- 7 minutes ago
The Red Collar Of Lies
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Short filmTranscript
01:04مهربل، لا يشكل ، مشكلة فييض، لا مخالصة بخلق أيضا
01:08المجرد الأشياء لا تلعب أستعرق
01:11أستعرق الأمر
01:14مستعمل لتفضلك
01:14جداً لست لحظة مرة لفعله
01:15إذنًا بأنني أنظر
01:15أبداً في حينها
01:16الوزهر الأمدار
01:19كانت مجرد العينة
01:21كانت إلي حياة سأبط فيها
01:24وقوة عدد
01:26وقوة عندنا
01:27يقدر
01:28كما بحمل
01:28مثلالبي
01:29في مجرد
01:31المزطة
01:32ترسل المنزل
02:02I couldn't even hold the shift
02:04I slipped back into myself without meaning to
02:06Sorry mom
02:07I won't lie anymore
02:09But the pain got worse
02:10WAY worse
02:11The door handle turned
02:12For one second I thought
02:14Mom's coming back
02:15She came back for me
02:17Hurry up
02:18The bonfire is starting
02:20Emma's waiting
02:21Mom
02:21I reached out with a shaking hand
02:24Please
02:25Something's really wrong
02:26I feel like I'm dying
02:27She glanced at my neck
02:28The gem was flashing red
02:30Over and over
02:31إليك
02:32بدأت اللتي
02:33نفسك
02:34التحقيق
02:35كما توليك
02:36كما تحصل؟
02:39وكما تليق
02:39والان تحصل مع الشيئة
02:41بعض الصحيح في القرية
02:41أنه
02:42دائما
02:45لدينا
02:46بعضنا
02:46بعضنا
02:47هناك
02:49لدينا
02:49من أجل
02:49ترحش
02:49لبسل
02:50اثناء
02:51لما كانت
02:52جم
02:55نغرنت
02:56بالخلان
02:57لكن
02:57شعيح
02:58م
03:00سي
03:01لانه
03:01لأنها مراركت في طريق.
03:03انظروا في اما.
03:04إنها جم أجمي خلاص.
03:07ألم تبقى بواسطة.
03:09الأكبر من المطلقة لا يريد القضا.
03:11انها أستغفرت.
03:12حلجت الحال.
03:13لكن المخلاطة كان مليون.
03:16أممم قليلت الخلاص.
03:18أمممي بأسنا جميعا تقليلها.
03:22أممم حالا على سنلت.
03:24ويقبت بشكل جمي وسعي.
03:26لم cognition.
03:26وداحة دائم.
03:27أريد أن أنفسد حيني.
03:28لقد قلت على سريعي.
03:30أصببت الوصول.
03:31ملتاً تنظر
03:33تباكن فيها
03:34ملتاً شكراً للمشارك
03:36جميزي ملتاً لرعة مزوية
03:38كم soعهم في باست
03:42سيكون فيجم
03:42أجل جميصر
03:42معي سميل برد
03:43ملتاً للمشارك
03:44ملتاً للمشارك
03:44ملتاً للمشارك
03:45تباك이라는 ملتاً لنسل
03:48ولا رأس اخيم
03:48فقط ملتاً للمشارك
03:55Nothing came back
03:57Not even a whisper
03:58Just me alone
04:00The pain was unbearable
04:03But I kept thinking
04:04Mom's right
04:05The gem doesn't lie
04:07It's red
04:08So I must be lying
04:10I'm not in pain
04:11I'm not in pain
04:14I'm not in pain
04:16I kept repeating it like a prayer
04:19Eventually
04:20I almost believed it
04:21The pain dulled
04:24Or maybe I was just going numb
04:26I crawled to my desk
04:27I had to write
04:29That was the rule
04:30If the gem glowed red
04:32I had to pen a thousand word apology
04:34Or mom would never let me out
04:37I am a liar
04:39Write it down
04:40And maybe mom would forgive me
04:42Maybe she'd even let me out
04:44I opened my journal
04:46Pages and pages of apologies
04:48I'd written over the years
04:50Sorry I lied
04:51I won't do it again
04:53But this time
04:54I wanted to write the truth
04:56My vision blurred
04:57My hand shook as I wrote
05:00Mom
05:00I really love you
05:02It really hurts
05:04Why won't you believe me?
