing panels, but it is not much of an issue. As we look around, I can tell even the nearest buildings barely escaped the flames. They have large dark spots, where the flames touched.

Kelsi gasps next to me.

"It looks like that building from the other night... No offense, girl, but I've seen enough fire for a lifetime."

I nod. I had seen the picture from that news website, but it's still more impressive to see in person. There's the horrid smell too. It's clogging the air and so thick, I feel like I'm breathing in a full box of soot. Thankfully, the sea breeze is enough to make it breathable, but still. Even Ben has his ears down, sniffing around the area with a cautious stance. I don't feel too good about this place either.

Kelsi looks around, but the closest buildings are apparently deserted at the moment. They are probably used for storage, there are dozens of boxes and empty fish traps piled up around. There aren't even that many boats on the port, and none near where we are. This seems like a rather isolated area. ...Why would I have come here in the first place? There are no habitations nearby, no real public areas either. Aside from fishermen, I don't know who would come here.

"...Shall we try going inside?"

Kelsi is whispering, and I can see why. This whole burnt building has something rather solemn and intimidating about it. I just can't tell why. Maybe it’s because we both know three people died inside... I can't really forget that information, somehow. I take a deep breath and walk closer to the entrance, ready to go in. Something scares me about going inside that place. Will my memories come back if I do?

As if he could feel me hesitate, Ben suddenly crouches down and squeezes himself under the fencing panels ahead of us to go in. Seeing the red-brown wolf go inside before us gives me a little bit of courage, and Kelsi's grip tightens around my arm too. We help each other climb over the fencing panels, and we quickly step inside. As expected, it’s a bit of a mess in there. With parts of the roof collapsed, we have to be careful to not step on fragile pieces of wood, or make anything collapse even more. It is probably still a dangerous area, as mentioned outside. It's larger than I thought, though. It looks like this was a two-storey building, but I can't see how to get upstairs. It probably wouldn't be a good idea, anyway...

"...So, are we looking for anything specific?" asks Kelsi, still looking a bit worried.

"I have no idea," I sigh. "Let's look for the origin of the fire. They said they couldn't find what started it."

Ben stops and glances at me with his big black eyes, and I can tell exactly what he means even without him speaking. I roll my eyes.

"Ben, from what we know, Clarissa Garnett had no signs of being a Fire Witch before this incident, and there was no Mara either. I want to see if something here can explain what the hell happened."

He growls softly but speeds up inside. Kelsi nods and finally lets go of my arm to start looking around as well.

"It's going to be hard to tell," she sighs. "Everything is charcoal now. I bet even the firemen had to use some specific tools to find any clues about what happened in here..."

I stop.

Well, maybe they are not the only ones with specific tools. My fire had a strange reaction in that other fire already, maybe I can do something here as well? I extend my arms and glance at Kelsi. She knows me well enough by now to back away before I light the fire in my hands.

My flames appear, bright red as usual. I glance around, but of course, nothing really happened just because of that. I have to be careful to not restart another fire in here. I walk ahead, trying to see if I feel something. There is no magic circle here, but there has to be a clue...

Suddenly, I feel it. As if my flame is attracted to one specific point. It's faint, but there's definitely a slight pull, like a magnet on the other side. The problem is, it’s directed toward an area filled with collapsed parts of the roof. Kelsi grimaces next to me too.

"I guess the two of us and Ben can squeeze under there, but–"

"No, let me go alone," I retort. "I'm not going to risk you guys being injured if something falls or collapses. Just stay back, I'll try to clear the path a bit."

Kelsi hesitates but eventually nods. I know she wants to help me, but she's human and she can't be as reckless. Ben, however, already has his snout in a little gap between the pieces of wood, sniffing around and testing it with his front paws.

"Ben, I'll take care of this alone," I protest.

He ignores me and starts grabbing a piece between his fangs to tear it away. I sigh. He's probably going to play deaf... The two of us start pulling the chunks of burnt metal or wood out of the way, careful about the overall structure. Kelsi helps behind us too, trying to push away the pieces to the sides so we don't end up having too much around us. We get a couple of scares as all of the other debris grinds and trembles, but I'm ready to jump to the side or throw some fireballs at any moment. Ben is on alert at all times too, even sending glances to Kelsi's side from time to time, making sure to know where she is.

"Ben. Here."

He helps me push out of the way what must have been a barrel before it got burnt, and finally, something interesting appears. A darker area on the floor. It's barely noticeable, but there are tons of ashes here, an abnormal amount. As if something burnt completely before the fire itself and stayed there. Moreover, it makes a human figure...

