Two years passed. Maria and Cathy eventually arrived in San Jose after leaving Los Angeles. Their college life continued, and many things happened during those two years.
Suddenly, a familiar voice interrupted Cathy's thoughts.
"Cathy! Johan! Come and have some milk."
Cathy looked up. The flashback came to an end.
She realized that she had been telling Johan the story for a long time. She looked at the time and smiled.
"Johan, we didn't even notice how much time had passed. It's already very late. You look really tired. Come on, let's go downstairs and have some milk."
Johan shook his head. "No, Cathy. I won't come. You go and have some milk."
Cathy looked at him for a moment and then hugged him.
"Everything will be alright. Come on. At least have something to drink."
Johan finally agreed, and the two of them went downstairs.
As they walked, Johan looked at Cathy and asked, "But you haven't completely told me what happened to Maria. What happened after that?"
Cathy looked at him and smiled slightly.
"I'll tell you everything. But first, come and have some milk."
They continued walking downstairs together, while the unanswered story of Maria remained in Cathy's mind.
Cathy, maria, Johan, Henry, and Roshan came into the dining hall and sat together. They had their milk while talking about various things. The atmosphere was calm as everyone spent some time together.
After a while, Maria said, "I have an appointment with Dr. Robin tomorrow. I want to go and meet him."
Everyone listened to Maria as she explained about her appointment. They continued talking for some time before finishing their milk.
Eventually, everyone left the dining hall and went back to their respective rooms.
The house slowly became quiet as everyone settled down for the night.
That night, Maria and Cathy were sleeping together in the same room. The house had become quiet, but neither of them seemed completely relaxed after everything that had happened.
After a few moments of silence, Maria turned towards Cathy and asked softly, "Cathy, what Johan is telling… is he okay right now?"
Cathy looked at her and replied, "He is becoming alright. He asked about you, Nick's death, and everything that happened."
Maria became curious. "Why did he ask?"
Cathy sighed. "Because he is determined that Jenifer's death was not normal. He thinks there is something wrong with the way she died."
Maria remained silent for a moment. Then she said, "Even I have the same doubt. How did Jenifer suddenly get cardiac arrest? She was healthy, right?"
Cathy nodded slowly. "Yes. That is what makes everything more confusing."
Maria looked nervous. She hesitated for a moment before speaking.
"Cathy… I want to tell you one thing. If I tell this to everyone, they will all get scared."
Cathy immediately became serious. "What?"
Maria took a breath.
"When I went outside from my room and came downstairs to save Jenifer… I saw something."
Cathy looked at her with concern. "What did you see?"
Maria lowered her voice. "There was a mysterious lady."
"A mysterious lady?" Cathy asked, surprised. "What do you mean?"
"I don't know whether it was my imagination or not," Maria said nervously. "But I saw a woman coming from behind a tree towards Jenifer. She looked mysterious. Her eyes… they were blue. I couldn't see her face completely."
Cathy stared at Maria without saying anything.
Maria continued, "Before Jenifer's death, she was standing behind her in the garden."
The moment Maria said those words, Cathy was shocked. The memory of that night in college suddenly struck her.
"Blue eyes…" Cathy whispered.
Maria looked at her. "What?"
Cathy slowly turned towards Maria. "I also saw that blue-eyed mysterious lady when we were in college."
Maria's eyes widened.
"You saw her too?"
Cathy nodded. "Yes. I thought it was only my imagination. After that night, everything became normal, so I never told you about her."
Maria remained silent, trying to understand what she had just heard.
After a moment, she said, "I got it. She has been watching us for all these years. And now she is giving us trouble again."
Cathy looked at her seriously.
"But why is she doing this?" Maria continued. "Why is she watching us? Is there anyone who is with her?"
She paused and looked at Cathy.
"We need to find out."
Suddenly, Cathy's phone gave a notification sound.
Both of them looked towards the phone.
Cathy picked it up and opened the message. It was from Johan.
Johan had asked Cathy if they could go outside tomorrow and talk about the remaining things.
Cathy read the message carefully and replied,
"Okay."
Maria had noticed the message.
Cathy put the phone aside and looked at Maria. She could see that Maria was still thinking about everything they had discussed.
