- 10 hours ago
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Short filmTranscript
00:02my mom called me a liar from the day i was born not because i actually lied but because of
00:07this
00:07thing around my neck the verity choker mom was luna of silver moon pack and she believed one
00:12thing above all lying was the mark of a weak wolf we were her daughters future alpha heirs
00:18weakness was not an option so when my twin sister emma and i were born mom clasped these chokers
00:24around our throats which had witch magic to detect lies green light means truth red light means you
00:30were lying emma's choker always green she could shred mom's ceremonial cloak and blame the cat
00:36and gem would glow a steady green not me green light believed me mom i'm hungry and flash red
00:46light the choker choked tight i shifted on instinct a small white wolf pawing desperately at the gem
00:52around my neck claws scraping against it unable to get it off i'm not lying not lying please but mom's
01:00eyes had already gone cold instant punishment mom's punishment wasn't gentle no food locked in my room
01:07no contact with anyone in the pack the truth necklace doesn't lie stella starve now study later
01:13i'm doing this for your own good after 10 years of this i started believing it too maybe i really
01:19was
01:20born wrong new year's eve everything changed mom was getting ready to take emma to the pack's bonfire
01:26celebration and that's when the pain hit like a knife twisting in my gut i collapsed on the floor
01:31my skeletal frame curling into itself mom please the choker flashed red and choked tight she looked down
01:40at me disgusted in her eyes in your dream stella faking an illness to ruin our night she grabbed emma's
01:48hand and headed for the door i wanted to howl but my wolf was too weak to answer i shifted
01:54anyway forced
01:55it a small white wolf trembling on the floor ribs heaving maybe in this form the pain would hurt less
02:01it didn't i couldn't even hold the shift i slipped back into myself without meaning to
02:06sorry mom i won't lie anymore but the pain got worse way worse the door handle turned for one second
02:14i
02:14thought mom's coming back she came back for me hurry up the bonfire is starting emma's waiting mom
02:21i 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 gonna keep this up can't you just be honest and stay here and think about
02:41what you've done dad appeared in the doorway honey 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
02:54when that gem turns green we'll talk but but what it's because you spoil her that she turned out this
03:03way look at emma her gem has always been green stella is a liar an alpha heiress who can't tell
03:10the
03:10truth she needs discipline but my cabinet was empty emma stole that money
03:16emma ate those snacks emma just stood there with her glowing green gem saying not me and mom
03:23believed her i tried to defend myself it wasn't me red light the choker choked tight i tried to shift
03:31nothing happened deep inside my wolf barely stirred mom locked me up for three days with nothing but water
03:39and stale bread mom turned to leave emma peeked through the door made a face at me bye sis we're
03:46gonna see the bonfire her gem glowed a steady green so pretty the door locked the house went silent i
03:55called my wolf nothing came back not even a whisper just me alone the pain was unbearable but i kept
04:04thinking mom's right the gem doesn't lie it's red so i must be lying i'm not in pain i'm not
04:13in pain i'm
04:15not in pain i kept repeating it like a prayer eventually i almost believed it the pain dulled
04:24or maybe i was just going numb i crawled to my desk i had to write that was the rule
04:30if the gem glowed red
04:32i had to pen a thousand word apology or mom would never let me out i am a liar write
04:40it down and maybe
04:41mom would forgive me maybe she'd even let me out i opened my journal pages and pages of apologies i'd
04:49written over the years sorry i lied i won't do it again but this time i wanted to write the
04:56truth
04:56my vision blurred my hand shook as i wrote mom i really love you it really hurts why won't you
05:05believe me please believe me just once the moment i finished the last word the pain vanished just
05:14gone i felt light weightless i looked down i was floating and there slumped over the desk
05:23was my body motionless the gem still flashing red around a dead girl's neck oh i'm dead and then
05:32she came out my wolf stepping out of my body like she'd been waiting all along small skinny barely
05:40holding together she looked up at me and once soft and low in the pack's old stories they say when
05:48a wolf
05:49dies young her spirit doesn't cross over alone her wolf walks beside her until they find the door
05:55together i knelt down she pressed her nose into my ghostly palm finally we were together now but i never