05:06Please believe me
05:08Just once
05:09The moment I finished the last word
05:11The pain vanished
05:13Just
05:13Gone
05:14I felt light
05:16Weightless
05:17I looked down
05:18I was floating
05:20And there
05:21Slumped over the desk
05:22Was my body
05:24Motionless
05:25The gem still flashing red
05:27Around a dead girl's neck
05:28Oh
05:29I'm dead
05:30And then
05:31She came out
05:32My wolf
05:34Stepping out of my body
05:35Like she'd been waiting all along
05:37Small
05:38Skinny
05:39Barely holding together
05:41She looked up at me
05:42And
05:43Once
05:44Soft
05:45And low
05:45In the pack's old stories
05:47They say
05:48When a wolf dies young
05:49Her spirit doesn't cross over alone
05:51Her wolf walks beside her
05:54Until they find the door together
05:56I knelt down
05:57She pressed her nose
05:59Into my ghostly palm
06:00Finally
06:01We were together now
06:02But
06:03I never learned how to be honest
06:05Sorry mom
06:06I heard laughter
06:08Mom
06:08Dad
06:09Emma
06:09Coming through the front door
06:12Tonight's bonfire was beautiful
06:14The best one yet
06:16Just like our Emma
06:18Perfect
06:19In every way
06:20I'd never heard her sound like that
06:22When she talked about me
06:23I floated toward them
06:24My wolf patting silently at my side
06:27Moving on instinct
06:28I wanted to help them
06:30Take off their cloaks
06:31That's what I always did
06:32Mom
06:33My arms passed right through her body
06:35Like wind
06:37Why is it so cold here
06:38Is the hearthee out
06:40I stood there
06:41Staring at my transparent hands
06:43My wolf pressed against my leg
06:45And looked up at me with sad eyes
06:47Right
06:48Dead wolves couldn't hug the living
06:50Shall we go and see Stella
06:52She hasn't eaten yet
06:53Still the good cop
06:55I looked at mom hopefully
06:56If she found me dead
06:58Would she be sad
06:59Would she regret it
07:02She won't starve
07:03She is a werewolf
07:05Not a human pup
07:06This whole fake sick for attention thing
07:09Is out of control
07:11I laughed bitterly
07:12Mom wasn't wrong
07:14Werewolves heal
07:15But I hadn't been able to
07:17In a long time
07:18Last winter
07:19The choker left bruises
07:20That stayed for days
07:21That hadn't happened before
07:23I reached for my wolf
07:24She was still there
07:25But the warmth never came
07:27She was too hungry
07:29Just like me
07:31Mom never noticed
07:33She only ever looked at my neck
07:35For one thing
07:36The gem
07:37And whether it was red or green
07:39Mom pushed open my door
07:41Didn't even turn on the light
07:42Just for a second
07:44Her eyes flashed gold
07:45Her wolf might have known
07:47Mom didn't listen
07:48In the dim glow from the hallway
07:50She saw me slumped over my desk
07:52I looked like a skeleton
07:54Hadn't moved
07:55Still putting on an act
07:58You're ten years old
08:00Not five
08:01Grow up
08:02Mom I'm not playing
08:03I'm dead
08:04Look at me
08:06Touch me
08:07I'm freezing
08:08She couldn't hear me
08:09She only believed
08:11What she wanted to see
08:12Emma squeezed past her
08:13Held up her choker
08:14With that smug little grin
08:16Look
08:17My gem is green
08:18Stella's is still red
08:20She's lying
08:21Even in her sleep
08:22That's my good girl
08:23Ignore the liar
08:25Let her stay there
08:26Maybe she'll learn
08:27How to be honest
08:29Should we at least
08:30Put her in bed
08:31It's freezing
08:33Put her in bed
08:34Look at that red gem
08:36Still lying
08:37Come on
08:38Leave her
08:38We have to visit
08:39Grandma tomorrow
08:41The door locked again
08:43I floated next to my corpse
08:45My wolf curled silently
08:47At my feet
08:47Staring at that single point
08:49Of red light
08:50In the darkness
08:50Mom
08:51If you'd just
08:52Stepped closer
08:53If you'd just
08:54Touched my hand
08:55You'd know I was
08:56Ice cold
08:57But you didn't
08:58You believed the choker
08:59Not the daughter
09:00You carried for nine months
09:02That night
09:03A rat crawled out
09:04Of my empty cabinet
09:05I used to scream
09:06Whenever I saw rats
09:07But now
09:08I just floated
09:09By the ceiling
09:10Watching it scurry
09:11Across my dead body
09:12The rat bit into my toe
09:14I didn't feel anything
09:15My wolf charged at it anyway
09:17And passed right through
09:19Landing on the other side
09:21She turned back
09:22To look at me
09:23Confused
09:24Lost
09:25I pulled her close
09:26And buried my face
09:27In the fur of her back
09:28It's okay
09:30You can't feel it anymore
09:31It'll be over soon
09:33She let out one low growl
09:35Then went still against me
09:37Finally
09:38No more pain
09:39For either of us
09:41The next morning
09:42Sunlight streamed
09:43Through the window
09:44No warmth
09:45Reached my body
09:46In the kitchen
09:47I could hear mom
09:48Making breakfast
09:49The smell of roasted meat
09:51Crept under my door
09:52My favorite
09:53But mom always said
09:54Liars don't deserve meat
09:56So I only ever got
09:57Steamed vegetables
09:58She was clanging the pots
10:00Extra loud on purpose
10:01Trying to tempt me out
10:03Trying to make me give in
10:05And apologize for things
10:06I never did
10:07In the old days
10:08I might have caved
10:09I might have confessed
10:11To anything
10:11For one bite
10:12Of roasted meat
10:13But I don't need
10:14Food anymore
10:15Stella still hasn't
10:17Come out yet
10:17Dad asked
10:18Reading the pack notices
10:20She is so stubborn
10:21She can eat or not
10:23I don't care
10:26Emma walked to my door
10:27And made a big show
10:29Of sniffing the air
10:30Then she screamed
10:31Dramatically
10:33Mom
10:33Stella's room smells like poop
10:36Did she poop in there?