"Please tell me we're not going to find a dead body under that," mutters Kelsi. "I only like gore in video games..."

"Ben would have smelled it, don't worry. Also, they probably took all the bodies out already."

However, I still feel a strange pull toward those ashes... as if it was calling me. I get closer, Ben helping me clear more of the little debris around. I finally put my hand in the pile of ashes, and it's... strangely warm. I have a strange feeling in my body, as if I was familiar with this. Like I've been here before.

No, I've definitely been here before. I get down on my knees, my heart beating like crazy. It's like I can feel my memories, waiting behind that thin wall to return to me. It's... like a dark cloud, something buried that begs to get out. I want to know. Those ashes... I bring my fire closer to it, and they start moving. Kelsi squeals behind me.

"Oh, God, I don't know if this is creepy or cool, Mara, but it's impressive..."

I nod, but I'm more focused on what is going on. The ashes start moving as if something underneath was controlling them. Anywhere I bring my fire close, they suddenly move to go to that designated spot, as if it was pulling it back into a very special spot. It's not just going away, it's like the ashes are going back to their original place... I light both of my hands and bring them closer to the ashes, making all of it move. The wind starts to pick up around us too, and Ben growls nervously.

My heart is beating like crazy, but I know exactly what to do. My fire is sharing its memory with the ashes, putting the whole picture back in place. I keep my fire vivid and watch the ashes move around until finally, a shape appears. It's so familiar it's crazy.

A new circle.

This one is even more complex than the one I discovered in my room and much bigger too. Ben has to keep clearing the area around it as some of the ashes struggle against some of the wood to go to their designated spot. However, a few seconds later, I can really see the full circle. The design is so complex, it looks like it was done with incredible precision. Did I do this? It feels oddly familiar...

"It looks like the one from the book..." mutters Kelsi. "This one looks much more complicated, but... Wait, let me take a couple of pictures, okay?"

She takes out her phone and makes sure to get the entire circle in several shots. I don't even think of stopping her. Actually, it's probably a good idea as I feel like I will need to remember this. I can't transport it either, the ashes will probably not move anywhere to do this.

However, now, the circle is done, and I have to activate it. I guess this is a bit like déjà vu... I reopen the wound on my finger and let some blood drop on it.

"Mara! What are you doing?!"

"Stay back, both of you," I tell them, very sure of myself.

As soon as a few drops get on the ashes, they immediately turn to a strange silver color, almost as if they were becoming liquid. It's different from the previous circles, and... I have an odd feeling about this circle. Not just in that it's more familiar, but also... more dangerous. I don't know what this one will do. It's probably risky, but...

Once the whole circle has changed color, it looks ready. Ben is growling at it, but I came here exactly for this. I take off my jacket and shoes to hand them to Kelsi, who looks worried as well. I take a deep breath for some reason. I have this feeling that things won't be as quiet this time...

"Stay back, and no matter what happens, you two, don't intervene, okay?"

"Mara, what are you going to do...?"

I bite my thumb, a bit nervous. I'm not even sure myself, I just have a hunch I'm about to get some answers, but not for free. I can't explain. I'm simultaneously excited, nervous, and wary of this thing. The fact that the circle is bigger and more complex is probably a sign in itself. I hesitate, and turn to Ben.

"If something looks... wrong, wipe away part of the circle, okay? It cancels whatever is going on with it."

The wolf nods, standing on guard and ready for me. Alright, let's do this.

I take one step inside, but so far, nothing happens. I get in completely, and sit like I did with the others. I'm sitting alone in the middle, but nothing happens. Should I try a question like last time?

"...Show me the truth."

I wait a few seconds, but nothing happens. Alright, wrong question? It's a bit nerve-wracking. What am I doing wrong here? First, the circle feels a bit too big to be sitting... I sigh and lie down, Kelsi making a grimace. I don't care about how dirty the floor is at the moment, I just need to work this thing out. Stupid circle, aren't you going to answer?

Now both my head and my feet touch the circle, and it feels like it's the perfect size... I take a deep breath.

"Alright, show me what you’ve got," I mutter, more to myself than the circle.

Then, everything suddenly goes dark.

The sudden darkness takes me completely by surprise. I try blinking several times, but I realize I'm not even sure I am. It's like I'm suddenly dreaming, but very aware of it. I can't even feel my own body, or it’s more like I'm some doll. This is the weirdest feeling, like I'm floating.

