Only Darkness Lies

Chapter 1

"Come back soon elder brother!" She said as she waved Aden goodbye. Born and raised in the small village of Ilsiome, Elvira was a beautiful girl and kind girl. Though she was eighteen, to her elder brother, she was still little.

Aden, older by three years, had took good care of her for all these years since their parents had abandoned them for reasons unknown. He loved her and admired her for her caring nature.

Both of them have known the severity of living without parents, protecting and nurturing each other ever since Elvira was three years old.

But why did his parents chosed to abandon them? This was still a mystery he was searching answer for. He believed that they may be still alive but couldn't understand why they wouldn't come to them.

First, his father left them and after a few months his mother followed him, leaving the two of them in the care of each other. There was no change in their behaviour, no fights between them, no reason he could think of that made them take such harsh decision.

It was harsh for his parents, he understood that much for he had seen his mother cry the night before she left and had felt the warmth of his father's hug that he still believes was tighter than usual.

Over the years the two of them had formed a strong bond. Elvira didn't even have a lot of memories of her parents, except a few.

Aden worked as a dish washer in the restaurant owned by Mr. Shim, the richest man in the village and who was treated like a king by the villagers.

Though Aden's earning was not much, it was enough for them to eat well and live a happy and satisfied life. As for Elvira, she looked after the house and sometimes helped her brother carry the heavy shopping bags from the village market.

On a bright sunny day while Aden was out shopping from the market some villagers had come to their home looking for Aden. Elvira was cleaning the house and when she informed them that Aden wasn't home, they simply left without uttering another word to her.

Though the market wasn't far from their home, that day, it took Aden longer than usual to return. When he returned, he had a long face and no matter how hard he tried, it was clearly visible that he was worried about something.

Elvira asked him about the matter bringing up that some villagers had come looking for him, he smiled at her and assured her that there wasn't anything to worry about.

A few days passed by but Aden still looked worried. Everytime Elvira asked him about it, he smiled and said "It's alright."

But then, one day when Elvira asked him the same thing, he replied "You know, money won't buy you happiness". Elvira couldn't understand what he meant by that but still nodded.

That evening, Aden didn't return from work. At first, she had thought that maybe he was stuck with some work and would be late but then it was midnight and still there was no sign of him. All worried Elvira decided to go out and look for him.

She went to the restaurant but he wasn't there so, she asked Mr. Shim about Aden's whereabouts but he said, he didn't know either and told her in a rather carefree manner that some young men came to talk to him and it seems he may have gone with them. He told her not to return home.

Elvira couldn't think of any other place to look for her brother in that dark and cold night so, she returned home and hoped that Aden will return by the morning.

The night passed but Elvira couldn't catch some sleep. She had made up her mind and as daylight reached the Earth, she went alone to look for him.

She searched for him near the lake, the farm and the market but couldn't find him. All of a sudden an old woman approached her and asked her if she was lost. Elvira told her "It's not me, but my elder brother." She narrated the whole story to her and shared her worries. The woman suggested her to look for him in the woods saying "He may have entered the woods with the three of them and is now unable to find their way out."

Elvira decided to take her advice and walked to the woods, though she was unsure if she could find Aden there. The sun was going to set in a few hours and then darkness would cover the whole woods, so she entered the woods and walked at a high pace. When she had been walking for more than half hour, she stumbled over something.

As she looked back to check, she figured out something unusual in the dark. The sight was more frightening than what she could have ever imagined.