İlyara
Morhena had been following her ever since the Mother Root. Whenever İlyara looked back, she couldn't see him, but she could feel his presence.
How was that possible?
He's after you.
İlyara ignored it and opened the cabin door. But as soon as she opened it, she came face-to-face with a young man.
"I thought I'd lost you for good," the young man said.
He'll catch you.
I wish I could leave, she thought. Perhaps then she could get rid of the voices in her head, too.
"I tried to leave," İlyara replied wearily. "But I couldn't."
You can't leave.
Stay.
Everyone was after her, and they wouldn't let her leave. İlyara giggled at the thought.
When a shadow appeared in front of her, she looked up. Morhena had arrived, too.
Angel of Death.
No, he wasn't. He had told her he wasn't.
The young man swung his sword at Morhena.
Fool.
He'll die.
"Y-You're a Morhena?" the young man stammered, taking a step back. Then he raised his sword and swung it at Morhena again, fearfully. The man's fear flooded into İlyara's body.
If he was so afraid, why wasn't he running away?
Child.
Little.
Must be protected.
Morhena knocked the young man… the little boy to the ground and brought his sword down to stab him.
İlyara's heart ached. She couldn't lose that child.
"No!" she shouted, pushing Morhena away from the boy. "Stay away from him!"
Then she reached out to the boy on the ground. But he wouldn't let İlyara touch him.
Mustn't touch him.
Cursed.
"Are you all right?" İlyara asked the boy.
He's fine.
Better without you.
"He's fine," she continued, murmuring to herself.
"Who are you?" Morhena asked the boy. "And why are you here?"
İlyara watched the boy on the ground with compassion. He seemed better now. His fear seemed to have lessened. Perhaps İlyara could take all his fear away, and then he wouldn't have to suffer.
Yes, he mustn't suffer.
"My name is Yitan," the boy said.
When İlyara heard Yitan's name, she felt her heart ache again. Suddenly, she was overwhelmed by the urge to embrace the boy. She had to hold him close and protect him from all harm.
Stay away from him!
Why? He had to be protected.
"Why are you here?"
Morhena's deep voice startled her out of her thoughts.
"For revenge."
Revenge? Whose revenge?
Who did Yitan want revenge on?
Who had done what to Yitan?
İlyara felt her anger trying to rise, fighting against the emotions inside her body.
Murderer.
Who?
İlyara could find that out later. Her priority was feeding the child. Yitan was still little; he needed to eat to grow.
"Are you hungry?" she asked Yitan.
But Yitan said he didn't want to eat. Children were always like that. They forgot they were hungry when they were playing.
Hungry.
Morhena had kicked Yitan, knocking him to the ground.
"You'll do whatever she wants," Morhena said. The threatening tone in his voice made İlyara's hair stand on end.
No.
Don't touch him!
"Stay away from him!" İlyara shouted.
Morhena had done as İlyara said and moved away from the boy. But why was Morhena listening to her?
Yitan had hurt his head. His minor scrapes needed treatment. Otherwise, they could get infected.
Infected.
Protect.
Morhena said Yitan had come here to kill İlyara. Why would a little boy want to kill her?
Revenge.
There was no reason for him to want revenge on İlyara.
Hahaha.
Ignoring the mocking laughter in her mind, she turned to Morhena. She was about to call him Morhena, but stopped. He had told İlyara that his name was Arın. He might get angry if she didn't call him Arın now.
"Arın, could you catch something to eat?" she asked. "There doesn't seem to be anything in the house."
In fact, she knew there was nothing. She hadn't been able to eat much for the past few days.
Although he initially refused, Morhena Arın did as İlyara asked and went outside.
---
She cooked the rabbits Arın had hunted and chopped up, then set the table. Yitan and Arın seemed to be getting along well. They had sat side by side at the same table all day. They looked just like a father and son.
Son.
Father.
A sudden pain shot through İlyara's head. As her breathing grew uneven, she began taking deep breaths. She tried not to let it show as she went through all this.
Murderer.
No, she wasn't… was she?
After pulling herself together, she served the food onto plates and sat down at the table. Although they had started eating, Yitan wasn't touching his food. When she asked him why he wasn't eating, Morhena Arın said that Yitan wanted a beating.
Bad Morhena.
İlyara tried to signal to him not to talk like that. But Arın didn't seem to understand.
"Are you two lovers?"
When Yitan said that, İlyara dropped her fork onto her plate. Now everyone at the table was looking at her.
"N-No, it's nothing like that," İlyara said, embarrassed. She felt her cheeks grow warm.