I try to move, but my body won't react. It's as if I'm not really there. Something warm surrounds me, though. It's not a bad feeling, just... strange. Like nothing I have felt before. What's really going on...?

"...I miss you..."

I shiver.

That voice... It feels like it came from my mouth. My mouth I can't control. I don't get what is happening, but someone else is controlling my body, as if it were theirs.

The scene starts forming around us. It looks like a bedroom... a child's bedroom. It's not warm or cute, though. It looks like the basic furniture was put there, but there is no trace of anything family-related. I wish whoever talked would move, so I could see more, but her eyes are riveted on the floor. She... We are curled up in a bed. I can feel tears running down from our eyes. Why am I in a child's body? We're in the dark, there's only a faint light coming from the window. Is this night time then?

"...Mommy..."

I feel a pain striking my body. No, my heart.

Is she missing her mother? I wish I knew mine... Why am I in this child's body? I don't understand. She moves her head a little bit, and I can see more of the room. Her bed sheets are dark blue and smell fresh. Actually, everything in this room looks new, and almost... staged, like one of those furniture magazines. Decor that only belongs in some glossy paper. That room is too freaking big, as well. Even that huge teddy bear across the room is more lonely than cute.

I hear more crying, and realize it's us again. She's whimpering against her pillow, as if to muffle her crying. Suddenly, someone knocks at the door. She freezes and hides under the covers, making my vision go dark again.

I hear some steps. Someone walks into the room and sighs. We are silent, trying to hide. Is she scared of that person? I wish I could read her emotions too.

The room stays silent for a while, then more footsteps come.

"...Amy, what are you doing here?"

Amy? Is that my older sister, then? The one who spoke to her sounds like an older man. His voice is stern and cold. I'd be scared too if I was a child.

"Father. I thought I heard–"

"Leave her alone and get back to your room."

"...Yes, Father."

The footsteps quickly go, and someone closes the door shut. The whole room goes silent again. After a while, we dare look again, but as expected, the room is empty. She starts crying again, more silently.

Was that really Amy? Then, was that voice our father? I really can't remember him. Who is the child, then? ...Is it Clarissa?

The whole scene changes again.

This time, we are at a dinner table. There's a plate with some potatoes, broccoli, and a steak in front of us, untouched. The tableware is so fancy... yet, we are just looking down at our hands. They seem a bit bigger than before. Is this much later, then? I try to analyze everything I see. As she moves her head just a little bit, I can catch from the corner of her vision that there's someone else at the table.

There's a set for another person to our left. That's the only other one. How long is that table, anyway? I can't see the other side, but it can seat at least eight to ten people... even that person on our left is pretty far away. Who is it? I wish she'd raise her head so I could see! I hear them eating, but aside from that, there isn't even a bug flying. This room is only echoing that other person's eating. It feels so intimidating. She glances at her plate again. What, we don't like it? Not hungry, or a stomachache? I can't tell. I mean, that steak looks yummy...

"...Why won't she eat?"

That male voice again. Is that our father, then? Moon Goddess, I wish she'd just look up once so I can see what he looks like! I can just barely see his dark hands. He has long and thin fingers, with one big gold ring on.

"I think the young lady doesn't like broccoli, sir..."

Who is that lady talking? Moreover, why is she calling him sir, this is the twenty-first century! Is she an employee? The voice came from behind us, I can only tell she sounds a bit older than our father...

"She is too difficult. Her mother should have raised her to eat everything without complaining."

...What an ass.

She didn't complain, she's not even talking! I'm feeling angry just having to listen to this. If that's our father, I understand better why Amy always talked about him like he was some heartless douchebag. Oh, no, I can feel her lip twitching. Is she about to cry? Don't cry, don't cry...

"Tsk. When is school starting?"

"Tomorrow, sir."

"...You'd better not embarrass yourself there."

I hear his chair move, and he leaves the room loudly. Just then, Clarissa bursts into tears. She covers her eyes, and for a while, all I can hear is her erratic sobbing. Moon Goddess, I feel so bad for her... Is no one going to console her? She seems so young, and no one cares! I wish I could do something... Although I'm seeing everything through her body, I don't even know what exactly she is crying about. Is it because of her father's harsh words? Is she scared about being sent to another school? And... why am I seeing all this as if I were a third party?

I'm borrowing her senses, but... it's like there's a glass between her world and me. I'm just a passenger in this body, I don't control anything. I don't feel what she feels, I don't understand any of her actions or reactions. Aren't these supposedly my memories? Or is it because I'm using magic to see this instead of actually recovering my memories? It really feels like I'm seeing the past of a stranger, but I'm in their body...

