- 28 minutes ago
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Short filmTranscript
00:26¡Suscríbete al canal!
00:30Red light means you were lying. Emma's choker? Always green.
00:33She could shred mom's ceremonial cloak and blame the cat, and Jem would glow a steady green.
00:39Not me.
00:40Green light. Believed. Me?
00:43Mom, I'm hungry.
00:45Flash! Red light. The choker choked tight. I shifted on instinct.
00:49A small white wolf, pawing desperately at the Jem around my neck, claws scraping against it, unable to get it
00:56off.
00:56I'm not lying! Not lying! Please!
00:59But mom's eyes had already gone cold. Instant punishment.
01:03Mom's punishment wasn't gentle. No food, locked in my room, no contact with anyone in the pack.
01:09The truth necklace doesn't lie, Stella. Starve now, study later. I'm doing this for your own good.
01:15After ten years of this, I started believing it too. Maybe I really was born wrong. New Year's Eve, everything
01:22changed. Mom was getting ready to take Emma to the pack's bonfire celebration. And that's when the pain hit, like
01:28a knife twisting in my gut. I collapsed on the floor, my skeletal frame curling into itself.
01:34Mom. Mom. Please.
01:37The choker flashed red and choked tight. She looked down at me, disgusted in her eyes.
01:43In your dreams, Stella? Faking an illness to ruin our night?
01:47She grabbed Emma's hand and headed for the door. I wanted to howl, but my wolf was too weak to
01:52answer. I shifted anyway. Forced it. A small, white wolf trembling on the floor. Ribs heaving. Maybe in this form,
02:00the pain would hurt less. It didn't.
02:02I couldn't even hold the shift. I slipped back into myself without meaning to. Sorry, Mom. I won't lie anymore.
02:09But the pain got worse. Way worse.
02:11The door handle turned. For one second, I thought, Mom's coming back. She came back for me. Hurry up. The
02:19bonfire is starting. Emma's waiting. Mom.
02:22I reached out with a shaking hand. Please. Something's really wrong. I feel like I'm dying.
02:27She glanced at my neck. The gem was flashing red, over and over. She crouched down, grabbed my chin.
02:34Stella, how long are you going to keep this up? Can't you just be honest and stay here and think
02:40about what you've done?
02:42Dad appeared in the doorway.
02:44Honey, should we at least leave her some food?
02:48Food? She has a stash of snacks she bought with stolen money. She won't starve. Lock the door. When that
02:55gem turns green, we'll talk.
02:57But.
02:58But what? It's because you spoil her that she turned out this way. Look at Emma. Her gem has always
03:06been green.
03:07Stella is a liar. An alpha heiress who can't tell the truth. She needs discipline.
03:12But my cabinet was empty. Emma stole that money. Emma ate those snacks. Emma just stood there with her glowing
03:20green gem saying,
03:21Not me.
03:23And mom believed her. I tried to defend myself. It wasn't me! Red light. The choker choked tight. I tried
03:31to shift. Nothing happened. Deep inside, my wolf barely stirred.
03:36Mom locked me up for three days with nothing but water and stale bread.
03:41Mom turned to leave. Emma peeked through the door, made a face at me.
03:45Bye, sis. We're gonna see the bonfire.
03:48Her gem glowed a steady green. So pretty.
03:51The door locked. The house went silent. I called my wolf. Nothing came back. Not even a whisper. Just me
04:00alone. The pain was unbearable. But I kept thinking. Mom's right. The gem doesn't lie. It's red. So I must
04:10be lying.
04:10I'm not in pain. I'm not in pain. I'm not in pain. I kept repeating it like a prayer. Eventually,
04:20I almost believed it. The pain dulled. Or maybe I was just going numb.
04:26I crawled to my desk. I had to write. That was the rule. If the gem glowed red, I had
04:33to pen a thousand-word apology. Or mom would never let me out.