Cathy moved closer and gave Maria a friendly hug.
"I'm so sorry, Maria," Cathy said gently. "I know I'm making you remember all those old memories that you have been trying to forget."
Maria remained quiet.
"But I should tell this to Johan," Cathy continued. "He needs to know what we have seen and what we are thinking."
Maria slowly looked at Cathy.
"No, Cathy," she said. "From now on, I'm not going to be scared of my old memories."
Cathy listened carefully.
"I'm going to face them," Maria continued. "I want to find the truth behind Nick's death."
Her voice had become more determined than frightened.
"I don't want to keep running away from those memories anymore."
Cathy nodded.
Then, suddenly, she remembered something.
"Maria…"
"What?"
"One day, you brought a book from Rathi, right?"
Maria thought for a moment.
"Yes."
"I remember that book," Cathy said. "I also saw something about those mysterious eyes in that book."
Maria immediately became interested.
"Yes," she said. "You're right."
She thought about the book and continued, "We need to find that book."
Cathy nodded.
"We need to know what is given in that book," Maria said. "Maybe it contains something that can help us understand what is happening."
She paused before remembering where she had left it.
"That day, I kept that book carelessly in the hostel."
Cathy looked at her.
"So we need to find it."
"Yes," Maria replied. "We need to find that book and read it properly."
Cathy agreed.
"But we can't do everything alone," Maria said. "For that, we need help from Johan and Roshan."
Cathy nodded again.
"We need them to help us unwrap the truth behind Jenifer's and Nick's deaths."
The room became quiet once again.
Now, their thoughts were no longer only about the past. They were thinking about what they had to do next—the message from Johan, the mysterious blue-eyed woman, the book from Rathi, and the deaths of Jenifer and Nick.
Maria and Cathy continued talking for some time, trying to understand everything that had happened and what they needed to discover.
Eventually, their tiredness began to overcome them.
They lay quietly beside each other, and after everything they had discussed, both of them slowly fell into sleep.
The next morning, Johan, Maria, Cathy, and Roshan got into the car to meet Mr. Robin. Roshan was driving, while Cathy sat beside Johan. Maria sat quietly in the back seat, looking outside the window.
Johan was talking with Cathy about the things they had discussed the previous night.
"Cathy, there are still many things I want to understand," Johan said.
"I know," Cathy replied. "We will talk about everything."
While they were talking, Maria remained silent. Her mind was deeply occupied by the mysterious woman she had seen in the garden. The blue eyes kept coming back to her thoughts. She was also thinking about what Cathy had told her—that she had seen the same blue-eyed woman during their college days.
Roshan noticed Maria's silence through the rear-view mirror.
"Maria, are you okay?"
Maria looked at him and nodded.
"Yes, I'm fine."
After some time, they reached Mr. Robin's clinic. Maria got out of the car and walked inside while Johan, Cathy, and Roshan waited outside.
Maria reached Mr. Robin's cabin and knocked on the door.
"Come in," Mr. Robin said.
Maria entered.
"Welcome, Maria. How are you feeling now?" Mr. Robin asked with a smile.
"I'm good, Doctor," Maria replied.
Mr. Robin asked her a few questions about how she had been feeling and then examined her.
After the examination, he smiled and said, "You are doing much better now, Maria. Your condition has improved well. You can slowly stop your medicines, but don't stop them suddenly. Reduce them gradually as advised."
Maria nodded.
"Okay, Doctor. Thank you."
"Also, if you feel that your earlier problems are returning, come and meet me again," Robin said.
"I will, Doctor."
Robin smiled. "Good. You are doing well. Don't be too worried about the past. Focus on getting better and moving forward."
Maria gave him a small smile.
"Thank you, Doctor."
She got up from the chair and left the cabin.
Outside, Cathy immediately asked, "What did Doctor Robin say?"
Maria replied, "He said I'm alright now. I can slowly stop my medicines."
Johan smiled with relief.
"That's good to hear."
Maria nodded, but even after hearing that she was better, the thought of the mysterious blue-eyed woman was still troubling her.
She knew that there were still many unanswered questions waiting for them.