10:38I floated by the door
10:39Watching my sister
10:40With a bitter smile
10:42My wolf sat beside me
10:43Ears flat
10:45Eyes low
10:46The hearth was burning hot
10:48After just one night
10:50My body started to rot
10:52Mom stormed over
10:53Pounding on the door
10:55Stella!
10:56Who does that?
10:58The toilet is right there!
10:59Did you shit on the floor
11:00To spite me?
11:01I remembered being six
11:03I had food poisoning
11:05Couldn't make it
11:06To the toilet in time
11:07Mom didn't help me
11:09Clean up
11:10She made me stand outside
11:11Pointed at me
11:12And told the neighbors
11:13Look at this
11:15She's such a mess
11:16She can't even use
11:18The toilet herself
11:19Now she thought
11:19I was dirty again
11:20Leave her
11:21Let her sit in her own stink
11:24But dad stood up
11:25Frowning
11:26That smells really bad
11:28I should check
11:29Could it be a dead rat
11:30Or something?
11:32My heart
11:33If I still had one
11:34Leapt
11:35Dad!
11:36Please!
11:37Open the door!
11:38I'm right here!
11:39Just turn the handle
11:40And you'll see
11:41I'm not moving!
11:43I waved my transparent arms
11:44Frantically
11:45My wolf ran
11:46Straight to my bedroom door
11:48Willing dad to open it
11:50Dad's hand touched
11:51The door handle
11:52His hand froze
11:53Someone was pounding
11:54At the front door
11:55A pack elder
11:56Urgent business
11:57Dad's face went pale
11:58He grabbed his cloak
11:59The border
12:00There's an emergency
12:01He was already out the door
12:04I froze
12:05So close
12:06One second away
12:07If that knock had come
12:08One second later
12:09I would have been found
12:10Maybe then
12:11I wouldn't have rotted alone
12:13That afternoon
12:14Mom took Emma
12:15To the pack market
12:15The house was empty
12:16Except for my corpse
12:17When they came back
12:18That evening
12:19Loaded down with food
12:20And gifts from the market
12:21The smell had gotten worse
12:22Mom
12:24Gagged the second
12:25She walked in
12:26Stella?
12:27Are you trying to turn
12:28This place into a den
12:29Of inequity?
12:29She didn't even open my door
12:31Just grabbed cloth strips
12:32And sealed the gap
12:33At the bottom
12:34If you want to stay in there
12:35And make disgusting stew zoos
12:37Don't stink up my house
12:38She patted her hands together
12:40Satisfied
12:40Then went to prepare dinner
12:42I stared at that sealed door
12:44My wolf pressed her nose
12:45Against it
12:45And whimpered once
12:46So that's it
12:47I'm worth less than
12:48A venison dinner
12:49By day three
12:50Even the cloth strips
12:51Couldn't contain the smell
12:52Mom was arranging
12:53Fresh wildflowers
12:55Trying to cover it up
12:56But the stench of death
12:57Is unmistakable
12:58Sweet
12:59Rotten
13:00Oily
13:00She cut a rose stem
13:01Too hard
13:02A thorn pierced her hand
13:04She snapped
13:05In her mind
13:06I was doing this on purpose
13:07Not bathing
13:08Poop on the floor
13:09Hiding dead rats in my room
13:11All to piss her off
13:12All to defy her authority
13:14As Luna
13:14Stella!