04:37I am a liar. Write it down. And maybe mom would forgive me. Maybe she'd even let me out.
04:45I opened my journal. Pages and pages of apologies I'd written over the years. Sorry I lied. I won't do
04:53it again.
04:53But this time, I wanted to write the truth. My vision blurred. My hand shook as I wrote,
05:00Mom, I really love you. It really hurts. Why won't you believe me? Please believe me. Just once.
05:10The moment I finished the last word, the pain vanished. Just gone. I felt light. Weightless.
05:17I looked down. I was floating. And there, slumped over the desk, was my body. Motionless.
05:25The gem still flashing red around a dead girl's neck. Oh! I'm dead! And then, she came out.
05:33My wolf. Stepping out of my body like she'd been waiting all along. Small. Skinny. Barely holding together.
05:41She looked up at me and, once. Soft and low. In the pack's old stories, they say when a wolf
05:49dies young,
05:50her spirit doesn't cross over alone. Her wolf walks beside her, until they find the door together.
05:56I knelt down. She pressed her nose into my ghostly palm. Finally. We were together now.
06:03But, I never learned how to be honest. Sorry, Mom. I heard laughter. Mom. Dad. Emma. Coming through the
06:11front door. Tonight's bonfire was beautiful. The best one yet. Just like our Emma. Perfect in every
06:20way. I'd never heard her sound like that when she talked about me. I floated toward them, my wolf
06:26patting silently at my side. Moving on instinct, I wanted to help them take off their cloaks. That's what I
06:32always did. Mom. My arms passed right through her body. Like wind. Why is it so cold here? Is the
06:40hearthee out? I stood there, staring at my transparent hands. My wolf pressed against my leg and looked
06:46up at me with sad eyes. Right. Dead wolves couldn't hug the living. Shall we go and see Stella? She
06:53hasn't
06:53eaten yet. Still the good cop. I looked at Mom hopefully. If she found me dead, would she be sad?
07:00Would she
07:00regret it? She won't starve. She is a werewolf, not a human pup. This whole fake sick for attention
07:09thing is out of control. I laughed bitterly. Mom wasn't wrong. Werewolves heal. But, I hadn't been
07:17able to in a long time. Last winter, the choker left bruises that stayed for days. That hadn't
07:23happened before. I reached for my wolf. She was still there, but the warmth never came. She was too
07:29hungry, just like me. Mom never noticed. She only ever looked at my neck for one thing, the gem, and
07:38whether it was red or green. Mom pushed open my door. Didn't even turn on the light. Just for a
07:44second,
07:44her eyes flashed gold. Her wolf might have known. Mom didn't listen. In the dim glow from the hallway,
07:50she saw me slumped over my desk. I looked like a skeleton. Hadn't moved. Still putting on an act?
07:59You're ten years old, not five. Grow up. Mom, I'm not playing. I'm dead. Look at me. Touch me. I'm
08:07freezing. She couldn't hear me. She only believed what she wanted to see. Emma squeezed past her, held up
08:14her choker with that smug little grin. Look, my gem is green. Stella's is still red. She's lying, even in
08:22her sleep. That's my good girl. Ignore the liar. Let her stay there. Maybe she'll learn how to be honest.
08:30Should we at least put her in bed? It's freezing. Put her in bed? Look at that red gem, still
08:37lying.
08:37Come on, leave her. We have to visit grandma tomorrow. The door locked again. I floated next
08:44to my corpse. My wolf curled silently at my feet, staring at that single point of red light in the
08:50darkness. Mom, if you'd just stepped closer, if you'd just touched my hand, you'd know I was ice
08:56cold. But you didn't. You believed the choker, not the daughter you carried for nine months.
09:02That night, a rat crawled out of my empty cabinet. I used to scream whenever I saw rats. But now,
09:08I just floated by the ceiling, watching it scurry across my dead body. The rat bit into my toe. I
09:15didn't feel anything. My wolf charged at it anyway, and passed right through, landing on the other side.