After leaving Mr. Robin's clinic, Maria looked at Cathy and said, "You and Johan go somewhere and make him relax. Then come back soon. I'm going to the shop to buy a few things. Roshan, you come with me."
Roshan nodded. "Okay."
Cathy looked at Johan, and both of them agreed. Maria and Roshan went towards the shops, while Johan and Cathy went to a nearby garden and sat on a bench.
For a few moments, they remained silent, enjoying the quiet surroundings.
Then Johan looked at Cathy.
"Cathy, you said yesterday that you still had something more to tell me. Can you continue now?"
Cathy nodded.
"Yes, Johan. I'll tell you."
She took a breath and began to recall the past.
"After our vacation was over, Maria and I returned to the hostel. We started arranging our things in our room. I was busy organizing everything, while Maria went outside to do some shopping."
"After a few hours, Maria returned to the hostel. But when she came into the room, I noticed that she looked confused."
Cathy continued, "I immediately asked her, 'Maria, why are you looking so confused? What happened?'"
Maria had not answered immediately. Instead, she showed Cathy a book she was carrying.
"She gave me this book," Cathy told Johan.
Maria had said, "Cathy, while I was coming out of the shop, I saw Rathi."
Cathy had looked at her with surprise.
"Rathi? What was she doing there?"
Maria had replied, "I don't know. She came towards me and gave me this book. She asked me to read it."
Then Maria told Cathy what Rathi had said.
"She told me, 'They will not leave you. They have decided that they are going to remove each and every happiness from you.' Then she left."
Cathy remembered how confused Maria had looked at that moment.
"Who are 'they'?" Maria had asked. "Why did she say that? I don't understand anything."
Maria had then brought the book back to the hostel.
Cathy continued telling Johan, "I opened the book because I wanted to know what was inside."
She remembered turning through its pages.
"There were many horrible rituals written in it. There was also something about controlling other people's minds."
Johan listened carefully.
"And then I saw something else," Cathy continued. "There was a drawing of an eye in the book. The eye was blue in colour."
Johan became serious.
"The same blue eye?"
Cathy nodded.
"Yes. A blue eye."
Back in the hostel room, Maria had taken the book from Cathy and looked at it for a moment.
"Cathy, we don't even have enough time to properly study our subjects," Maria had said. "How are we going to read these types of books?"
Cathy had looked at her.
"So what are we going to do with it?"
Maria had walked towards the cupboard.
"We'll keep it here for now."
She placed the book inside the cupboard and closed the door.
"We can look at it later."
After placing the book inside the cupboard, Maria closed the cupboard door.
Before either of them could say anything else, there was suddenly a knock on the hostel door.
Cathy looked towards the door.
"Who could that be?"
She walked towards it and opened the door.
It was Sophie.
The moment Cathy saw her, she became worried. Sophie looked extremely frightened and was breathing heavily, as if she had been running.
"Sophie? What happened?" Cathy asked.
Sophie could barely speak properly.
Maria quickly came towards her.
"Sophie, come inside. Sit down."
Cathy helped her sit down while Maria brought some water. Sophie drank the water slowly and tried to control her breathing.
"What happened, Sophie?" Maria asked. "Why are you so scared?"
Sophie looked at both of them.
"My brother… Nick…"
"What happened to Nick?" Cathy asked immediately.
Sophie took a deep breath.
"My brother Nick was sitting on the sofa and watching television. I was in the kitchen cooking. Suddenly, I heard Nick screaming."
Maria became tense.
"Screaming? Why?"
"I don't know," Sophie said. "I immediately ran to him. He was holding his head tightly and screaming continuously. I tried to make him calm down, but he wasn't responding properly."
Cathy looked worried.
"What happened next?"
"He suddenly fell down and became completely silent," Sophie said, her voice trembling.
Maria and Cathy exchanged a worried look.
"I became very scared," Sophie continued. "I ran back to the kitchen to get some water for him. But when I came back…"
She stopped for a moment.
"What happened?" Maria asked.
"When I came back, Nick had woken up. He suddenly got up and ran outside."
Cathy was shocked.
"He ran outside?"
"Yes. I followed him outside and searched everywhere, but I couldn't find him."