13:16She grabbed a rolling pin
13:17From the kitchen
13:18Stormed toward my room
13:19I'm done with you
13:21You disgusting little brat
13:23Time you learned
13:24What real pain feels like
13:25I floated in front of her
13:27Waving my arms desperately
13:29Don't come in mom
13:31Please
13:32Please
13:33Even though she never loved me
13:35I didn't want her to see me like that
13:37But she walked right through me
13:39Ripped the cloth strips off
13:41Jammed the spare key into the lock
13:43The door flew open
13:44The smell hit her like a wall
13:46She stumbled back
13:47Wretching
13:47Stella!
13:48What are you doing?
13:50She saw me
13:51Still slumped over the desk
13:52Back turned
13:53Not moving
13:54To her
13:54This was the ultimate rebellion
13:56I'm talking to you!
13:58She marched over
13:59Raised the rolling pin
14:01But stopped
14:02She wanted to see my face first
14:04Wanted to see my
14:06Get up!
14:07She grabbed the back of my shirt
14:08Grabbed my skin
14:09The moment she touched me
14:10She froze
14:11Through the thin fabric
14:12Her hand didn't feel warm flesh
14:14She felt cold
14:15Hard
14:16Dead meat
14:17The kind of cold that seeps into your bones
14:19What?
14:20But momentum carried her forward
14:22She yanked
14:23Crash
14:24My body
14:25Stiff as a board
14:26Toppled backward
14:27Taking the chair with it
14:28And there was my face
14:29Blue black
14:30Eyes bulging
14:31Features twisted in agony
14:33Dried foam and blood
14:34Crusted around my mouth
14:36Around my blackened neck
14:37The Verity choker hung lifeless
14:39The gem dark
14:40No red
14:41No green
14:42Just silence
14:43My journal slid off the desk
14:45Fell open at mom's feet
14:47The last page stared up at her
14:49Mom, my stomach really hurts
14:51The choker is wrong
14:53I'm not lying
14:54Please don't punish me
14:55Mom screamed
14:56Not a wolf's howl
14:57A raw
14:58Guttural shriek
15:00That tore through her throat
15:01She stumbled backward
15:03Slammed into the bookshelf
15:05A clay pot shattered
15:06But she didn't seem to feel the pain
15:08She just
15:10Stared at me
15:11Eyes wide
15:12Unblinking
15:14No
15:14No, no, no, no
15:16This is not real
15:18Stella, get up
15:18Stella, get up
15:19Stella, please get up
15:20I'm not mad anymore
15:21Stop scaring me
15:23Scare me again
15:24Her hand reached out
15:26Trembling to touch my arm
15:28The second her skin made contact with my corpse
15:31She recoiled like she'd been burned
15:33That cold was too real
15:35Lisa from next door heard the screaming
15:37And went straight to the pack healer
15:39When she saw what was in my room
15:41She collapsed in the gate
15:43Within the hour
15:44Heavy boots on the floorboards
15:46The pack healer
15:47And a handful of pack warriors
15:49Crowding the entrance
15:50Mom sat on the floor
15:52A warrior's hand on her shoulder
15:53She's speaking it
15:55She's always lying
15:58It doesn't lie
16:00I'm just teaching her
16:01No one responded
16:02They all looked at her like she was a monster
16:05The pack healer crouched next to my body
16:08He muttered under his breath
16:10Severe malnutrition
16:11Organ failure
16:13This puppy has been starved for at least a month
16:15He carefully tried to remove the Verity choker
16:18But it had fused
16:20Years of tightening had pressed the leather deep into the skin of my neck
16:24Damn it
16:25He had to use tools to pry it off
16:27Even dead
16:29My soul flinched
16:30My wolf lifted her head and
16:33Long
16:34Raw
16:36Desperate
16:36The kind of howl that should have shaken the walls
16:39No one heard it
16:41No one flinched
16:42We were already dead
16:43A warrior picked up my journal
16:45Started reading
16:46His face went from neutral
16:48To horrified
16:50Mom's eyes locked onto that book
16:52That's her confession
16:53She admits she lied
16:55Look
16:56She wrote it herself
16:59The warrior pushed her back
17:01Wrapped the journal in cloth
17:03And took it
17:04We'll report it to the council
17:05That's when dad got home
17:07He saw the pack healer and the pack warriors crowding the doorway
17:11Saw the body wrap being carried out
17:14Saw the long cord that sealed away my entire life
17:18His legs gave out
17:20He collapsed on the doorstep
17:22Emma stood nearby
17:23Sobbing in confusion
17:25She pointed at the discolored Verity choker on the table
17:29Why does Stella have a black collar?