09:21She turned back to look at me, confused, lost. I pulled her close and buried my face in the fur
09:28of
09:28her back. It's okay. You can't feel it anymore. It'll be over soon. She let out one low growl,
09:36then went still against me. Finally, no more pain for either of us. The next morning, sunlight streamed
09:43through the window. No warmth reached my body. In the kitchen, I could hear mom making breakfast.
09:49The smell of roasted meat crept under my door. My favorite. But mom always said liars don't deserve
09:56meat. So I only ever got steamed vegetables. She was clanging the pots extra loud on purpose,
10:02trying to tempt me out, trying to make me give in and apologize for things I never did.
10:07In the old days, I might have caved. I might have confessed to anything for one bite of roasted meat.
10:13But I don't need food anymore.
10:16Stella still hasn't come out yet?
10:17Dad asked, reading the pack notices. She is so stubborn. She can eat or not. I don't care.
10:26Emma walked to my door and made a big show of sniffing the air. Then she screamed dramatically.
10:33Mom! Stella's room smells like poop! Did she poop in there?
10:38I floated by the door, watching my sister with a bitter smile. My wolf sat beside me, ears flat,
10:45eyes low. The hearth was burning hot. After just one night, my body started to rot. Mom stormed over,
10:54pounding on the door.
10:55Stella! Who does that? The toilet is right there! Did you shit on the floor to spite me?
11:02I remembered being six. I had food poisoning. Couldn't make it to the toilet in time.
11:08Mom didn't help me clean up. She made me stand outside, pointed at me, and told the neighbors.
11:13Look at this! She's such a mess! She can't even use the toilet herself!
11:19Now she thought I was dirty again.
11:21Leave her. Let her sit in her own stink.
11:24But Dad stood up, frowning.
11:26That smells really bad. I should check. Could it be a dead rat or something?
11:32My heart, if I still had one, leapt.
11:35Dad! Please! Open the door!
11:38I'm right here! Just turn the handle and you'll see I'm not moving!
11:43I waved my transparent arms frantically.
11:45My wolf ran straight to my bedroom door, willing Dad to open it.
11:50Dad's hand touched the door handle.
11:52His hand froze.
11:54Someone was pounding at the front door.
11:55A pack elder. Urgent business.
11:57Dad's face went pale. He grabbed his cloak.
12:00The border. There's an emergency.
12:02He was already out the door.
12:04I froze. So close.
12:06One second away.
12:07If that knock had come one second later, I would have been found.
12:11Maybe then, I wouldn't have rotted alone.
12:13That afternoon, Mom took Emma to the pack market.
12:16The house was empty except for my corpse.
12:18When they came back that evening, loaded down with food and gifts from the market,
12:22the smell had gotten worse.
12:23Mom gagged the second she walked in.
12:26Stella? Are you trying to turn this place into a den of inequity?
12:29She didn't even open my door.
12:31Just grabbed cloth strips and sealed the gap at the bottom.
12:34If you want to stay in there and make disgusting stew zoos, don't stink up my house.
12:39She patted her hands together, satisfied.
12:41Then went to prepare dinner.
12:42I stared at that sealed door.
12:44My wolf pressed her nose against it and whimpered once.
12:47So that's it. I'm worth less than a venison dinner.
12:49By day three, even the cloth strips couldn't contain the smell.
12:53Mom was arranging fresh wildflowers, trying to cover it up.
12:56But the stench of death is unmistakable.
12:59Sweet, rotten, oily.
13:01She cut a rose stem too hard.
13:03A thorn pierced her hand.
13:04She snapped.
13:05In her mind, I was doing this on purpose.
13:08Not bathing, poop on the floor, hiding dead rats in my room.
13:11All to piss her off.
13:13All to defy her authority as Luna.
13:15Stella!
13:16She grabbed a rolling pin from the kitchen.
13:19Stormed toward my room.
13:20I'm done with you, you disgusting little brat!