Sophie looked close to tears.
"I didn't know what to do. I tried calling you because I thought maybe Nick had come here. I wanted to ask whether he was with you."
Maria asked, "But why didn't you reach us?"
"I tried calling you," Sophie replied. "But the phone wasn't reachable. That's why I came here myself."
She looked around the room anxiously.
"But Nick isn't here either. I don't know where he has gone."
Sophie lowered her head.
"I'm scared. I just want Nick to be safe."
Cathy immediately sat beside her and tried to comfort her.
"Don't be scared, Sophie. Nick will be alright. We'll find him."
Maria also placed a reassuring hand on Sophie.
"Yes, Sophie. Don't worry. We won't leave you alone."
Cathy stood up.
"I'm going to contact the police and ask them to help us find Nick."
Maria immediately stood up.
"I'll come with you."
Cathy looked at her.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes," Maria replied. "Sophie is scared, and Nick is missing. We need to find him."
Cathy nodded.
They both turned towards Sophie.
"Sophie, you stay here and wait," Cathy said. "If we find Nick, I'll call you immediately."
Sophie nodded nervously.
"Please find him."
"We will," Cathy assured her.
Cathy and Maria then left the hostel together, determined to find Nick.
Maria and Cathy rushed out of the hostel and climbed into a cab. Neither of them spoke much during the journey to the police station. The image of Sophie standing at their hostel door, trembling and struggling to explain what had happened to Nick, kept returning to their minds.
The moment they reached the station, Cathy hurried inside and approached the officers.
"My friend is missing," she said breathlessly. "His name is Nick. His sister saw him suddenly leave the house. He wasn't behaving normally."
The officers immediately began asking questions.
"When did he disappear?"
"About an hour ago."
"Did he take his phone?"
"Yes, but he isn't answering."
"Did he have any argument with anyone?"
"No," Cathy replied. "His sister said he was completely normal before it happened."
The officers began checking the CCTV footage around Nick's house.
Maria stood silently beside Cathy.
The first camera showed Nick inside the house.
The next camera showed him stepping outside.
Then another camera caught him walking down the road.
The officer moved from one recording to another.
Suddenly, Nick began running.
Maria leaned closer to the monitor.
"Why is he running?"
Nobody answered.
The officer continued following his movement through the available cameras.
Nick crossed the road.
He passed several buildings.
Then he disappeared from the city streets and appeared near an isolated road leading towards the outskirts.
The next camera showed him entering a narrow path.
The officer paused the footage.
Beyond the path was a large forest.
"He went there," the officer said quietly.
Maria's face changed.
"The forest?"
The officer nodded.
Cathy immediately stood up.
"We need to go there."
A few police officers prepared to leave.
Just as they were about to go, Cathy's phone rang.
It was Sophie.
Cathy answered immediately.
"Hello?"
"Cathy, did you find him?"
Her voice sounded frightened.
"We checked the CCTV. Nick went towards a forest. The police have located where he went."
There was silence on the other end.
"Why would he go there?" Sophie whispered.
"I don't know."
"He was sitting on the sofa watching television. I was cooking. Everything was completely normal."
"Did anything happen before he started screaming?"
"No."
"Did you have an argument with him?"
"No, Cathy. Nothing happened."
Sophie took a shaky breath.
"Please find him."
"We will."
"I came back home. Please call me as soon as you find him."
"I promise."
The call ended.
The police vehicle moved towards the forest.
Maria sat silently beside Cathy, staring through the window.
The farther they travelled, the fewer houses they saw.
The roads became narrower.
The lights disappeared one by one.
Finally, even the sounds of the city were gone.
Ahead of them stood the forest.
It was enormous.
The trees were so tall and dense that the moonlight barely reached the ground.
The police officers stepped out.
Flashlights were switched on.
"Everyone stay together," one officer instructed.
They entered the forest.
At first, there was nothing unusual.
Only the sound of their footsteps.
Leaves cracked beneath their shoes.
Branches moved gently above them.
Somewhere far away, an owl called.
"Nick!" a police officer shouted.
The sound travelled deep into the forest.
Then disappeared.
No answer.
"Nick!"
