WITCH - ARA

Ten

I see her face one last time before they close the coffin, the finality of the lid echoing in the hollow silence. The ground seems to swallow her whole as they slide it into the dark, waiting grave.

She should’ve listened to me. "What could go wrong?" were her last words before she vanished into the night, never to return.

Now, the chilling truth is buried with her.

I stand at the edge of Silas’s grave, the cold wind biting at my skin, but I barely feel it. My mind is numb, trapped in a loop of "what ifs" and "should haves." I should have stopped her. I should have done something—anything—to keep her from going into those cursed woods.

Silas’s parents are standing a few feet away, clinging to each other in their grief. Their faces are pale, etched with the kind of sorrow that only comes from losing a child. They glance at me occasionally, their eyes filled with a mix of pity and something else—blame, perhaps? I can’t blame them if they do. I blame myself too.

The priest's voice drifts into my awareness, reciting prayers that feel meaningless, empty. I don’t know if I believe in God anymore, not after everything that’s happened. How could any higher power allow this? Allow her to die like that?

The mourners start to drift away, their footsteps muffled by the fresh earth. But I stay rooted to the spot, my eyes locked on the freshly turned soil. My heart feels like it's been buried with her, heavy and cold, sinking deeper with every passing second.

"I’m so sorry, Silas," I whisper, my voice breaking as I choke back tears. "I should have been there. I should have protected you."

But my apologies are swallowed by the wind, carried away to some distant, unreachable place. Just like her.

The cemetery is empty now, except for me and the caretaker who’s shoveling the last of the dirt over her grave. He works quickly, efficiently, as if he’s done this a thousand times before. And maybe he has. But this isn't just another grave to me—this is Silas. My best friend. The only person who understood me, who stood by me through everything.

And now she’s gone.

I don’t know how long I stand there, staring at the mound of dirt that now covers her. Minutes? Hours? Time has lost all meaning. I’m trapped in this moment, in this endless loop of grief and guilt.

A hand on my shoulder jolts me back to the present. It’s Ava. I turn to face her, after Si was gone Ava somehow magically came back to her senses, it was such a shock to me and her parents, I see something in her eyes—a clarity, a presence that had been missing for so long. Silas’s death snapped her back to reality, just like Silas had always wanted. But the price… the price was too much.

“Ava,” I say softly, my voice trembling with unspoken grief.

“Blaze,” she responds, her voice steady but laced with sorrow. “It’s time to go.”

I don’t want to leave. I want to stay here with Silas, to keep vigil over her, to somehow make up for failing her. But I know I can’t. There’s nothing I can do now. Nothing that will bring her back.

With one last, lingering look at the grave, I turn and follow Ava out of the cemetery. But as we walk away, I can’t shake the feeling that this isn’t over. Silas might be gone, but the darkness that took her—it’s still out there. And whatever it is, I’m not done with it. Not by a long shot.

Silas was everything to me, and now she’s gone. Anything else could’ve happened, but Silas? I’d burn the whole fucking world if it meant I could see her smile just once more. Whatever twisted force made her into what she is now, I’m going to burn that shit alive.

The first thing I’m doing after reaching home is summoning Yovan and demanding answers. It’s been missing since yesterday, and I shouldn't have trusted it. I shouldn't have listened to Silas and summoned that unwanted creature. Now, it’s time to set things right. Whatever it takes.