Grandma's Labyrinth

Chapter 5

Elowen emerged from the chamber with a sense of cautious relief, her body still trembling from the decision she had made. The labyrinth had granted her passage, but it felt as though the air around her still carried whispers of things left unsaid. The corridor before her was strangely inviting—wide, illuminated by soft light, with smooth stone walls that no longer shifted as they had before. For the first time since entering the maze, the path seemed straightforward, almost peaceful.

But Elowen had learned enough to know better. The labyrinth never gave without taking something in return.

She walked slowly, her boots echoing against the stone floor. The air was cooler here, less suffocating, but there was something unsettling in the stillness. It was as if the labyrinth was waiting—holding its breath, watching her, waiting to see if she would notice what had changed.

And something had changed. Elowen could feel it in the subtle pull of the air, in the way her steps seemed lighter than before. The weight of the labyrinth’s hunger had lifted, but there was a new kind of pressure now, one that felt more insidious, more subtle. She could sense it around her, not in the walls or the floor, but in the spaces between. It was as if the labyrinth had receded, its presence hidden just beneath the surface, unseen but no less real.

The corridor opened up into a large, circular chamber, its walls lined with smooth, reflective stone that shimmered in the soft light. In the center of the room stood a tall archway, carved from the same dark stone as the rest of the labyrinth, but there was something different about this one. It seemed to pulse with a quiet energy, a faint hum that resonated in Elowen’s bones.

As she approached the archway, the air around it shimmered, distorting the space beyond. It was a portal, of that she was certain, but to where, she couldn’t say. The labyrinth had shown her many strange and wondrous things, but this—this felt different. There was a depth to the portal, a sense of vastness that stretched far beyond the walls of the labyrinth.

Her heart quickened as she reached out, her fingers brushing the edge of the archway. The moment her skin touched the stone, a rush of images flooded her mind—fragments of memories, places she had never seen, faces she didn’t recognize. It was overwhelming, a torrent of information that threatened to pull her under. But in the chaos, one image stood out.

It was her grandmother.

Elowen gasped, her hand pulling away from the archway as the vision faded. Her grandmother had been gone for years, lost to the labyrinth like so many before her. Elowen had grown up with stories of the maze, passed down through generations, but the truth of it had always eluded her. Until now.

The labyrinth had taken her grandmother, just as it had tried to take her. But now, standing before this strange portal, Elowen couldn’t help but wonder—had her grandmother found this same passage? Had she seen what Elowen was seeing now?

The thought both terrified and exhilarated her. If her grandmother had passed through this portal, then perhaps there was a way to find her, to uncover the truth of what had happened all those years ago. But the labyrinth had a way of twisting reality, of making the impossible seem real, only to snatch it away at the last moment.

Elowen stared at the archway, her mind racing. The portal beckoned her forward, its shimmering light promising answers, but she knew the risks. The labyrinth had already tested her in ways she hadn’t anticipated, and this could very well be another of its traps. But the image of her grandmother—so clear, so vivid—was impossible to ignore.

She took a step closer, the hum of the portal growing louder, more insistent. The air around her seemed to thicken, the space beyond the archway warping and shifting like a mirage. Elowen reached out again, her fingers brushing the stone, and once more, the images flooded her mind.