13:23Time you learned what real pain feels like!
13:26I floated in front of her, waving my arms desperately.
13:29Don't come in, Mom!
13:31Please!
13:33Please!
13:34Even though she never loved me, I didn't want her to see me like that.
13:38But she walked right through me.
13:40Ripped 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, retching.
13:48Stella!
13:49What are you doing?!
13:50She saw me, still slumped over the desk.
13:53Back turned, not moving.
13:54To her, this was the ultimate rebellion.
13:57I'm talking to you!
13:59She marched over, raised the rolling pin, but stopped.
14:02She wanted to see my face first.
14:05Wanted to see my...
14:06Get up!
14:07She grabbed the back of my shirt, grabbed my skin.
14:09The moment she touched me, she froze.
14:12Through the thin fabric, her hand didn't feel warm flesh.
14:14She felt cold, hard, dead meat.
14:17The kind of cold that seeps into your bones.
14:20What?
14:21But momentum carried her forward.
14:23She yanked.
14:24Crash.
14:24My body, stiff as a board, toppled backward, taking the chair with it.
14:28And there was my face.
14:30Blue-black eyes bulging.
14:32Features twisted in agony.
14:33Dried foam and blood crusted around my mouth.
14:36Around my blackened neck, the Verity Choker hung lifeless.
14:40The gem dark.
14:41No red.
14:42No green.
14:43Just silence.
14:44My journal slid off the desk.
14:46Fell open at Mom's feet.
14:48The last page stared up at her.
14:50Mom, my stomach really hurts.
14:52The choker is wrong.
14:53I'm not lying.
14:54Please don't punish me.
14:55Mom screamed.
14:56Not a wolf's howl.
14:58A raw, guttural shriek that tore through her throat.
15:02She stumbled backward, slammed into the bookshelf.
15:05A clay pot shattered.
15:07But she didn't seem to feel the pain.
15:09She just stared at me, eyes wide, unglinking.
15:14No.
15:15No, no, no, no.
15:16This is not real.
15:18Stella, get up.
15:19Stella, get up.
15:20Stella, please, get up.
15:20I'm not mad anymore.
15:22Stop scaring me.
15:24Scare me again.
15:25Her hand reached out, trembling, to touch my arm.
15:28The second her skin made contact with my corpse, she recoiled like she'd been burned.
15:34That cold was too real.
15:36Lisa from next door heard the screaming and went straight to the pack healer.
15:40When she saw what was in my room, she collapsed in the gate.
15:43Within the hour, heavy boots on the floorboards.
15:46The pack healer and a handful of pack warriors crowding the entrance.
15:50Mom sat on the floor, a warrior's hand on her shoulder.
15:54She's speaking it.
15:55She's always lying.
15:58It doesn't lie.
16:00I'm just teaching her.
16:02No one responded.
16:03They all looked at her like she was a monster.
16:06The pack healer crouched next to my body.
16:08He muttered under his breath.
16:10Severe malnutrition, organ failure.
16:13This puppy has been starved for at least a month.
16:16He carefully tried to remove the Verity choker, but it had fused.
16:20Years of tightening had pressed the leather deep into the skin of my neck.
16:25Damn it.
16:26He had to use tools to pry it off.
16:28Even dead, my soul flinched.
16:30My wolf lifted her head and...
16:34Long, raw, desperate.
16:37The kind of howl that should have shaken the walls.
16:40No one heard it.
16:41No one flinched.
16:43We were already dead.
16:44A warrior picked up my journal, started reading.
16:47His face went from neutral to horrified.
16:50Mom's eyes locked onto that book.
16:53That's her confession.
16:54She admits she lied.
16:56Look, she wrote it herself.
17:00The warrior pushed her back, wrapped the journal in cloth, and took it.
17:04We'll report it to the council.
17:06That's when dad got home.
17:08He saw the pack healer and the pack warriors crowding the doorway.
