◦•●◉✿Mai:The heart of a blue spirited girl ✿◉●•◦

.•♫•♬•Chapter sixteen: Tethered to the darkness•♬•♫•.

The rain pattered softly against the motel room’s window.
Mai sat curled up on the bed, watching the drops trail down the glass like tears. The events of the past few days weighed heavily on her mind. Maria’s condition was deteriorating, and despite her brave front, Mai could see the life draining from her.

She glanced at her phone, half-hoping for a message. Brian had promised to dig into the mystery surrounding the Shade, working from the safety of his home. She hadn’t expected to miss him this much, but the truth was, Brian’s presence had become a small comfort amidst the chaos. He had a way of grounding her, making her feel like she wasn’t completely lost in the storm.

Her phone buzzed, breaking the silence. A text from Brian lit up the screen.

Brian: Found something. Can we talk?

Mai’s fingers hovered over the keyboard before typing a quick reply.
Mai: Is it bad?
Brian: Complicated. Call you in a bit.

She sighed, tossing the phone onto the bed. The truth was, she wasn’t sure she wanted to hear what he had found. The last thing she needed was more bad news.

Maria stirred on the other bed, her frail body barely making an impression on the mattress. Mai rushed to her side, her heart sinking at how pale Maria looked.

"Maria?" she whispered, brushing a strand of hair from Maria’s face.

Maria’s eyes fluttered open, and she smiled weakly. "You’re still here," she murmured.

"Of course I am," Mai said, forcing a smile. "I’m not going anywhere."

Maria’s hand trembled as she reached for Mai’s. "You’re so much stronger than you think, Mai. Don’t let this... thing... take that away from you."

Mai nodded, swallowing the lump in her throat. "You need to rest. Brian’s working on figuring this out. We’re going to stop it."

Maria didn’t respond, her eyes drifting closed again.

---

When Brian called later that evening, his voice was tense.
"Mai, I think I know what’s going on," he said without preamble.

Mai sat up straighter. "What did you find?"

Brian hesitated, and she could hear the sound of pages flipping in the background. "The Shade isn’t just some random entity. It’s tied to something your parents were investigating—something they shouldn’t have been."

Mai’s chest tightened. "What kind of something?"

"It’s hard to say. But I found references to a secret project—something involving experiments on supernatural entities. I think your parents were getting too close to the truth, and the Shade was sent to... silence them."

Mai’s heart pounded. "So their accident—it wasn’t an accident?"

"I don’t think so," Brian said softly. "And Mai, I think the Shade’s still after you because you’re their daughter. It sees you as a threat, just like it saw them."

Mai’s mind raced. Her parents’ deaths, Maria’s illness, the haunting presence of the Shade—it all connected, but the picture was still blurry. "Is there any way to stop it?" she asked, her voice shaking.

Brian was quiet for a moment. "There’s a ritual that could sever its connection to you, but it’s dangerous. And it would require confronting it directly."

Mai’s stomach churned. "Confronting it? How are we supposed to do that?"

"We’d need to lure it out," Brian said. "But Mai... it would put you in danger. A lot of danger."