- 8 hours ago
The Moonstone Broke, I Ran Engsub - Fantasy
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Short filmTranscript
00:07My best friend stole my future, Alfa. On bonding day, she wore my Luna gown. He followed, half-dressed, marked.
00:14I smiled and gave my blessing. Because the moment he touched me, my grandmother's moonstone charm shattered. She said if
00:20it breaks, run. A catastrophe was averted. Whoever was closest got what was meant for me.
00:26That morning, Chantel claimed it was an accident. I put on your Luna gown by mistake, and Ian drank too
00:32much. He didn't even realize who he was with. Chantel, in my torn gown, marks everywhere. Ian wouldn't look at
00:39me. My dad kicked him to the floor. Ian hugged me.
00:44Caitlin, I messed up. But we can't ignore what happened. Please, just let us be happy.
00:52I'd always said no. Everyone expected me to explode. Instead, I smiled.
00:56So go ahead. You two can complete the bond today.
01:00Right here.
01:02Ian breathed out like I'd freed him.
01:04Caitlin Hale! You're really letting these two trash wolves get away with this? Get on!
01:11My mother screamed I'd humiliated our family. I grabbed both of them and pulled them away before they lost control.
01:17They were shaking with rage.
01:19At the corner of the hallway, I reached inside my dress and took out the moonstone charm my grandma had
01:24left me. Or rather, what was left of it. It had split clean in half. The second they saw it,
01:30all the anger drained from their faces.
01:32Mom. Dad. Grandmom's charm broke.
01:39Now it was in two pieces in my hand.
01:43Mom grabbed my wrist and hauled me into the elevator.
01:46She stared at the broken moonstone, then at me.
01:49This just happened?
01:51Dad's face went from red to gray. His nose trembled.
01:55No. No way.
01:56The mitt broke when Ian hugs me.
02:01Mom and Dad exchanged a look. Panic on their faces hit me harder than anything upstairs. The moonstone charm was
02:07no ordinary keepsake.
02:10It was meant to intercept one catastrophe for me. Just one. If it broke, something catastrophic had just been diverted.
02:16We're moving. Now. Hurry.
02:18Outside, my parents kicked for Ian's photo stands and took mine.
02:21Mom told the coordinator, every word, every photo, every image, nothing with my name could stay.
02:29I pulled out my phone and deleted everything of Ian. His number, his photos, his contact info, everything.
02:36We fled the lodge in a panic.
02:38That same night, my whole family left the city.
02:42The reason my whole family panicked that hard was the moonstone charm.
02:45My grandma wasn't just an old woman with stories.
02:48She was the seer.
02:49The day she died was a bright winter afternoon.
02:51She was sitting in the yard in her rock when she called my name.
02:54Caitlin.
02:55I was eight.
02:56She took off the moonstone charm.
02:57She had worn her whole life and tied it around my neck.
03:00She told me to keep it on.
03:01Never take it off.
03:02If it ever broke, it meant it had just blocked disaster for me.
03:05Then I had to run immediately away from whoever was closest when it shattered.
03:09When the stone breaks, it won't be bad luck.
03:11It'll be ruin.
03:12I didn't understand.
03:13I asked her what kind of ruin.
03:15She locked eyes with me and rasped three words.
03:18Three pines hollow.
03:20Three pines hollow.
03:22Just those three words.
03:24Then she leaned back in the chair, closed her eyes, and passed away peacefully.
03:29Grandma!
03:30Her funeral was huge.
03:32Not just our pack came.
03:34Important people from six neighboring territories showed up too.
03:37That was how much her name still carried.
03:39Afterward, I told my parents everything.
03:42What grandma had given me.
03:43What she had said.
03:44Then I asked them what three pines hollow meant.
03:46They refused to answer.
03:48Instead, they packed our bags and retreated to the city overnight.
03:57Years later, all those buried memories came rushing back.
04:00What happened between me, Ian, and Chantel spread all over social media.
04:06At first, everyone dragged Chantel, called her trash for sleeping with her best friend's
04:10fiancee.
04:11But then people found out I hadn't screamed.
04:13I hadn't fought.
04:14I handed over the groom and the entire bonding ceremony without a scene.
04:18And suddenly, they turned on me.
04:20Now I was the coward.
04:21The weak one?
04:22The rumors got uglier by the hour.
04:24But I didn't care.
04:26Let them talk.
04:28Chantel stole my place in the ceremony.
04:30Now she was standing in the Luna's place, Ian's publicly recognized mate, and she loved
04:35every second of it.
04:36She posted nonstop.
04:38A diamond ring the size of a robin's egg.
04:40A $2 million mating token.