17:12Saw the body wrap being carried out.
17:14Saw the long cord that sealed away my entire life.
17:19His legs gave out.
17:21He collapsed on the doorstep.
17:22Emma stood nearby, sobbing in confusion.
17:26She 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.
17:36The gem blinked its steady green.
17:38It was grotesque.
17:40The council elders arrived before dawn.
17:43Mom straightened when she saw them.
17:44Even now, even with my body three days cold and rotting, her luna instincts kicked in.
17:51She lifted her chin, squared her shoulders.
17:54It didn't work today.
17:56They 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!
18:06Red gem means lie!
18:09I never abused her!
18:11The choker told me!
18:13I was just educating her!
18:15The council elders looked at her like she'd lost her mind.
18:20The pup shows signs of extreme malnutrition.
18:23Months of starvation.
18:25Aphelion.
18:26Multiple old injuries consistent with prolonged...
18:29That's dis-discipline!
18:31That's teaching her to be honest!
18:34Then, she did something insane.
18:37You don't believe me?
18:39Fine.
18:40I'll wear it.
18:43Watch.
18:44It'll be green.
18:45The leather pressed against her skin.
18:48Cold.
18:49Sticky.
18:49That was my blood.
18:51She took a deep breath.
18:53Tried to calm herself.
18:54She 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, eyes wild.
19:03Listen.
19:04I'm Rachel.
19:05I'm Stella's mother.
19:07This is the truth.
19:08The absolute truth.
19:10The gem flashed red.
19:12Mom's confident expression shattered.
19:17I said truth.
19:19I am Rachel.
19:20I never abused her.
19:22I did it for her own good.
19:26I love her.
19:27And suddenly, she remembered.
19:30Me.
19:31Ten years old.
19:33Gasping as the choker tightened around my throat.
19:36Biting 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.
19:44Turn green.
19:45You're broken.
19:46You're setting me up.
19:47But the gem kept flashing.
19:49Like it was mocking her.
19:51You're a liar.
19:52You're a liar.
19:53You're a liar.
19:55Enough.
19:56This is just a bloodstone.
19:59I've seen it before.
20:00It changes color with body heat.
20:03Fear.
20:04Pain.
20:04Anything that makes your heart race, temperature rises, it burns red.
20:10That's all it does.
20:12No witch magic.
20:13Never was.
20:15Think about your daughter.
20:17Ruptured appendix.
20:18Organ failure.
20:19The pain must have been unbearable.
20:22She was terrified.
20:23And what did you see?
20:24A red gem.
20:26So you punished her more.
20:28Which made her more scared.
20:31Which made her temperature rise.
20:33Which made the stone turn redder.
20:38You 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.
20:49You starved your daughter to death.
20:52Mom's world collapsed.
20:53She sat there.
20:54Staring at the flashing gem on her own net.
20:58And finally understood.
20:59For ten years.
21:00Every red light wasn't because I was lying.
21:03It was because I was scared.
21:06Scared of her anger.
21:08Scared of being misunderstood.
21:10Scared of eating food that made me sick.
21:12I was in pain.
21:14Pain that made my heart race and cold sweat pour down my face.
21:18I was desperate.
21:20Desperate 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.
21:30No!
21:31Get it off!
21:35I'm not lying!
21:37I'm not!
21:38She tried to shift.
21:39Fur rippling across her skin.
21:41Bones cracking.
21:42But the leather cinched harder around her throat the moment her neck began to change.
21:47She snapped back into human form.
21:49Gasping.
21:51I can't get it off!
21:53Stella, take it back!
21:55I'm sorry!
21:56It's all my fault!
21:58This little bit of choking and she was already breaking.
22:02Mom, I suffered for ten years.
22:06The council elders needed evidence for judgment.
22:09So they opened my journal in front of my parents.
22:13February 14th.
22:14Sunny.
22:15Mom put celery on my plate.
22:17I'm allergic.