06:04learned how to be honest sorry mom i heard laughter mom dad emma coming through the front door tonight's
06:13bonfire was beautiful the best one yet just like our emma perfect in every way i'd never heard her
06:21sound like that when she talked about me i floated toward them my wolf patting silently at my side
06:28moving on instinct i wanted to help them take off their cloaks that's what i always did mom my arms
06:34passed right through her body like wind is it so cold here is the hearthi out i stood there staring
06:42at my transparent hands my wolf pressed against my leg and looked up at me with sad eyes right dead
06:49wolves couldn't hug the living shall we go and see stella she hasn't eaten yet still the good cop i
06:56looked
06:56at mom hopefully if she found me dead would she be sad would she regret it she won't starve she
07:05is a
07:05werewolf not a human pup this whole fake sick for attention thing is out of control i laughed bitterly
07:13mom wasn't wrong werewolves heal but i hadn't been able to in a long time last winter the choker left
07:20bruises that stayed for days that hadn't happened before i reached for my wolf she was still there
07:26but the warmth never came she was too hungry just like me mom never noticed she only ever looked at
07:35my neck for one thing the gem and whether it was red or green mom pushed open my door didn't
07:41even turn
07:42on the light just for a second her eyes flashed gold her wolf might have known mom didn't listen
07:48in the dim glow from the hallway she saw me slumped over my desk i looked like a skeleton hadn't
07:55moved
07:56still putting on an act you're ten years old not five grow up mom i'm not playing i'm dead look
08:05at
08:06me touch me i'm freezing she couldn't hear me she only believed what she wanted to see emma squeezed
08:13past her held up her choker with that smug little grin look my gem is green stella's is still red
08:20she's
08:21lying even in her sleep that's my good girl ignore the liar let her stay there maybe she'll learn how
08:28to be honest should we at least put her in bed it's freezing put her in bed look at that
08:35red gem
08:36still lying come on leave her we have to visit grandma tomorrow the door locked again i floated
08:44next to my corpse my wolf curled silently at my feet staring at that single point of red light in
08:50the
08:50darkness mom if you'd just stepped closer if you'd just touched my hand you'd know i was ice cold
08:57but 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
09:07but now i just floated by the ceiling watching it scurry across my dead body
09:12the rat bit into my toe i didn't feel anything my wolf charged at it anyway and passed right through
09:19landing on the other side she turned back to look at me confused lost i pulled her close and buried
09:27my
09:27face in the fur of her back it's okay you can't feel it anymore it'll be over soon she let
09:34out one low
09:35growl then 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 the smell
09:50of roasted meat crept under my door my favorite but mom always said liars don't deserve meat so i only
09:57ever
09:57got steamed vegetables she was clanging the pots extra loud on purpose trying to tempt me out trying to
10:04make me give in and apologize for things i never did in the old days i might have caved i
10:10might have
10:10confessed to anything for one bite of roasted meat but i don't need food anymore stella still hasn't come
10:17out yet dad 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
10:32mom stella's room smells like poop did she poop in there i floated by the door watching my sister
10:41with a bitter smile my wolf sat beside me ears flat eyes low the hearth was burning hot after just
10:49one
10:50night my body started to rot mom stormed over pounding on the door stella who does that the toilet is
10:58right
10:59there did you sit on the floor to spite me i remembered being six i had food poisoning couldn't
11:06make it to the toilet in time mom didn't help me clean up she made me stand outside pointed at
11:12me and
11:13told the neighbors look at this she's such a mess she can't even use the toilet herself now she thought
11:20i was dirty again leave her let her sit in her own stink but dad stood up frowning that smells
11:27really bad
11:28i should check could it be a dead rat or something my heart if i still had one leapt dad
11:35please open
11:37the door i'm right here just turn the handle and you'll see i'm not moving i waved my transparent
11:44arms frantically my wolf ran straight to my bedroom door willing dad to open it dad's hand touched the
11:52door handle his hand froze one was pounding at the front door a pack elder urgent business dad's face
11:58went pale he grabbed his cloak the border there's an emergency he was already out the door i froze