Again, nothing.
They continued walking.
Maria repeatedly called his name.
"Nick!"
Her voice trembled.
Suddenly, a faint sound came from somewhere ahead.
Everyone stopped.
"What was that?" Cathy asked.
They listened.
There it was again.
A voice.
Very faint.
"Help…"
Maria's eyes widened.
"That's Nick."
The police officers raised their flashlights.
"Nick!"
Silence.
Then—
"Help…"
This time it was clearer.
Maria started moving forward.
"Wait," an officer said.
But Maria had already begun walking faster.
The voice seemed to be coming from deeper inside the forest.
"Nick!"
No answer.
Only the sound of the wind moving through the trees.
Then, far ahead, something appeared between the trunks.
A strange light.
It flickered.
Not like an ordinary campfire.
It was unusually bright, almost dazzling against the darkness.
Everyone stopped.
"What is that?" Cathy whispered.
The officers slowly moved towards it.
The closer they got, the stranger the forest became.
There were no insects.
No birds.
Not even the sound of the wind.
It was as though the entire forest had suddenly gone silent.
Maria looked around.
"Why is it so quiet?"
Nobody answered.
They continued forward.
The strange light became brighter.
Then they saw the source.
A large flame was burning in the middle of a clearing.
Around it were strange markings drawn across the ground.
Objects had been carefully arranged around the flame.
Candles stood at different points around the clearing, their flames moving despite the complete stillness of the air.
The sight made everyone stop.
Cathy felt a cold shiver run through her.
"This doesn't look normal."
One of the officers slowly stepped forward.
"Stay behind us."
Maria looked beyond the flames.
Something was lying on the ground.
She couldn't see clearly.
Then she heard it.
A faint whisper.
"Maria…"
She froze.
Her heart seemed to stop.
"Nick?"
Cathy grabbed her arm.
"Maria, don't go."
But Maria pulled herself free.
She was staring directly towards the other side of the clearing.
"Nick!"
She began running.
"Maria!"
The officers shouted after her.
She ignored them.
She ran past the candles and deeper into the clearing.
The strange markings surrounded her feet.
Then something caught her foot.
She stumbled and fell.
For a moment, she couldn't move.
Her hands trembled as she slowly lifted her head.
The flames illuminated the clearing.
And then she saw him.
Nick.
He was lying without head near the centre of the strange arrangement.
Maria stared at him.
"No…"
Her voice barely came out.
She crawled forward.
"Nick…"
She reached towards him but stopped.
Something was terribly wrong.
"Nick!"
Her voice broke.
Then she noticed something else.
Someone was standing behind him.
A man.
Completely motionless.
He was tall and dressed in dark clothing.
His face was hidden in shadow.
He held a large sword in one hand. And in another had he is holding nick's head which was cut off.
Maria slowly looked up.
The stranger didn't move.
He simply stared at her.
The flames flickered between them.
"Nick.....No..." Maria screemed
The man tilted his head slightly.
Still nothing.
Cathy and the police officers finally reached the clearing.
Everyone froze.
One officer immediately shouted,
"Step away from him!"
The mysterious man remained completely silent.
"Drop the weapon!"
Nothing.
The officer moved forward.
The mysterious man slowly turned his head towards them.
For one terrifying second, nobody moved.
Then he suddenly stepped backwards.
"Stop!"
The officers rushed towards him.
The man turned and ran into the darkness.
Several officers chased after him.
Their flashlights disappeared between the trees.
Maria remained beside Nick's headless body
Cathy rushed to her and tightly hugged maria.
Maria didn't respond.
She was staring into the Nick's body.
The strange flame continued burning.
The candles continued flickering.
And then—
The fire suddenly went out.
The entire clearing became dark.
Maria screamed.
Cathy immediately held onto her.
"Maria!"
The police officers stopped somewhere in the forest.
Their voices echoed through the trees.
"Where did he go?"
"I don't know!"
"Search the area!"
Flashlights moved through the darkness.
But the mysterious man was nowhere to be found.
There were no footsteps.
No movement.
Nothing.
It was as if he had simply vanished.
One officer returned to the clearing.
"He's gone."
Cathy looked around.