22:18My 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, my 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, I threw up blood.
22:37My throat felt like it was on fire.
22:40I shifted to ease my pain.
22:42Mom saw it and said I'd snuck berry juice.
22:45That I was faking.
22:47The choker tightened for ten more minutes.
22:51Mom's hand flew to her mouth.
22:53She was shaking violently.
22:55She remembered that night.
22:57She really did think it was berry juice.
22:59She didn't even look closely.
23:01Just turned away to read Emma a bedtime story.
23:05That was blood.
23:06From a swollen, torn throat.
23:09June 1st.
23:10Pup's Day.
23:11Emma shredded Mom's ceremonial cloak.
23:14Emma's heart is always calm.
23:16Her gem stays green.
23:18I tried to explain, but I was scared of being hit.
23:22My body ran hot.
23:23Red gem.
23:24Choker tightened for ten more minutes.
23:27It hurt so bad.
23:29But I didn't cry.
23:30Because crying makes your body run hotter.
23:33And Mom thinks that means you're not sorry.
23:36So, I held my breath.
23:38Pretended it didn't hurt.
23:40Mom said,
23:41See?
23:42She doesn't even blink.
23:44She's definitely faking it.
23:45Dad couldn't take it anymore.
23:47This man, who had always put the pack before his own family, chose duty over his daughter for ten years.
23:54You monster!
23:56What did you do?
23:57That was your daughter!
24:00You treated her like a stray!
24:02Blood at the corner of her mouth.
24:04Not my fault.
24:05Not my fault.
24:06It's her.
24:07It's Emma.
24:08Emma's gem was always green.
24:11Emma was the good one.
24:12If it wasn't for that green light making me trust her, I wouldn't have believed the red light so much.
24:18This is Emma's fault.
24:20That little princess everyone had protected.
24:22One of the council elders walked over.
24:25Gently removed the green Verity choker from her neck.
24:28Took out a blade.
24:29Pried the gem loose right there.
24:32It rolled onto the table.
24:34Still glowing green.
24:36Steady.
24:37Unchanged.
24:38The elder picked up the stone.
24:40A glowstone.
24:41That is all.
24:42Your younger daughter's choker was always going to shine green.
24:47No matter what she said, did, or lied about it, it would never change.
24:53Your so-called Verity choker was a fraud.
24:57That was her truth for ten years.
24:59That was the evidence she used to convict me.
25:02A common glowstone that put me in hell while Emma lived in paradise.
25:07So I wasn't a liar.
25:09I laughed.
25:10Laughed until I cried.
25:12Turns out, ghosts could cry too.
25:14The elder turned to the last page of the journal.
25:17His voice broke.
25:18The handwriting was a mess.
25:20Clearly written while dying.
25:21Mom, if I die, will the choker stop glowing red?
25:25Or if it turns green, will you hug me then?
25:28I'm not lying.
25:29I couldn't heal myself anymore.
25:31My stomach hurts so much.
25:34My stomach hurts so much.
25:34Like knives.
25:36Next life, please don't make me wear the choker.
25:39Please.
25:39I just want to be a normal pup.
25:41I want to eat mom's roasted meat.
25:44Mom stared at the broken glowstone on the table.
25:46That truth magic she trusted without question?
25:48A worthless stone.
25:51Because of that stone, she spoiled Emma for 10 years.
25:54Because of that cursed red light, she tortured me for 10 years.
26:02Mom started laughing.
26:04Her voice cracking in every sound.
26:07Worse than crying.
26:09Fake!
26:10All fake!
26:13I killed my most honest pup.
26:16And I worshipped a liar!
26:19She'd lost her mind.
26:21For real this time.
26:22My death became the talk of the entire pack.
26:25Lisa, the neighbor who had sent for the pack healer,
26:28told everyone what she'd seen.
26:30Every wolf knew by morning.
26:32Luna had starved her own daughter to death.
26:36Monster!
26:37Murderer!