12:05so close one second away if that knock had come one second later i would have been found maybe then
12:11i
12:12wouldn't have rotted alone that afternoon mom took emma to the pack market the house was empty except for
12:17my corpse when they came back that evening loaded down with food and gifts from the market the smell had
12:22gotten worse mom gagged the second she walked in stella are you trying to turn this place into a
12:28den of inequity she didn't even open my door just 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 she patted her
12:39hands
12:40together satisfied then went to prepare dinner i stared at that sealed door my wolf pressed her nose
12:45against it and whimpered once so that's it i'm worth less than a venison dinner by day three even the
12:51cloth strips couldn't contain the smell mom was arranging fresh wildflowers trying to cover it up
12:56but the stench of death is unmistakable sweet rotten oily she cut a rose stem too hard
13:02a thorn pierced her hand she snapped in her mind i was doing this on purpose not bathing poop on
13:09the floor
13:09hiding dead rats in my room all to piss her off all to defy her authority as luna
13:15stella she grabbed a rolling pin from the kitchen stormed toward my room i'm done with you you
13:21disgusting little brat time you learned what real pain feels like i floated in front of her waving my
13:28arms desperately don't come in mom please please even though she never loved me i didn't want her to
13:37see me like that but she walked right through me ripped the cloth strips off jammed the spare key
13:42into the lock the door flew open the smell hit her like a wall she stumbled back retching stella
13:48what are you doing she saw me still slumped over the desk back turned not moving to her this was
13:55the
13:55ultimate rebellion i'm talking to you she marched over raised the rolling pin but stopped she wanted to
14:03see my face first wanted to see my get up she grabbed the back of my shirt grabbed my skin
14:09the
14:09moment she touched me she froze through the thin fabric her hand didn't feel warm flesh she felt cold
14:16hard dead meat the kind of cold that seeps into your bones what but momentum carried her forward she
14:23yanked crash my body stiff as a board toppled backward taking the chair with it and there was my face
14:29blue
14:30black eyes bulging features twisted in agony dried foam and blood crusted around my mouth around my
14:36blackened neck the verity choker hung lifeless the gem dark no red no green just silence my journal
14:44slid off the desk fell open at mom's feet the last page stared up at her mom my stomach really
14:51hurts the
14:52choker is wrong i'm not lying please don't punish me mom screamed not a wolf's howl a raw guttural
14:59shriek that tore through her throat she stumbled backward slammed into the bookshelf a clay pot
15:06shattered but she didn't seem to feel the pain she just stared at me eyes wide unblinking
15:14no no no no this is not real stella get up stella get up i'm not mad anymore stop scaring
15:23me
15:24scared me again her hand reached out trembling to touch my arm the second her skin made contact with
15:30my corpse she recoiled like she'd been burned that cold was too real lisa from next door heard the
15:37screaming and went straight to the pack healer when she saw what was in my room she collapsed in the
15:43gate
15:43within the hour heavy boots on the floorboards the pack healer and a handful of pack warriors crowding the
15:49entrance mom sat on the floor a warrior's hand on her shoulder she's speaking it she's always lying
15:58it doesn't lie i'm just teaching her no one responded they all looked at her like she was a monster
16:05the pack healer crouched next to my body he muttered under his breath severe malnutrition organ
16:12failure this puppy has been starved for at least a month he carefully tried to remove the verity choker
16:18but it had fused years of tightening had pressed the leather deep into the skin of my neck
16:25damn it he had to use tools to pry it off even dead my soul flinched my wolf lifted her
16:32head and
16:34long raw desperate the kind of howl that should have shaken the walls no one heard it no one flinched
16:42we were already dead a warrior picked up my journal started reading his face went from neutral to
16:49horrified mom's eyes locked onto that book that's her confession she admits she lied look she wrote it
16:57herself
16:59the warrior pushed her back wrapped the journal in cloth and took it we'll report it to the council that's
17:06when
17:07dad got home he saw the pack healer and the pack warriors crowding the doorway saw the body wrap being
17:13carried out saw the long cord that sealed away my entire life his legs gave out he collapsed on the
17:22doorstep emma stood nearby sobbing in confusion she pointed at the discolored verity choker on the table