17:31And I have a green one
17:33See?
17:34She held up her neck
17:35The gem blinked its steady green
17:37It was grotesque
17:39The council elders arrived before dawn
17:42Mom straightened when she saw them
17:44Even now
17:45Even with my body three days cold and rotting
17:48Her luna instincts kicked in
17:50She lifted her chin
17:52Squared her shoulders
17:53It didn't work today
17:55They started questioning mom in the living room
17:58Mom grabbed the Verity choker off the table like it was a lifeline
18:02Test it!
18:03That choker proved she was lying
18:05Red gem means lie
18:08I never abused her
18:10The choker told me
18:12I was just educating her
18:15The council elders looked at her like she'd lost her mind
18:19The pup shows signs of extreme malnutrition
18:22Months of starvation
18:24Ofelian
18:26Multiple old injuries consistent with prolonged
18:29That's dis-discipline
18:31That's teaching her to be honest
18:33Then
18:34She did something insane
18:36You don't believe me?
18:38Fine
18:39I'll wear it
18:42Watch
18:43It'll be green
18:45The leather pressed against her skin
18:47Cold
18:48Sticky
18:49That was my blood
18:50She took a deep breath
18:52Tried to calm herself
18:53She needed to prove she was innocent
18:56Needed to prove her way of raising an alpha heir was right
19:00She held up the gem
19:01Eyes wild
19:02Listen
19:03I'm Rachel
19:04I'm Stella's mother
19:06This is the truth
19:08The absolute truth
19:10The gem flashed red
19:12Mom's confident expression shattered
19:14No
19:15What?
19:17I said truth
19:18I am Rachel
19:20I never abused her
19:22I did it for her own good
19:25I love her
19:27And suddenly
19:28She remembered
19:30Me
19:30Ten years old
19:32Gasping as the choker tightened around my throat
19:35Biting my lip so I wouldn't make a sound
19:38Is this what it felt like?
19:40Why is it red?
19:42I am telling the truth
19:43Turn green
19:44You're broken
19:45You're setting me up
19:47But the gem kept flashing
19:48Like it was mocking her
19:50You're a liar
19:51You're a liar
19:56You're a liar
19:58I've seen it before
20:00It changes color with body heat
20:02Fear
20:03Pain
20:04Anything that makes your heart race
20:06Temperature rises
20:08It burns red
20:09That's all it does
20:11No witch magic
20:13Never was
20:14Think about your daughter
20:16Ruptured appendix
20:17Organ failure
20:19The pain must have been unbearable
20:21She was terrified
20:22And what did you see?
20:24A red gem
20:26So you punished her more
20:28Which made her more scared
20:30Which made her temperature rise
20:33Which made the stone turn redder
20:37You are Luna
20:39You are supposed to protect every wolf in this pack
20:43You couldn't even protect your own daughter
20:46You ignored her cries for help
20:48You starved your daughter to death
20:51Mom's world collapsed
20:53She sat there
20:54Staring at the flashing gem on her own net
20:57And finally understood
20:58For ten years
21:00Every red light wasn't because I was lying
21:03It was because I was scared
21:05Scared of her anger
21:07Scared of being misunderstood
21:09Scared of eating food that made me sick
21:12I was in pain
21:13Pain that made my heart race
21:15And cold sweat pour down my face
21:18I was desperate
21:19Desperate for a hug
21:21For her to hold me the way she held Emma
21:24Every signal from my frightened heart
21:26She had interpreted as proof of my lies
21:29No! Get it off!
21:35I'm not lying! I'm not!
21:37She tried to shift
21:38Fur rippling across her skin
21:40Bones cracking
21:41But the leather cinched harder around her throat
21:44The moment her neck began to change
21:46She snapped back into human form
21:49Gasping
21:51I can't get it off!
21:53Stella take it back!
21:54I'm sorry!
21:55It's all my fault!