04:42Ian kneeling to fasten an old family anklet around her ankle.
04:46Closet after closet of luxury goods.
04:49Every post screamed the same thing.
04:51She had won.
04:52And her captions thanked me.
04:54Thanks, Caitlin.
04:55And thanks to the version of me who was brave enough to chase love.
05:00She said this time she was getting both money and love.
05:03I looked at their fake happiness and laughed.
05:05She had no idea what she had taken from me.
05:07She took everything public, bragging about stealing my ceremony like it was a bold love
05:11story.
05:12Overnight, she gained half a million followers.
05:14Comments cheered for her.
05:16Then people found out my family had moved.
05:18They called us cowards and losers.
05:20I could take the insults aimed at me.
05:22But when they mocked my parents, I snapped.
05:25I wrote in Chantel's comments,
05:27Say what you want about me, but leave my family out of it and stop using me for clout.
05:32Chantel never replied.
05:33She just liked every comment that trashed me.
05:36I shook my head.
05:37The moon goddess sees everything.
05:40We moved half a territory away.
05:42Mom suggested a nearby city, but Dad insisted on going hundreds of miles.
05:46So we went.
05:48That night, I finally asked my parents what Grandma meant by ruin.
05:51Their faces went stiff.
05:53Mom.
05:54Dad.
05:55When Grandma said ruin, what exactly did she mean?
06:01Maybe it's time we tell her.
06:04Dad hesitated.
06:05You tell her.
06:07Ruin how?
06:08I asked what kind of ruin, like a wildfire or a landslide.
06:12Do you remember Three Pines Hollow?
06:15Yeah.
06:16Grandma said it right before she died.
06:18Mom's expression turned uneasy.
06:20She explained that Three Pines Hollow was a settlement just beyond our old pack lands.
06:25Hundreds of people lived there.
06:27Then one night, every single person was found hanging.
06:29The warmth of the table died instantly.
06:32I was stunned.
06:34All this time, I thought Grandma had meant a natural disaster.
06:37A flood.
06:38An earthquake.
06:39I never imagined something so twisted.
06:41My parents both looked uneasy.
06:43They answered together.
06:44That place was under a curse.
06:46We finished dinner, but the shock stayed with me.
06:49No wonder Grandma had given me that moonstone right before she died.
06:52That little stone had blocked something huge.
06:55Something monstrous.
06:56Grandma hadn't just read Fate for Others.
06:58She had seen mine too.
07:00Just thinking about Three Pines Hollow made my neck prickle.
07:04Hundreds of people hanging overnight.
07:05That wasn't just tragedy.
07:07That was a nightmare.
07:08But one question kept digging at me.
07:10Why hadn't the charm broken earlier?
07:13Why only after Ian and Chantel crossed that line together?
07:17I was still sitting there, half in awe of how terrifyingly sharp she had been,
07:21when my phone rang.
07:22An unknown number.
07:23Caitlin, are you okay?
07:27Caitlin, are you okay?
07:29It was Ian's smooth voice.
07:31I hung up immediately and blocked the number.
07:33Not after that night.
07:34After that, I stopped answering every unknown call.
07:38I was terrified.
07:41Meanwhile, Chantel kept showing off online like she had won the world.
07:44Luxury cars.
07:46Designer watches.
07:47Gold.
07:48Silver.
07:49Late that night, Chantel went live.
07:52She was dressed to kill.
07:53Full glam.
07:54Pale fur.
07:55Packed crest jewelry.
07:57Lounging on a couch inside the Alpha Estate, like she'd been born there.
08:01People flooded in, praising her looks.
08:03She played the part perfectly.
08:05She said she was bored and wanted to spend time with everyone.
08:08Then she showed off a few designer bags.
08:11And then, because of the comments, she brought me up again.
08:15Some girls are just not cut out for it.
08:17Even if you spoon feed them, they still can't swallow it.
08:20She laughed and claimed I'd never truly treated her like a best friend.
08:24She called it classic, insecure friend behavior.
08:27Then she leaned back and smiled wider.
08:29She said I was probably hiding somewhere.
08:32That my family ran the same night she and Ian bonded.
08:34Her whole family ran away that night, afraid that I would come back as the Alpha's wife
08:40to take revenge.
08:41Lie after lie.
08:44Listening to her rewrite everything, I kept thinking.
08:47How the hell had I ever been this blind?
08:50But while she was busy smearing me, people in the live stream started noticing something strange.
08:55Wait, did her closet just move?
08:58Did anybody else see that?
08:59Why does it look like something's in there?
09:01Chantel, check behind you.
09:06At first, she didn't notice the comments.
09:08Then the chat moved so fast, the whole screen seemed to scream at her to turn around.