"You're such a stiff!"

The scene changed again.

I just had enough time to hear some loud banging, and the hit on my back. What the heck is going on? I can hear her breathing badly, as if she was out of breath. Clarissa looks up, and I realize her blurry vision is due to the tears in it. She's crying again. I take those few seconds to try and catch sight of the room she's in. We're in a bedroom, but this one is even more stern, like a dorm... The bed has metal bars too, and that desk has nothing but books for studying. Nothing here seems personal except for that picture on the bedside table. Wait, is that the picture Spark found? We're too far away for me to see the details, but it does look like it.

So she had that picture with her; it does belong to her. I hear her sniffle, and she locks the door behind us. The banging on the door continues.

"You freak! Go home to your dead witch mother!"

She closes her eyes, and the room goes dark again. Her dead witch mother? What the heck is going on? People keep banging against her door, and while she cries more, I feel the anger rise inside. Are those teenagers? Are we in that boarding school?

"I'm okay... I'm not a freak... I'm not a freak..."

It takes me a few seconds to realize she's talking to herself. How long has this been going on? She is shaking so much, even her voice... She slowly lets go of the door handle, and the banging ceases too. I hear people laughing on the other side of the door and going away. This is so messed up.

As Clarissa steps forward, I catch a glimpse of a red uniform. She walks up to that picture, still crying silently. I recognize my own hand, a few years younger, grabbing the little frame. It's actually broken; she put some tape on the lower corner. Clarissa sits on the end of her bed, that picture in her hands.

"I miss you, Mom... I know those weren't dreams... I want to see your magic again..."

Her mom's magic?

So her... our mother really was a witch? And we witnessed it. How old were we when she passed again? Amy mentioned we changed households around seven or eight years old. Was Clarissa still holding on to those memories? If she was bullied at school and in such a cold environment at home, it may have been the only thing that worked... She cries for a very long time while looking at her mother's picture. So long, I wonder if this is it, or if that scene is about to change again. I want to see more, more of our life before Mara appeared. Hopefully, I'll see what happened in Silver City too…

Yet, we stay in the bedroom until she gets up, still holding that picture. She walks up to her desk and takes one of those notebooks. The pages are darkened with lines and lines of notes from what must be her classes. There's even some languages I recognize as French, German, and Spanish. Wow, I didn't even know I could read that much. There's algebra too, and the more pages she turns, the more I realize how high-level this must be. Clarissa must be fifteen or sixteen in these memories, but this calculus is something else. Is she in some specialized school? She finally finds what she wanted, and this time, it's not her tiny handwriting anymore, but drawings. All those were done with a ballpoint pen, but it's... beautiful. She even managed to make some gradients.

This scene she drew is the first heart-warming thing I get to see in these memories. It looks like a little apartment, with furniture, and lots of plants... flowers, plants in pots, leaves... It reminds me of Sylviana's house. I even thought that was what I was looking at for a moment, but the layout is different. This apartment looks much smaller than her house, and the windows are smaller too. Moreover, a woman is drawn in the middle of that scene. She's definitely the woman in the picture... Our mother. She is even more beautiful than in that picture. Clarissa's drawing details her facial expression more precisely, and I can definitely recognize some similarities...

She grabs her ballpoint pen and I realize that's all she has to draw with. Four exact same blue stupid ballpoint pens are on the desk, and that's it... Is this a prison or a school? I think she's about to add more to the picture, but her fingers freeze. She stares at the picture for a very long time. Her breathing gets so quiet, I feel she's managed to calm down.

That's when a teardrop falls on the picture, messing it up. Oh, no...

She starts crying again, and her hand frantically tries to wipe down the soaked picture while more sobbing comes to my ears. It's getting harder and harder to witness this. I can feel her loneliness. I wish there was at least one person by her side to tell her she is fine... Didn't she have any friends at all? She suddenly gets up, and goes through her bag, taking out a phone. Finally! Is she going to call a friend? Or Amy?

She opens the list of contacts, and I'm in for another shock. Father? That's it? Her only contact is that frigid father from earlier? Oh, crap... She hesitates a long time before pressing the call button. I get nervous, probably like her, as we wait for the ringtone. It rings for a hell of a long time...

No one picks up. I swear internally, but Clarissa is in for more crying.

The scene finally changes again.

