On the outside of the woods, a community rested. A particular house sat on the boundary of the woods and the community. It was the first to hit the eye of one who were to be coming out of the woods. In that house, two siblings lived, not so peacefully but at least they were alive and that was something to be grateful for. They were brother and sister, sitting on a pillow-clothed couch, watching TV. This was their normal habit during the night. The brother would watch the television till sleep sweeps him off his feet and into the land of dreams. However, the sister would watch the television till tiredness arrives, knocking on her door. She would traipse to her room and fall freely onto her bed, where sleep becomes the music to which she would dance to. On this fateful night, this routine would have to continue but things take a great unexpected turn when a knock arrives on their door. The brother, almost knocked out by sleep, comes back to life and the sister, her eyes fighting all unseen battles to stay open, finally awakens fully as well. They look at each other questionably and the brother shrugs. The sister walks over to the door. As she does so, questions of indescribable depth and width struck her mind every now and then. She knew what she had being doing with her brother but she wonders whether their little enjoyment sessions had been leaked out. She holds the door handle and as she pushes it down, she sighs. This was not a sigh of relief. It was a sigh of uncertainty. A sigh which described the level of incertitude to which her mind had reached. She knew that she had been threatened before but she wasn't ready to face the consequences of what she had been doing with her brother. All the abominable acts she engaged in with her brother began to flash in her mind. She flushes them out and readies herself for anything. If what she was feeling was truly uncertainty of the future then she might as well be certain about just one thing and that was, for her to expect the crazy unexpected. She swings the door wide open at long last and before her was nothing like what she had imagined. She had managed to somehow convince herself through uncertainty, that danger was coming but what if she was right. She stares deep. She sighs and squats, looking at the envelope on the ground. She picks it up and it was a letter which was addressed to her and her brother. Fear fills her up as she scans the whole area with her eyes and into the deep dark woods. There is no one over there. All that was there after the knock, was the envelope. She closes the door and goes back to her brother. She tosses the envelope in her hands. She goes to sit beside her brother and shows him the letter. The brother looks uncomfortable but is able to keep up the work of faking calmness. The sister just looks at the letter, unsure of what to expect. The last time they got a letter like this, it was to their satisfaction. They were asked for their services and they really had some great fun. The sister notices something on the letter which she hadn't noticed earlier. It was that the letter was addressed to them, as individuals and not as the professionals they were, skilled in their one of a kind work. The letter was addressed to their real names, individually and fully, and not their work names. As the brother begins to tear the envelope open in a haste to read the letter, the sister begins to feel afraid. At times, she enjoyed the future but then today was just one of those days where everything had to go wrong. It started with their normal sleep routine being interrupted and now, this letter which injected confusion and tension into the atmosphere. Her heartbeat began to increase and there was a lump in her throat as cold sweat flowed freely on her face and the rest of her skin. Her increased heartbeat gave her this weird ache-like sensation in her chest and it was not good. The brother on the other hand was keeping up the good work of faking calmness and he was still doing pretty well. At long last, the envelope is out of the way and he unfolds the letter. He tries to hide the trembling of his fingers from his sister but fails. His sister rubs his back to assure him that all is indeed well. The contents of the letter begin to be revealed to the brother and sister. Their eyes open wider than usual, with shock and fear and the brother creases his eyebrows as his jaw dropped slowly. The sister shook her head slowly and let gravity do its work on her chin as it fell slowly with every passing moment. She lets out a very light "no", almost like a whisper. It's in these moments, that one knows the pain of a whisper. She locks eyes with her brother who says, with his head down, and his elbows resting on his knees that, "we have no other choice".
"Sabine! Sabine!!" Sabine's Dad, Carlos Johnson, calls out to her from his room as his life partner, Catherine White, sat beside him. She holds his hand and asks, "Are you ready to tell her everything?"
"Yes" he replies "she deserves to know what happened to her mother"
Carlos and Catherine hug.