21:58This little bit of choking
21:59And she was already breaking
22:01Mom
22:02I suffered for 10 years
22:05The council elders needed evidence for judgment
22:08So they opened my journal
22:10In front of my parents
22:12February 14th
22:14Sunny
22:14Mom put celery on my plate
22:16I'm allergic
22:17My throat swells
22:19I can't breathe
22:20I said I can't eat it
22:22But because I was scared of making her angry
22:24My body ran hot
22:26The gem flashed red
22:28The choker tightened
22:30Mom said I was picky
22:32Lying
22:33Made me eat the whole plate
22:35That night
22:36I threw up blood
22:37My throat felt like it was on fire
22:39I shifted
22:40To ease my pain
22:42Mom saw it
22:43And said I'd snuck berry juice
22:45That I was faking
22:46The choker tightened
22:48For 10 more minutes
22:50Mom's hand flew to her mouth
22:52She was shaking violently
22:54She remembered that
22:56She really did think it was berry juice
22:59She didn't even look closely
23:01Just turned away to read Emma a bedtime story
23:04That was blood
23:06From a swollen, torn throat
23:08June 1st
23:10Pup's day
23:11Emma shredded Mom's ceremonial cloak
23:13Emma's heart is always calm
23:16Her gem stays green
23:17I tried to explain
23:19But I was scared of being hit
23:21My body ran hot
23:23Red gem
23:24Choker tightened for 10 minutes
23:27It hurt so bad
23:28But I didn't cry
23:30Because crying makes your body run hotter
23:33And mom thinks that means you're not sorry
23:35So I held my breath
23:37Pretended it didn't hurt
23:39Mom said
23:40See?
23:41She doesn't even blink
23:43She's definitely faking it
23:45Dad couldn't take it anymore
23:47This man
23:48Who had always put the pack
23:49Before his own family
23:50Chose duty over his daughter
23:52For 10 years
23:53You monster
23:55What did you do?
23:57That was your daughter
23:59You treated her like a stray
24:01Blood at the corner of her mouth
24:03Not my fault
24:05Not my fault
24:06It's her
24:07It's Emma
24:08Emma's gem was always green
24:10Emma was a good one
24:12If it wasn't for that green light
24:14Making me trust her
24:15I wouldn't have believed the red light so much
24:17This is Emma's fault
24:19That little princess everyone had protected
24:22One of the council elders walked over
24:24Gently removed the green Verity choker from her neck
24:27Took out a blade
24:29Pried the gem loose right there
24:32It rolled onto the table
24:33Still glowing green
24:35Steady
24:37Unchanged
24:37The elder picked up the stone
24:39A glowstone
24:41That is all
24:42Your younger daughter's choker
24:44Was always going to shine green
24:46No matter what she said
24:48Did
24:49Or lied about
24:50It would never change
24:52Your so-called Verity choker
24:55Was a fraud
24:56That was her truth for 10 years
24:59That was the evidence she used to convict me
25:01A common glowstone
25:03That put me in hell
25:04While Emma lived in paradise
25:06So I wasn't a liar
25:08I laughed
25:10Laughed until I cried
25:11Turns out ghosts could cry too
25:14The elder turned to the last page of the journal
25:16His voice broke
25:17The handwriting was a mess
25:19Clearly written while dying
25:21Mom
25:21If I die
25:23Will the choker stop glowing red?
25:25Or if it turns green
25:26Will you hug me then?
25:28I'm not lying
25:29I couldn't heal myself anymore
25:31My stomach hurts so much
25:33Like knives
25:35Next life
25:36Please don't make me wear the choker
25:38Please
25:39I just want to be a normal pup
25:41I want to eat mom's roasted meat
25:43Mom stared at the broken glowstone on the table
25:46That truth magic she trusted without question?
25:48A worthless stone
25:50Because of that stone
25:52She spoiled Emma for 10 years
25:54Because of that cursed red light
25:56She tortured me for 10 years
26:02Mom started laughing
26:04Her voice cracking at every sound
26:06Worse than crying
26:08Fake!
26:10All fake!
26:13I killed my most honest pup
26:16And I worshipped a liar!
26:19She'd lost her mind
26:20For real this time
26:22My death became the talk of the entire pack
26:25Lisa, the neighbor who had sent for the pack healer
26:27Told everyone what she'd seen
26:29Every wolf knew by morning
26:32Luna had starved her own daughter to death
26:35Monster!
26:37Murderer!
26:38She doesn't deserve to be Luna!
26:41Stones flew at our door
26:42The word killer carved into the wall
26:45The council convened within the day
26:47The verdict was swift
26:49Dad lost his alpha title
26:51No wolf would follow him now
26:53My grandfather, the former alpha
26:56Read out the judgment himself
26:58He didn't look at his son once
27:00Dad walked out of the council hall
27:02And never looked back
27:04He took Emma
27:05And left the pack that same night
27:07Emma was a bad seed, sure
27:09But she was still his blood
27:11Before they left
27:12Emma tried to take her green choker
27:14Dad stomped on it
27:16Why the hell would you want that piece of trash?