09:13And I saw it too.
09:14The closet behind her was cracked open, just a sliver.
09:18In that narrow gap, there appeared to be an eye.
09:21You people are so sick.
09:23You love trying to freak me out.
09:25She insisted no one else was in the estate that night.
09:27Then, as if to prove a point, she walked over to the closet in her heels, grabbed the handle, and
09:32yanked it open.
09:33A man in black leather tumbled out upside down and hit the floor.
09:37Expensive jewelry spilled around him.
09:39There's something in here.
09:40Don't let it touch me.
09:41Then he looked up.
09:42Not at Chantel, but past her.
09:44At something behind her.
09:46He let out a raw, broken scream, dropped to his knees, and started prostrating himself, slamming his forehead into the
09:52floor until blood pooled.
09:54Chantel froze for half a second, then clutched her chest and screamed for help.
09:58Everything turned chaotic.
09:59Someone hit the phone.
10:00The live stream crashed sideways.
10:03After that, I couldn't see what happened.
10:04Then I thought of what my mom had told me about Three Pines Hollow and a sick feeling twisted in
10:08my stomach.
10:09Maybe this was the beginning of that ruin, because I knew one thing for sure.
10:12There was something old and wrong inside the Alpha State now.
10:19The break-in at the Alpha State blew up online.
10:23Ian rushed back to calm Chantel.
10:25I had been watching the live stream, too, but exited as soon as Ian appeared.
10:29That ruin was getting closer.
10:31I wanted nothing tying me to him.
10:33My phone lit up.
10:35Sophie, my college roommate, messaged me.
10:37She knew Chantel, too.
10:39Sophie said she heard what Chantel did and told me not to be upset.
10:43I wasn't heartbroken anymore, so I just thanked her.
10:46I turned Sophie down flat.
10:48Then she asked if I wanted payback.
10:50That made me pause.
10:52Sophie and Chantel had always been close.
10:54Did I hate Chantel?
10:56Yes.
10:57But go near her?
10:58No.
10:59She was sleeping beside Ian, standing in my place.
11:02I turned Sophie down flat.
11:04She kept pushing, trying too hard.
11:06I got annoyed and muted her.
11:10Mom.
11:11Dad.
11:13What is all this?
11:14Are we stocking up for the apocalypse?
11:17Cut back on those doomday novels.
11:19But this time, it's not that different.
11:22We just don't know how long it's going to last.
11:24For the next month, staying alive matters more.
11:27I had to take time off work or quit.
11:29Staying alive mattered more.
11:31And one more thing.
11:33You're not watching those either.
11:36They cut off every way the thing could touch us.
11:38Dad also told me to stop watching Chantel's live streams.
11:44I blocked her account.
11:47Dad sat on the balcony smoking, staring at red clouds.
11:53This time, somebody's done for.
11:58We shut ourselves in.
12:00Didn't go out once.
12:02My parents talk about Three Pines Hollow was still vague.
12:05But if hundreds of people really hanged themselves in one night, what else could it be?
12:09Meanwhile, Chantel and Ian lived better than ever.
12:13Luxury stores, yachts, everything was perfect.
12:17So the three of us shut ourselves in.
12:19Didn't go out.
12:21Not once.
12:23Until the middle of that month.
12:25The haunting took hold at the Alpha Estate.
12:27Even with Chantel blocked, I heard about it.
12:29One night, Chantel woke to crying.
12:32It got louder, sharper, like a blade scraping through dark.
12:36She realized it came from her balcony, on the fourth floor.
12:39No one should have gotten there unseen.
12:41She looked over.
12:42A woman in a white dress, long black hair, curled outside.
12:46Chantel screamed.
12:48Servants came running.
12:49Balcony door locked.
12:51Nothing outside.
12:52No one.
12:53Chantel can each just wanned you.
12:55Ian's family said Chantel imagined it.
12:57Until the second thing.
13:00Ian's younger brother sleepwalked.
13:03That night, he dreamed of a girl in white by the pool.
13:06He tapped her shoulder.
13:08She laughed, high-pitched and sharp.
13:10The sound echoed through the whole state.
13:13Then he snapped out of his heart.
13:15Then something dragged him into the pool.
13:18Two fingers jammed into his eye sockets.
13:20He screamed.
13:21Guards saved him.
13:25One incident?
13:26Coincidence.
13:27Two in a row?
13:28No chance.
13:29Two incidents in a row?
13:31No chance.
13:33Chantel told it all on livestream.
13:35What happens in the pack stays in the pack.
13:37We don't air any pack.
13:38And stays will plagues.
13:40We days go air dirty laundry on the web.