17:29why does stella have a black collar and i have a green one see she held up her neck the
17:36gem blinked
17:37its steady green it was grotesque the council elders arrived before dawn mom straightened when
17:43she saw them even now even with my body three days cold and rotting her luna instincts kicked in she
17:51lifted her chin squared her shoulders it didn't work today they started questioning mom in the living
17:57room mom grabbed the verity choker off the table like it was a lifeline test it that choker proved she
18:05was lying red gem means lie i never abused her the choker told me i was just educating her the
18:16council
18:16elders looked at her like she'd lost her mind the pup shows signs of extreme malnutrition months of
18:24starvation aphelion multiple old injuries consistent with prolonged that's just discipline that's teaching
18:32her to be honest then she did something insane you don't believe me fine i'll wear it
18:43watch it'll be green the leather pressed against her skin cold sticky that was my blood she took a
18:52deep breath tried to calm herself she needed to prove she was innocent needed to prove her way of
18:58raising and alpha air was right she held up the gem eyes wild listen i'm rachel i'm stella's mother
19:07this is the truth the absolute truth the gem flashed red mom's confident expression shattered
19:16i said truth i am rachel i never abused her i did it for her own good
19:26i love her and suddenly she remembered me 10 years old gasping as the choker tightened around
19:35my throat biting my lip so i wouldn't make a sound is this what it felt like why is it
19:41red i am telling
19:43the truth turn green you're broken you're setting me up but the gem kept flashing like it was mocking
19:50her you're a liar you're a liar you're a liar enough this is just a bloodstone i've seen it before
20:00it changes color with body heat fear pain anything that makes your heart race temperature rises it burns
20:09red that's all it does no witch magic never was think about your daughter ruptured appendix organ
20:18failure the pain must have been unbearable she was terrified and what did you see a red gem so you
20:27punished her more which made her more scared which made her temperature rise which made the stone turn
20:36redder you are luna you are supposed to protect every wolf in this pack you couldn't even protect your
20:45your own daughter you ignored her cries for help you starved your daughter to death mom's world collapsed
20:53she sat there staring at the flashing gem on her own net and finally understood for 10 years every red
21:01light wasn't because i was lying it was because i was scared scared of her anger scared of being
21:08misunderstood scared of eating food that made me sick i was in pain pain that made my heart race
21:16and cold sweat pour down my face i was desperate desperate for a hug for her to hold me the
21:23way she
21:23held emma every signal from my frightened heart she had interpreted as proof of my lies
21:30no get it off
21:35i'm not lying i'm not she tried to shift fur rippling across her skin bones cracking but the leather
21:43cinched harder around her throat the moment her neck began to change she snapped back into human form
21:49gasping i can't get it off stella take it back i'm sorry it's all my fault this little bit of
21:59choking
21:59and she was already breaking mom i suffered for 10 years the council elders needed evidence for judgment
22:08so they opened my journal in front of my parents february 14th sunny mom put celery on my plate i'm
22:17allergic my throat swells i can't breathe i said i can't eat it but because i was scared of making
22:24her angry my body ran hot the gem flashed red the choker tightened mom said i was picky lying made
22:34me
22:34eat the whole plate that night i threw up blood my throat felt like it was on fire i shifted
22:41to ease my
22:41pain mom saw it and said i'd snuck berry juice that i was faking the choker tightened for 10 more
22:50minutes mom's hand flew to her mouth she was shaking violently she remembered that she really did think
22:58it was berry juice she didn't even look closely just turned away to read emma a bedtime story that was
23:05blood from a swollen torn throat june 1st pup's day emma shredded mom's ceremonial cloak emma's heart is
23:15always calm her gem stays green i tried to explain but i was scared of being hit my body ran
23:22hot red gem
23:25choker tightened for 10 minutes it hurt so bad but i didn't cry because crying makes your body run hotter
23:33and mom thinks that means you're not sorry so i held my breath pretended it didn't hurt mom said
23:41see she doesn't even blink she's definitely faking it dad couldn't take it anymore this man who had
23:48always put the pack before his own family chose duty over his daughter for 10 years you monster what did