27:19Emma cried as he dragged her away
27:21Mom got out of the dungeon
27:23The healer said she had lost her mind
27:25The council locked her in the home instead
27:28The one that still smelled like death
27:30Her mental state deteriorated fast
27:32She refused to take off the red choker
27:35She would tighten it herself
27:37Whenever the guilt got too heavy
27:38She said choking was the only thing that eased it
27:41It was her self-imposed punishment
27:44I floated in the darkness
27:45My wolf curled beside me
27:47Watching her unravel day after day
27:50She'd talk to the empty corner where I used to stand
27:53Stella, I brought you some food
27:54No celery today
27:56It's all roast
27:57Just how you like it
28:00But there was no food
28:01There was nothing
28:02Just her hands
28:04Cupped around air
28:05She'd pretend to set a plate down
28:07Her hands shook
28:08The gem flashed red
28:10She was anxious
28:11Guilty
28:12Falling apart
28:13She smiled
28:15But her eyes were empty
28:16The gem is red
28:17Mom is lying
28:20Liars don't deserve food
28:21She pulled the choker tight with her own hands
28:24Let it choke her
28:25Her body convulsed against the cold floor
28:28It hurts so much
28:30Is this how Stella felt?
28:32I'm sorry
28:33Mom started reenacting my diary entries
28:36I couldn't eat celery because of my allergy
28:40So she forced herself to eat spoiled food
28:43Until she vomited blood
28:44Then swallowed it back down
28:46I was locked in isolation
28:49So she locked herself in my old room
28:51Lights off
28:53And bowed to my portrait
28:54Until her forehead bled
28:55Over and over
28:58Blood on the floor
28:59Late at night
29:01She'd see the red glow of the bloodstone
29:03Reflected on the wall
29:04To her
29:05It looked like my bloody eyes were watching
29:08She kept punishing herself
29:10The wounds healed slower and slower
29:12Her wolf
29:14Exhausted by months of self-torture
29:16Slowly fell into a deep sleep
29:19Mom didn't care
29:20She scrawled on the back of my journal
29:22I'm sorry
29:23I was wrong
29:24Red means pain
29:26Red means love
29:27Please come back and say
29:29It hurts hurts one more time
29:31I'll save you
29:33I promise
29:34Too bad I'm dead
29:34Dead wolves can't cry for help
29:37Eventually the new alpha intervened
29:40Mom's self-harm had gone too far
29:42She'd nearly choked herself to death
29:44With her own hands
29:45He ordered her to move to a small hut
29:48At the far edge of the village
29:49Locked from the outside
29:51Someone posted to watch her day and night
29:54She was the strangest woman they'd ever seen
29:56Nobody knew where she'd found it
29:59A frayed red cord
30:00Tied around her own neck
30:02Her homemade choker
30:04If anyone tried to remove it
30:06She'd snap at them
30:07Teeth bared
30:08Snarling
30:09Wild-eyed
30:10Don't touch me
30:13Stella's watching
30:14She'll be angry if you take it
30:16Every time the guard called her name
30:19And brought her food
30:20Mom would grab the red cord
30:22And pull it tight against her own throat
30:24Convulsing
30:25Screaming
30:26Red light
30:27Red light
30:28Don't punish
30:29Punish me
30:30I'll eat
30:31I'll eat
30:33Even if the food was scalding hot
30:35She'd gulp it down
30:37Burning her throat
30:38Wouldn't spit it out
30:39She was reenacting my final moments
30:42Living my hell on repeat
30:44Years later, Emma grew up
30:46Without guidance
30:47And with a trail of shame behind her
30:49She drifted from pack to pack
30:51Stealing to survive
30:53No one would take her in
30:54When she ran out of options
30:56She remembered
30:57Mom was still alive
30:59She slipped back into the silverman pack
31:02Under the cover of night
31:03Not for love
31:04For money
31:06Hey crazy lady
31:08Dad's dead
31:09Give me whatever you've been hiding
31:11Emma stood there
31:12Face hard
31:13Eyes full of contempt
31:15She looked at mom's hollow
31:17Broken form
31:18And spat on the floor
31:20It's disgusting
31:21Give me what I want
31:24Or I'll send you to meet your daughter
31:26For a moment
31:27Mom's cloudy eyes cleared
31:29She looked at Emma
31:30And suddenly remembered
31:32That choker
31:33That always green glowstone
31:35That decade of deception
31:38It's you!
31:40You lie!
31:41You're the green light that wasn't there!