"Dad! I'm coming" Sabine finally replies, rushing over to her Dad's room. She meets her parents hugging and asks what is going on.
"Come sit, Sabine" Carlos says, taping the space in between him and Catherine, on the bed. Sabine approaches and sits between them on the edge of the bed. Carlos smiles and rubs his daughter's back, asking, "Are you ready?"
"Ready for what?" Sabine asks in reply.
"…to have all your questions answered" Carlos says.
"Oh… yes, I am ready for that"
"You know Anthemon right? She's your mate"
"Oh yeah I do. What about her?" Sabine replies, eager to hear more, her ears craving another scratch of information.
Carlos sighs and looks at Catherine who smiles and nods.
"Well, her mum was my ex"
"Huh?" Sabine asked, shocked as to how a girl she hardly ever spoke to in class could somewhat be related to her.
"Yeah, I know right", Carlos chuckles, "When I was engaged to Charlotte Fynn, your real mother who was my wife to be, Sylvia Tane, Anthemon's mum, was jealous. Sylvia had been obsessed with me and always, she'd send texts like 'you're mine', 'my tarot and palm readings show that we're meant to be', 'I love you and would die for you', 'my blood flows for you' and 'we're bound to be together'. This went on for very long and it was very creepy. I felt like she was an actual witch"
Sabine listens attentively to her father and Catherine shakes her head in pain.
Carlos continues, "She stalked me, almost every day"
"Why didn't you tell the police?" Sabine asks, confused. Carlos smiles and tears start to fill his eyes but they don't fall.
"Your mother, Charlotte, was a very kind and compassionate person. When I wanted to report Sylvia on multiple occasions, she would stop me, saying Sylvia would get over it soon. Charlotte told me that she herself had been in a heartbreak before and that woman-to-woman, she felt the pain Sylvia was going through. She said Sylvia was just in denial and I recall laughing at that statement she made. I understood her but deep down there was a voice telling me about how these unusual acts of Sylvia would affect my relationship with Charlotte. I felt like Charlotte wasn't safe with me as long as Sylvia still existed. The stalking and strange texts continued and I was just fed up. I was tired of Sylvia. She was just too much. Charlotte was living with me at the time. I managed to convince her to go live at her parent's place because I wasn't assured of her safety with me since Sylvia's obsession never seemed to die. Every day, I would pass by Charlotte's parent's house to check up on her. But then one day… one fateful day… that day…" Carlos pauses, sniffling as tears formed again in his eyes but never fell.
Sabine wonders what happens next and begins to assume that's the day which is the cause of her not ever meeting her real mum. She looks down in sadness but then there's something else forming in her heart. It was a thirst for revenge.
"One day…" Carlos says as the sniffling stops and he blinks rapidly, presumably stopping the tears from forming, "…I heard a loud knock on the door and I was alone in this same bedroom. Following the knock, were bloodcurdling muffled screams. Horror filled me to the brim and after hearing the scream, I couldn't help but think of Charlotte. In this same bedroom, I stood over there" he says, pointing to the venetian blinds, "…and saw Sylvia, her left hand covering Charlotte's mouth and her right choking her neck. With all the speed I had in me, I ran downstairs and to the door. As I neared it, the screams had stopped. I felt my body go weak for a moment and I felt dizzy slightly. I opened the door and before me was a dead Charlotte. I checked her pulse and felt nothing, absolutely nothing. She was gone. I cried. I wept. I wet my face with bitter tears as I hugged Charlotte. You were just a baby, Sabine, and I hadn't even married Charlotte"
Tears yet again form in the eyes of Carlos, and Catherine nods in approval of Carlos finally telling Sabine the truth. Sabine feels a tear roll down her cheek and she says, "Thank you Father… for telling me the truth."
Carlos and Catherine smile at her.
She begins to walk away and as she gets to the door, she furiously wipes her tears and whispers to herself, "Get ready Anthemon. Your death awaits and I am the shortcut"