23:56you do that was your daughter you treated her like a stray blood at the corner of her mouth
24:04not my fault not my fault it's her it's emma emma's gem was always green emma was a 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 that little princess everyone had protected one of the council elders walked over
24:25gently removed the green verity choker from her neck took out a blade pried the gem loose right there
24:32it rolled onto the table still glowing green steady unchanged the elder picked up the stone
24:39a glowstone that is all your younger daughter's choker was always going to shine green no matter what
24:48she said did or lied about it would never change your so-called verity choker was a fraud that was
24:57her
24:57truth for 10 years that was the evidence she used to convict me a common glowstone that put me in
25:04hell
25:04while emma lived in paradise so i wasn't a liar i i laughed laughed until i cried turns out ghosts
25:13could
25:13cry too the elder turned to the last page of the journal his voice broke the handwriting was a mess
25:20clearly written while dying mom if i die will the choker stop glowing red or if it turns green will
25:27you
25:27hug me then i'm not lying i couldn't heal myself anymore my stomach hurts so much like knives next life
25:36please don't make me wear the choker please i just want to be a normal pup i want to eat
25:42mom's roasted
25:43meat mom stared at the broken glowstone on the table that truth magic she trusted without question
25:48a worthless stone because of that stone she spoiled emma for 10 years because of that cursed red light
25:56she tortured me for 10 years mom started laughing her voice cracking in every sound worse than crying fake
26:10all fake i killed my most honest pup and i worshipped a liar she'd lost her mind for real this
26:21time my death
26:23became the talk of the entire pack lisa the neighbor who had sent for the pack healer told everyone what
26:29she'd seen every wolf knew by morning luna had starved her own daughter to death monster murderer she
26:39doesn't deserve to be luna stones flew at our door the word killer carved into the wall the council convened
26:47within the day the verdict was swift dad lost his alpha title no wolf would follow him now my grandfather
26:55the former alpha read out the judgment himself he didn't look at his son once dad walked out of the
27:02council hall and never looked back he took emma and left the pack that same night emma was a bad
27:08seed
27:08sure but she was still his blood before they left emma tried to take her green choker dad stomped on
27:16it
27:16why the hell would you want that piece of trash emma cried as he dragged her away mom got out
27:22of the
27:23dungeon the healer said she had lost her mind the council locked her in the home instead the one
27:28that still smelled like death her mental state deteriorated fast she refused to take off the red
27:35choker she would tighten it herself whenever the guilt got too heavy she said choking was the only thing
27:41that eased it it was her self-imposed punishment i floated in the darkness my wolf curled beside me
27:48watching her unravel day after day she'd talk to the empty corner where i used to stand stella i brought
27:53you some food no celery today it's all roast just how you like it but there was no food there
28:02was
28:02nothing just her hands cupped around air she'd pretend to set a plate down her hands shook the gem
28:09flashed red she was anxious guilty falling apart she smiled but her eyes were empty the gem is red mom
28:18is lying liars don't deserve food she pulled the choker tight with her own hands let it choke her her
28:26body convulsed against the cold floor it hurts so much is this how stella felt i'm sorry mom started
28:35reenacting my diary entries i couldn't eat celery because of my allergy so she forced herself to eat
28:42spoiled food until she vomited blood then swallowed it back down i was locked in isolation so she locked
28:50herself in my old room lights off and bowed to my portrait until her forehead bled over and over
28:58blood on the floor late 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 she kept punishing herself the wounds healed slower
29:12and slower her wolf exhausted by months of self-torture slowly fell into a deep sleep mom didn't care
29:20she scrawled on the back of my journal i'm sorry i was wrong red means pain red means love please
29:28come
29:29back and say it hurts hurts one more time i'll save you i promise too bad i'm dead dead wolves
29:36can't cry
29:36for help eventually the new alpha intervened mom's self-harm had gone too far she'd nearly choked herself
29:44to death with her own hands he ordered her to move to a small hut at the far edge of
29:49the village
29:49locked from the outside someone posted to watch her day and night she was the strangest woman they'd