31:43You killed Stella!
31:45Give her back to me!
31:47Give her back to me!
31:48The last shred of maternal love
31:51Twisted into something feral
31:52Mom lunged
31:54Grabbed Emma by the throat
31:56Should have died!
31:58You should have died!
31:59Not her!
31:59You!
32:02Emma thrashed
32:03But couldn't break free
32:04From a madwoman's grip
32:05The guards rushed in
32:07Pulled her off
32:08Emma stumbled out of the hut
32:10Terrified
32:11They're all insane!
32:13She bolted into the forest
32:15She didn't get far
32:16Rogues
32:18The kind that haunted the borderlands
32:20Preying on anyone foolish enough
32:22To run through the trees alone at night
32:24Emma never saw them coming
32:26By the time she did
32:28It was too late
32:29She survived
32:30Barely
32:31Both legs shattered beyond repair
32:33She'd never walk again
32:35Meanwhile
32:36Mom was strapped to her cot
32:38Staring at the ceiling
32:39Tears streaming
32:41In her dreams
32:42She finally saw me
32:43I was ten again
32:45No choker
32:46White dress
32:47Smiling
32:48Mom
32:49She reached for me
32:50Crying with joy
32:52Stella
32:53But the moment her hands touched me
32:55I burst into ash
32:57No!
32:59She woke up screaming
33:00If she'd been wearing that choker
33:02It would have been blood red
33:04Eternal torment
33:06I stood in the void
33:07Watching it all
33:08Mom strapped to her bed
33:10Emma in a wheelchair
33:11Begging on the market
33:12Dad
33:13Drunk and dead in some gutter
33:15I felt nothing
33:16No satisfaction
33:18Just a flat
33:19Dead
33:20Calm
33:21My wolf padded over quietly
33:23She didn't howl
33:24Didn't nudge
33:25Just pressed her head against my hand
33:28And held it there
33:28In the distance
33:30A door of light appeared
33:31Soft
33:32Steady
33:33Waiting
33:34I looked at my wolf
33:35She looked at me
33:36Yeah
33:37Time to leave
33:38This life was too bitter
33:40Nothing worth holding onto
33:42I floated to mom's hut
33:44One final time
33:45She looked ancient
33:46Hair completely white
33:47Frail as paper
33:48She sensed something
33:49Her cloudy eyes focused on a point in the air
33:52Right where I stood
33:53Stella
33:54Is that you?
33:55Her trembling hand reached into the emptiness
33:57Mom destroyed the choker
33:59I don't believe in it anymore
34:01Come back
34:01Please
34:02I'll cook for you
34:03No salary
34:04I'll buy you new dresses
34:05Not Emma
34:06Tears rolled down her face
34:08I looked at the red marks on her neck from the frayed cord
34:11I
34:11I reached out
34:13My cold ghostly finger touched her forehead
34:16This was my final mercy
34:17Sleep mom
34:18In sleep
34:19There's no pain
34:20Her eyes fluttered shut
34:22She slumped into a deep dreamless rest
34:25A breeze blew through the hut
34:26The old journal on her cot flipped open
34:29The last page
34:30My dying words
34:31Stared up at the ceiling
34:32But below it
34:34In shaky handwriting
34:35Were new lines
34:36Written by mom
34:37During a lucid moment
34:38Next life
34:39Let me wear the choker
34:40Let me be the liar
34:42Punish me however you want
34:43Just don't leave me
34:45I stared at those words
34:46Felt nothing
34:47Too late
34:48Repentance means nothing to the dead
34:50Mom
34:51I don't hate you anymore
34:53But I don't love you either
34:54Let's not meet again
34:56I turned away
34:56My wolf was waiting
34:58In the distance
34:58The door of light still glowed
35:00Soft
35:01Steady
35:01Patient
35:02I looked at my neck
35:03The phantom verity choker
35:05Still there
35:06Even in spirit form
35:07The nightmare that had changed me for a lifetime
35:10I grabbed it
35:11It shattered into nothing
35:12I felt weightless
35:14Free
35:14No red light
35:15No hunger
35:16No lies
35:17Just freedom
35:18My wolf pressed against my side
35:20Together
35:20We walked toward the light
35:22I didn't look back
35:23Morning came
35:24A guard pushed open the door
35:26Rachel
35:26Time to eat
35:27No response
35:28She walked closer
35:29Mom's hand clutched the torn journal
35:31A single tear
35:32Crystallized at the corner of her eye
35:34She crouched beside her
35:35Held two fingers beneath her nose
35:37Nothing
35:38She was gone
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