26:38She doesn't deserve to be Luna!
26:41Stones flew at our door.
26:43The word killer carved into the wall.
26:46The council convened within the day.
26:48The verdict was swift.
26:50Dad lost his alpha title.
26:52No wolf would follow him now.
26:54My grandfather, the former alpha,
26:56read out the judgment himself.
26:58He didn't look at his son once.
27:01Dad walked out of the council hall and never looked back.
27:04He took Emma and left the pack that same night.
27:07Emma was a bad seed, sure.
27:09But she was still his blood.
27:11Before they left, Emma tried to take her green choker.
27:15Dad stomped on it.
27:16Why the hell would you want that piece of trash?
27:19Emma cried as he dragged her away.
27:22Mom got out of the dungeon.
27:23The healer said she had lost her mind.
27:26The council locked her in the home instead.
27:28The one that still smelled like death.
27:30Her mental state deteriorated fast.
27:33She refused to take off the red choker.
27:35She would tighten it herself whenever the guilt got too heavy.
27:39She said choking was the only thing that eased it.
27:42It was her self-imposed punishment.
27:44I floated in the darkness.
27:46My wolf curled beside me,
27:48watching 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.
27:55No celery today.
27:56It's all roast.
27:58Just how you like it.
28:00But there was no food.
28:01There was nothing.
28:03Just her hands, cupped around air.
28:05She'd pretend to set a plate down.
28:07Her hands shook.
28:09The gem flashed red.
28:10She was anxious.
28:12Guilty.
28:13Falling apart.
28:14She smiled, but her eyes were empty.
28:16The gem is red.
28:18Mom is lying.
28:20Liars don't deserve food.
28:22She 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?
28:33I'm sorry.
28:34Mom started reenacting my diary entries.
28:37I couldn't eat celery because of my allergy.
28:40So she forced herself to eat spoiled food until she vomited blood,
28:45then swallowed it back down.
28:47I was locked in isolation.
28:49So she locked herself in my old room,
28:52lights off, and bowed to my portrait until her forehead bled.
28:56Over and over.
28:58Blood on the floor.
29:00Late at night, she'd see the red glow of the bloodstone reflected on the wall.
29:05To her, it looked like my bloody eyes were watching.
29:08She kept punishing herself.
29:10The wounds healed slower and slower.
29:13Her wolf, exhausted by months of self-torture,
29:17slowly fell into a deep sleep.
29:19Mom didn't care.
29:20She scrawled on the back of my journal.
29:33Too bad I'm dead.
29:35Dead wolves can't cry for help.
29:38Eventually, the new alpha intervened.
29:40Mom's self-harm had gone too far.
29:43She'd nearly choked herself to death with her own hands.
29:46He ordered her to move to a small hut at the far edge of the village, locked from the outside.
29:52Someone posted to watch her day and night.
29:54She was the strangest woman they'd ever seen.
29:57Nobody knew where she'd found it.
29:59A frayed red cord tied around her own neck.
30:02Her homemade choker.
30:04If anyone tried to remove it, she'd snap at them.
30:08Teeth bared, snarling, wild-eyed.
30:11Don't touch me!
30:13Stella's watching.
30:15She'll be angry if you take it.
30:17Every time the guard called her name and brought her food,
30:20Mom would grab the red cord and pull it tight against her own throat,
30:24convulsing, screaming.
30:27Red light! Red light!
30:29Don't punish! Punish me!
30:31I'll eat! I'll eat!
30:33Even if the food was scalding hot, she'd gulp it down, burning her throat.
30:38Wouldn't spit it out.
30:40She was reenacting my final moments, living my hell on repeat.
30:45Years later, Emma grew up, without guidance and with a trail of shame behind her.
30:49She drifted from pack to pack, stealing to survive.
30:53No one would take her in.
30:55When she ran out of options, she remembered.
30:58Mom was still alive.
31:00She slipped back into the silverman pack under the cover of night.
