The morning after the storm was calm and gray. The world smelled fresh and new, as if the rain had washed away every secret from the night before. I stood by the window holding my cup of tea. My eyes followed the drops of water sliding down the glass, but my thoughts were far away.
In the kitchen, Aliana hummed a song while she fed our gray cat, Snowy. The soft rise and fall of her voice filled the little wooden house.
"Eat up, Snowy. You do not want Mama to think you are picky," she said with a laugh.
I turned my head and watched her for a moment. Her laughter always reminded me that there was still light in the world. Yet this morning that light felt dim. The dream from the night before kept returning to me. The mansion. The long hallway. The shouting voice. And then Aliana's dream, mirroring mine almost perfectly.
It made no sense. She had never seen that house. Yet she described it as if she had walked through its halls.
Aliana swung her schoolbag over her shoulder and came to kiss me goodbye.
"I will be late if I do not run," she said.
I brushed a strand of hair from her face. "Be careful, love. Stay with your friends on your way to school."
She frowned. "You look pale again, Mama. Did you sleep?"
I forced a faint smile. "A little. I am fine, sweetheart. Go on."
She hugged me once more and ran out into the street. Her footsteps faded until the house grew silent. The stillness felt heavy, as if even the walls were holding their breath.
I turned toward the small table by the window. The old wooden box sat there. I hesitated, then slowly opened it. Inside lay the worn photograph I had found the night before. I lifted it carefully, my hands trembling.
The Morettis stared back at me from another life. Luca stood tall in the center with that familiar proud, cruel smirk. His mother beside him looked cold as ice. And in the corner stood my own mother, her kind smile shining through the years.
Then my eyes caught something I had missed before. Behind my mother, nearly hidden by the curtain's edge, was the faint shape of another person. A man. Recognition struck me all at once. Ricky.
My heart ached. Ricky, the only one who had ever been kind to me in that house. The man who whispered to me, Keep hope alive. He had saved me. Without him, I would never have escaped.
I traced the outline of his face with my fingertip. "You kept your promise," I whispered. "You helped me live."
A gentle creak came from the front door. I jumped, nearly dropping the picture. The door opened and a tall man stepped inside, carrying a small travel bag. He smiled warmly.
"You are up early," he said.
Relief washed over me the moment I saw him. "Daniel," I breathed. "You are back."
He set his bag down and brushed raindrops from his coat. "I told you the trip would not take long. I caught the early train."
"I did not expect you today," I said. My voice trembled, but this time from relief rather than fear.
He smiled again, the calm and gentle smile that had once saved me. "I wanted to surprise you."
Daniel had been the first person to show me kindness after I fled the Morettis. I had been weak and terrified, carrying a child inside me. He had given me shelter, food and a name I could live under. He never asked questions. He only promised to protect me.
"Would you like tea?" I asked.
"Please. After that long ride, tea sounds perfect."
I poured him a cup and tried to steady my shaking hands. He noticed.
"Are you all right?" he asked softly.
I nodded too quickly. "Just tired."
He studied my face for a moment but said nothing more. He sipped his tea and looked around the small room. "The house looks the same," he said. "Peaceful, just like always."
"Yes," I whispered. "Peaceful."
But peace is fragile. It shatters with a memory, a knock at the door, or a single photograph.
Daniel glanced at the wooden box. "You still keep that?"
"It belonged to my mother," I said. "It is all I have left of her."
He nodded, his expression soft. "You never talk about her."
"There are many things I do not talk about," I said quietly.
He did not ask again. Instead he smiled and said, "I saw Aliana outside. She looks more and more like you."
My chest tightened. "She is my joy," I said. "Everything I do is for her."
Daniel looked at me for a long moment, his expression unreadable. Then he said, "You have done well. You have built a life. You should be proud."
Before I could answer, a flash of movement outside caught my eye. A figure stood near the fence, watching the house. I blinked and he was gone. Ice filled my chest.
Daniel noticed the change in my face. "What is it?"
"Nothing," I said quickly. "I thought I saw someone."
"Probably a neighbor," he said. "Rain makes shadows come alive."
I nodded, but my heart still raced. I wanted to believe him. I wanted to believe no one had found me.
That evening the rain returned. Aliana sat on the couch doing homework while Daniel read the newspaper and I cleaned the kitchen. The air felt heavy, thick with something unspoken.
"Mama," Aliana said after a while, "there was a man near the gate when I came home today. He was standing by a black car."
I froze. "What man?"
"I do not know," she said. "He just stood there, like he was waiting. When I looked again, he was gone."
Daniel looked up from his paper. "Probably someone lost," he said calmly.
But when my eyes met his, a silent question passed between us. Could it be the past returning?
That night I barely slept. Every time the wind rattled the windows, I sat up clutching the blanket. When I finally drifted to sleep, the dream came again. I was running through the mansion halls as rain pounded outside. Ricky's voice whispered in the dark, Do not look back.
When I woke, the candle beside my bed had burned out. The room felt cold.
I rose early, careful not to wake Daniel or Aliana, and went to fetch water from the well. The ground was soft beneath my feet. As I stepped near the gate, I froze. There in the mud were footprints. Large ones. Fresh.
My heart slammed against my ribs. I looked up the road, but no one was there.
The rain had stopped, yet the air still carried the scent of danger.
I stood very still and whispered, "Ricky, wherever you are, please keep us safe."
Then I turned back toward the house. Inside, Aliana still slept peacefully. Daniel sat at the table, already awake, reading quietly.
He looked up as I entered. "Everything all right?" he asked.
I forced a smile. "Yes. Everything is fine."
But it was not. I could feel it. The shadows of my past were moving again. Someone out there had found our trail.
And once again, the rain began to fall.