This was strange. Why had such a question embarrassed her so much? After all, Arın was a Morhena, and they didn't have emotions… did they?
Embarrassing.
Shameful.
When she looked at Arın, their eyes met. İlyara froze for a moment. Arın was looking at her so intently. It was as if he had something he wanted to say. Then an emotion began to flow into her. It felt like… desire.
Where was it coming from?
Arın cleared his throat, looked at Yitan, and slapped him on the back of the neck.
"Eat your food," he said.
As İlyara's mouth fell open in surprise, Yitan was jolted toward the dining table by the slap Arın had given him.
"Hey!" Yitan protested, bringing a hand to the back of his neck as if to soothe the pain. "Why did you do that?"
Arın merely shrugged. Then he avoided İlyara's gaze and continued eating the food in front of him.
İlyara couldn't make sense of Arın's behavior. When she turned to Yitan, she saw that he had started eating. Then she continued eating, too.
No one spoke again throughout the meal. But İlyara could feel the tension in the air. The hatred radiating from Yitan in particular made it difficult for her to swallow with every bite.
Did he hate her that much? Why? She would ask him after clearing the table. She also couldn't understand why she felt so protective and affectionate toward Yitan. Then again, she wasn't even sure which emotions belonged to her anymore. Even her memories were blurry.
Blurry.
Numb.
İlyara slowly rose from the table and began gathering the empty plates. After taking the plate Arın handed her, she turned to Yitan. For the first time, she had managed to get this close to him. Whenever she tried to get closer, Yitan moved away from her.
Stay away!
My son.
My son?
İlyara shook her head from side to side, trying to push the voices away. Yitan tensed when he saw this, but still held his plate out toward İlyara. İlyara forced herself to smile and reached for the plate. But as she took it from Yitan's hand, her finger brushed against his.
İlyara's foot suddenly slipped, and she found herself in an old house. She began to feel very small because the furniture in the house was much bigger than her. Especially the wooden dining table in the middle of the house… İlyara slowly got up from the floor, but the hunger spreading through her stomach made her regret standing up.
When had she gotten so hungry? It felt as though she hadn't eaten properly in days. When she looked at her hands, she noticed how frail they were.
Suddenly, a pain shot through her head. A few memories she struggled to recall surfaced in her mind, and she fought the urge to vomit. But she couldn't hold it back and ran toward the bathroom. Her tiny feet kept her from getting there in time, and she ended up making a mess in the living room.
"My dad is going to be very angry," İlyara said. Her voice had changed a lot, too.
Was she inside Yitan's mind? It had felt that way. She remembered being able to enter other people's minds before.
Mind.
Yitan.
My son.
After washing her hands and face, she went outside. There was something ominous in the air today. İlyara wrapped her arms around herself, then started walking.
When she reached the bridge in town, she saw a man standing by the iron railings. Her little heart began to race with fear.
Why?
Murderer.
The man suddenly threw himself off the bridge. When İlyara opened her mouth to scream, she felt her emotions vanish in an instant. The feeling made her shiver. Then a woman's scream filled the bridge. The people on the bridge stood motionless, watching the screaming woman. Then one of them sighed. Someone else began to cry. Another started shouting. İlyara, meanwhile, watched them all without feeling anything.
How could his little heart bear all this?
Murderer.
Why wouldn't that voice leave her alone?
When the sounds on the bridge stopped, İlyara realized she could move again and began running toward the railings. The screaming woman was already gone. She hadn't seen her face, but she could feel her ominous presence in every cell of her body.
When she reached the railings, a deep sadness washed over her. Looking down, she saw that the man had already disappeared into the water.
"No!" she screamed.
At the sound of breaking plates, she found herself back in the small cabin. Yitan was looking at her with frightened eyes.
"Are you all right, İlyara?" Arın asked. His voice sounded concerned.
Yitan began backing away from İlyara. Meanwhile, İlyara kept her glowing red eyes fixed on Yitan. Her heart pounding as if it would burst out of her chest, she rushed toward Yitan and crashed into him, causing them both to fall to the ground.
When she climbed on top of Yitan, who had fallen onto his back, Arın also began running toward İlyara. When İlyara realized Arın was running toward her, she reached out her hand toward him. Black smoke emanating from her hands shot toward Arın. The force of these sudden, complex emotions sent Arın flying into the wooden cabin wall. Then the wall couldn't withstand the heavy impact and broke, sending Arın flying out of the house and into the forest
"Let me go!" Yitan shouted.
Let go!
Murderer.
Ignoring Yitan, İlyara held his head firmly between her hands. Then she leaned toward him and shouted in his face:
"Dad!"