I'm pretty sure we are back home, or wherever our father lived with us; it's that horrible cold and empty background again. We are sitting on the floor of our bedroom, with some news articles lined up before us. Wait, isn't that a picture of... Silver City? I recognize that skyline. It's from a different angle, but it's definitely Silver City. What are we looking at? It looks like she's compiling dozens of news articles and taking notes. I see several headlines with the words "magic" or "witch"... Is that what she is looking for?

"Miss Clarissa, you should... put an end to this... If your father finds out..."

"As if my father cares."

I'm surprised by her cold voice. It actually sounds like mine, but... she speaks with a hoarse voice, as if she was sick. I actually hear her cough a couple of times, and it sounds pretty bad. The nice lady sounds like the one from earlier too.

"...Do you want me to call the doctor? Is your headache worsening again? You barely slept last night..."

"I'm fine... Did you find anything else about this?"

"N-no, miss. Those are all the articles we could print about Silver City. Miss Clarissa, I really think you should stop looking for witches... If you keep doing that, you'll just make yourself sicker..."

"Sicker? Didn't you hear the family doctor? I'm as good as dead, anyway. I might as well die proving I was telling the truth. I don't want to be remembered as crazy... Just once, I want to be able to tell my father, ‘I told you so.’"

Wait, what? What does she mean about being as good as dead? I hear her cough again, and a chill goes down my spine. I don't like the sound of that and I don't feel good about this. Clarissa's even headhunting for witches. It does sound like she had some unhealthy obsession, but does that mean she... really wasn't a witch? What the hell, then...?

She grabs another paper, but her hand freezes. I wonder what's wrong, and she starts coughing again. It sounds painful even to me, and I can't feel the pain of it. She coughs, again and again, and something red suddenly stains the newspapers. Oh, crap...

"Miss!"

However, Clarissa suddenly grabs that woman's wrist and shakes her head.

"Don't tell my father."

"Miss, please! You should have been hospitalized a while ago already! Your... I know your father doesn't really show his feelings, but I promise he can take you to a very good hospital if you just tell him..."

"No. I don't care about that man. My father doesn't have feelings. He didn't have any for my mother, and he doesn't have any for me, either. He left her to die, didn't he? Why would he care more about his daughter? As soon as he knew I was sick, he just brought me back here and left again. He just hopes I'll die in silence and not bother him."

"But... still, your health... You can't keep suffering alone like that..."

"I'm fine. I don't... I don't care. The family doctor promised not to say anything, so please, don't do something stupid in my stead either."

"Please, miss... At least tell your sister, Miss Amy. I'm sure she could help you..."

Clarissa remains silent for a minute. Is she going to tell Amy? Well, does that mean Amy knew about Clarissa's... about our sickness? Or didn’t she?

After a while, she lets go of the woman's wrist, her gaze going back to her notes and pile of newspaper articles. I hear her chuckle, and she takes out her phone.

"Give me my sister's number."

The woman recites each number, and I'm a bit anxious. Is that how Clarissa left for Silver City...? To my surprise, Amy answers after only two rings.

"Clarissa?"

Even Clarissa stays silent for a few seconds, and I wonder if she's hesitating.

"...Did you know my number?" she asks.

Wait, is that the first time they... I mean, Amy and I are calling each other? No wonder she's surprised. Even I feel a little bit happy that Amy answered so fast and had her younger sister's number... I mean, our number saved. However, that pause is a bit more awkward than it should be. I swear, this family...

"...I had your number saved on my phone, that's all. What is it?"

Clarissa hesitates, and she goes through the pile again, until her eyes stop on something else. There's a brochure of the university, as well, and I'm pretty sure that the woman on the front is Professor Vutha... She takes it.

"...I ...C-could you help me? I want to apply to a university..."

"A university? ...Why don't you ask Father?"

"...I just thought... I could ask you... No, nevermind, sorry, I shouldn't have asked you..."

"No, no, Clarissa, wait!"

Amy's tone surprises me too. Another awkward silence happens between the two sisters and I could almost feel her heartbeat going crazy. That silence on the line is a bit heavy, until we hear Amy sigh.

"Sorry, it's just... I was surprised you called. ...I'll help you. Which university was it?"

"It's in Silver City. The name of the program is..."

Mara!

I jump, feeling a strong pull. What the heck is going on? I hear my name being called again and again. I feel like I'm pulled away from the memory, I hear her talking to Amy, but I can't make out what she's saying, as if I was going away. No, no, not yet, I need more answers! Stop!

Mara! Mara, come back!