29:56ever seen nobody knew where she'd found it a frayed red cord tied around her own neck her homemade
30:03choker if anyone tried to remove it she'd snap at them teeth bared snarling wild-eyed don't touch me
30:13stella's watching she'll be angry if you take it every time the guard called her name and brought
30:19her food mom would grab the red cord and pull it tight against her own throat convulsing screaming
30:26red light red light don't punish punish me i'll eat i'll eat even if the food was scalding hot she'd
30:36gulp it down burning her throat wouldn't spit it out she was reenacting my final moments living my hell
30:43on repeat years later emma grew up without guidance and with a trail of shame behind her she drifted from
30:50pack to pack stealing to survive no one would take her in when she ran out of options she remembered
30:58mom was still alive she slipped back into the silverman pack under the cover of night
31:03not for love for money hey crazy lady dad's dead give me whatever you've been hiding emma stood there
31:13face hard eyes full of contempt she looked at mom's hollow broken form and spat on the floor it's
31:21disgusting give me what i want or i'll send you to meet your daughter for a moment mom's cloudy eyes
31:29cleared she looked at emma and suddenly remembered that choker that always green glowstone that decade of
31:37deception it's you you lie you're the green light that wasn't there you killed stella give her back to
31:46me give her back to me the last shred of maternal love twisted into something feral mom lunged grabbed
31:55emma by the throat should have died not her you emma thrashed but couldn't break free from a madwoman's
32:05grip the guards rushed in pulled her off emma stumbled out of the hut terrified they're all
32:12insane she bolted into the forest she didn't get far rogues the kind that haunted the borderlands
32:20preying on anyone foolish enough to run through the trees alone at night emma never saw them coming
32:27by the time she did it was too late she survived barely both legs shattered beyond repair
32:34she'd never walk again meanwhile mom was strapped to her cot staring at the ceiling tears streaming
32:41in her dreams she finally saw me i was 10 again no choker white dress smiling mom she reached for
32:50me
32:51crying with joy stella but the moment her hands touched me i burst into ash no she woke up screaming
33:01if she'd been wearing that choker it would have been blood red eternal torment i stood in the void
33:07watching it all mom strapped to her bed emma in a wheelchair begging on the market dad drunk and dead
33:15in some gutter i felt nothing no satisfaction just a flat dead calm my wolf padded over quietly she didn't
33:24howl didn't nudge just pressed her head against my hand and held it there in the distance a door of
33:30light appeared soft steady waiting i looked at my wolf she looked at me yeah time to leave this life
33:39was
33:40too bitter nothing worth holding on to i floated to mom's hut one final time she looked ancient hair
33:47completely white frail as paper she sent something her cloudy eyes focused on a point in the air right
33:53where i stood stella is that you her trembling hand reached into the emptiness mom destroyed the choker
33:59i don't believe in it anymore come back please i'll cook for you no salary i'll buy you new dresses
34:05not emma tears rolled down her face i looked at the red marks on her neck from the frayed cord
34:11i i reached out my cold ghostly finger touched her forehead this was my final mercy sleep mom
34:18in sleep there's no pain her eyes fluttered shut she slumped into a deep dreamless rest a breeze blew
34:26through the hut the old journal on her cot flipped open the last page my dying words stared up at
34:32the
34:32ceiling but below it in shaky handwriting were new lines written by mom during a lucid moment next life
34:39let me wear the choker let me be the liar punish me however you want just don't leave me i
34:45stared
34:45at those words felt nothing too late repentance means nothing to the dead mom i don't hate you
34:52anymore but i don't love you either let's not meet again i turned away my wolf was waiting in the
34:58distance the door of light still glowed soft steady patient i looked at my neck the phantom verity choker
35:05still there even in spirit form the nightmare that had changed me for a lifetime i grabbed it
35:11it shattered into nothing i felt weightless free no red light no hunger no lies just freedom my wolf
35:19pressed against my side together we walked toward the light i didn't look back morning came a guard
35:25pushed open the door rachel time to eat no response she walked closer mom's hand clutched the torn journal
35:31a single tear crystallized at the corner of her eye she crouched beside her held two fingers beneath her
35:37nose nothing she was gone
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