"How?"
The officer shook his head.
"We don't know."
Maria remained silent.
She looked towards the trees.
The forest seemed to stretch endlessly into the darkness.
Then, somewhere far away, a branch snapped.
Everyone turned.
The flashlights pointed towards the sound.
Nothing.
Another branch moved.
Then silence.
Maria's eyes remained fixed on the darkness.
Nobody spoke.
The officers searched the surrounding area again.
But there was no sign of the stranger.
Only the abandoned ritual-like arrangement remained in the clearing.
And Nick's body
The police began securing the area.
Cathy stayed beside Maria, trying to keep her calm. Even cathy can't able to stand stable.
But Maria couldn't stop looking towards the Nick's body.
And as the police lights began illuminating the distant road, two faint blue points seemed to appear for just a moment between the trees.
Cathy remained silent for a few moments, staring at the garden in front of them. The memories of that night still seemed painfully clear in her mind.
After Nick's death, the police continued their investigation. A complaint was formally registered, and the officers made every possible effort to find the mysterious person who had been seen in the forest that night. They searched the surrounding area, questioned people, examined whatever evidence they could find, and tried to trace the man's identity.
But nothing led them to him.
Days passed, and then weeks.
There was still no clear answer about who the mysterious man was or why Nick had been taken to that strange place. Every attempt to find him ended without success. The case seemed to sink deeper into uncertainty, leaving behind more questions than answers.
Sophie was devastated.
After everything that had happened, she slowly lost hope that she would ever understand what had happened to her brother. Her relatives took her into their care, and she eventually went to stay with them. She barely spoke about Nick anymore. Whenever his name was mentioned, she would become silent, as though even remembering him had become too painful.
Maria, however, was struggling in a different way.
Even after returning to the hostel, she couldn't escape what she had seen in the forest. Sometimes, in the middle of the night, she would suddenly wake up and scream. She would speak about the forest, the strange flames, Nick lying motionless, and the mysterious man who had stood there before disappearing into the darkness.
Cathy tried everything she could to calm her.
But the memories kept returning.
It became clear that Maria needed professional help.
They eventually arranged an appointment with Dr. Robin. After speaking with Maria and understanding what she had been experiencing, Robin believed that staying in the same environment where so many painful memories had occurred might make it harder for her to recover.
Robin suggested that Maria leave the area for some time and return to her hometown in Los Angeles, where she could be surrounded by familiar people and receive proper support.
So, after everything that had happened, the decision was made.
Maria and i would leave and return to Los Angeles.
Cathy lowered her eyes.
"That's why we came to Los Angeles. We thought being away from everything might help Maria recover. But even after coming here, those memories never really left her."
Johan looked towards the house.
"And now Maria and I can't even go to Nick's home," Cathy said. "Sophie isn't there anymore. She went with her relatives, and without her, we don't know what we can actually do there. We don't even know where to begin."
She paused.
"And Maria is still getting treatment from Dr. Robin. She is getting better slowly, but everything that happened has affected her deeply."
Johan remained quiet for a long moment.
His expression became serious as he looked down at the ground.
"What happened to Nick…" he said softly. "And what happened to Jenifer… No one should ever have to go through something like that."
He took a slow breath.
"I just hope Maria becomes alright. She has already suffered enough."
Cathy looked at him.
For a moment, neither of them said anything.
Then Cathy moved closer and gently hugged Johan. She rested her head against his chest while he stood quietly, still looking towards the garden.
The garden was peaceful.
The flowers moved slightly in the night breeze, and the leaves of the trees rustled softly.
But after everything Cathy had just told him, the peaceful garden somehow felt different.
Johan looked across the darkness beyond the garden.
"I wish we could understand what really happened," he whispered.
Cathy remained silent against him.
Neither of them noticed how the shadows beneath the trees seemed unusually deep.
For a few seconds, the garden was completely still.
Then a faint breeze passed through the branches.
The leaves moved.
And somewhere beyond the garden, hidden in the darkness, something seemed to shift.
Cathy slowly lifted her head.
"Johan…"
"What?"
She looked towards the trees.
"Nothing."
She lowered her head again.
The garden became quiet once more.
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