31:03Not for love, for money.
31:07Hey, crazy lady!
31:09Dad's dead!
31:10Give me whatever you've been hiding!
31:12Emma stood there, face hard, eyes full of contempt.
31:16She looked at Mom's hollow, broken form and spat on the floor.
31:20It's disgusting.
31:22Give me what I want, or I'll send you to meet your daughter.
31:26For a moment, Mom's cloudy eyes cleared.
31:29She looked at Emma, and suddenly remembered.
31:32That choker.
31:33That always green glowstone.
31:36That decade of deception.
31:39It'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!
31:49The last shred of maternal love twisted into something feral.
31:53Mom lunged, grabbed Emma by the throat.
31:56Should have died!
31:58Not her!
32:00You!
32:02Emma thrashed, but couldn't break free from a madwoman's grip.
32:06The guards rushed in, pulled her off.
32:09Emma stumbled out of the hut, terrified.
32:12They're all insane!
32:13She bolted into the forest.
32:15She didn't get far.
32:17Rogues.
32:18The kind that haunted the borderlands.
32:20Preying on anyone foolish enough to run through the trees alone at night.
32:25Emma never saw them coming.
32:27By the time she did, it was too late.
32:29She survived.
32:31Barely.
32:32Both legs shattered beyond repair.
32:34She'd never walk again.
32:36Meanwhile, Mom was strapped to her cot, staring at the ceiling.
32:40Tears streaming.
32:41In her dreams, she finally saw me.
32:44I was ten again.
32:45No choker.
32:46White dress.
32:48Smiling.
32:49Mom!
32:50She reached for me, crying with joy.
32:53Stella!
32:54But the moment her hands touched me, I burst into ash.
32:58No!
32:59She woke up screaming.
33:01If she'd been wearing that choker, it would have been blood red.
33:05Eternal torment.
33:06I stood in the void, watching it all.
33:09Mom strapped to her bed.
33:10Emma in a wheelchair, begging on the market.
33:13Dad, drunk and dead in some gutter.
33:15I felt nothing.
33:17No satisfaction.
33:19Just a flat, dead calm.
33:50My wolf padded over quietly.
33:51focused on a point in the air, right where I stood.
33:54Stella, is that you?
33:55Her trembling hand reached into the emptiness.
33:58Mom destroyed the choker.
33:59I don't believe in it anymore.
34:01Come back, please.
34:02I'll cook for you.
34:04No salary.
34:04I'll buy you new dresses.
34:06Not Emma.
34:35Tears rolled down her face.
34:36Written by Mom during a lucid moment.
34:39Next life, let me wear the choker.
34:41Let me be the liar.
34:42Punish me however you want.
34:44Just don't leave me.
34:45I stared at those words.
34:46Felt nothing.
34:47Too late.
34:48Repentance means nothing to the dead.
34:51Mom, I don't hate you anymore.
34:53But I don't love you either.
34:55Let's not meet again.
34:56I turned away.
34:57My wolf was waiting.
34:58In the distance, the door of light still glowed.
35:01Soft.
35:01Steady.
35:02Patient.
35:03I looked at my neck.
35:04The phantom Verity choker.
35:06Still there.
35:06Even in spirit form.
35:08The nightmare that had changed me for a lifetime.
35:10I grabbed it.
35:11It shattered into nothing.
35:13I felt weightless.
35:14Free.
35:15No red light.
35:16No hunger.
35:16No lies.
35:17Just freedom.
35:18My wolf pressed against my side.
35:20Together, we walked toward the light.
35:22I didn't look back.
35:24Morning came.
35:25A guard pushed open the door.
35:26Rachel, time to eat.
35:27No response.
35:28She walked closer.
35:29Mom's hand clutched the torn journal.
35:31A single tear crystallized at the corner of her eye.
35:34She crouched beside her.
35:36Held two fingers beneath her nose.
35:38Nothing.
35:38She was gone.
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