13:42After I listened to one creator break the whole thing down,
13:46a chill crawled right up my spine.
13:48A chill crawled up my spine.
13:51Just looking at it made me grateful all over again
13:54for how far ahead Grandma had seen.
13:57This was just the beginning.
13:59Worse than Three Pines Hollow?
14:00I didn't want to imagine.
14:04Yeah, what is it?
14:11I sat on the sofa, sipping red wine to calm my nerves,
14:14silently grateful for Grandma's foresight all those years ago.
14:17Then my phone rang.
14:19Yeah, what is it?
14:20You heard about what's happening at Chantel's place, right?
14:22Yeah.
14:23Caitlin, what do you think?
14:25Do you think somebody's taking revenge on her?
14:27What are you trying to say?
14:27That I did it?
14:28Because I didn't.
14:29No, no, I'm not saying that.
14:30I just mean, maybe this is karma.
14:32Caitlin, I heard your grandma used to be this famous seer.
14:35Did anyone in your family still know the old boarding rules?
14:37No.
14:38Sophie was Chantel's go-between.
14:39Maybe even her spy.
14:40They could keep dreaming.
14:42Sophie called.
14:43About Chantel.
14:44At dinner, I told my parents.
14:46Your grandma saw this, too.
14:48Dad said grandma saw this, too.
14:49I nearly choked.
14:52Oh, my God.
14:53Grandma was unreal.
14:54This ruin can't be avoided.
14:56The Moonstone only intercepted it for you once.
14:58Only once.
14:59As for everyone else, they'll have to depend on their own fate.
15:02As for that backstabbing friend of yours,
15:04if they really want a chance,
15:05have somebody tell them to go south of the city, Blackwood Ridge.
15:08There's an old rights keeper that can do anything
15:10that depends on what kind of debt has found their line.
15:13My dad really was too soft-hearted.
15:16Honestly, I had never planned to save Chantel.
15:18But once he said it, I nodded.
15:20Then I passed his message to Sophie word for word
15:23and told her reflay it to Ian's family.
15:26They moved fast.
15:27Really fast.
15:30Go to Blackwood Ridge.
15:32Right away.
15:37Ian's family moved fast.
15:39They sent people to Blackwood Ridge
15:40and brought the old rights keeper back that same night.
15:44We stayed holed up at home like cowards.
15:47We had just moved into a new apartment.
15:49Every time we went out, we wore masks and avoided neighbors.
15:52We couldn't be recognized or tied back to Ian's line.
15:55So far, nobody knew we were the family mocked online.
15:58My parents followed Grandma's rules.
16:00Stay quiet.
16:01Stay hidden.
16:02At first, I thought Chantel might dodge this thing.
16:05But we were wrong.
16:06Dead wrong.
16:08Someone in Ian's family died.
16:10The first one to go was Ian's father.
16:15It happened on the night of his 70th birthday.
16:18He drowned.
16:19The marks around the bathroom showed he had fought back hard.
16:22And there were scratches all over his face.
16:24Either the Alpha Patriarch forced his own face into the toilet and drowned himself,
16:27or something from inside the toilet reached up, grabbed him, and held him there until he died.
16:31A birthday turned into a funeral.
16:33Ian's whole family fell into panic.
16:35That doesn't make sense.
16:36By the old rules your grandma followed,
16:39even if the rights keeper couldn't stop the ruin,
16:41he should have at least been able to slow it down.
16:43But it's barely been any time.
16:45And someone's already dead?
16:47Maybe this is just the debt come and due.
16:50Or maybe...
16:51Maybe they never found the keeper at all.
16:53Caitlin, call and ask.
16:55And remember, do not tell them where we are.
16:58I nodded and called Sophie.
17:03Hey, Caitlin, what's up?
17:05That old rights keeper I told you about,
17:07did you pass the message on or not?
17:09Huh?
17:10Well, um...
17:11Caitlin, where are you guys right now?
17:14The second she said that, my whole family went on alert.
17:17Don't worry about where I am.
17:19Answer my question first.
17:20I did tell them about the keeper.
17:21But Chantel told me that keeper broke from fright.
17:25What?
17:27Start over.
17:28Tell me exactly what happened.
17:30We went to the Ridge Temple.
17:31And when we found him...
17:36From what Sophie told me, Chantel went straight to Ian with the message.
17:40The very next day, Ian sent people up to Blackwood Ridge to find the old rules keeper.
17:44And that same night, they brought him back to the estate.
17:47The man was gaunt, skeletal, in faded robes.
17:50He walked the ground slowly, listening to something under the walls.
17:53Then he told them the truth.
17:55The truth is buried deep within these walls, and it is far more terrible than you can imagine.
18:03The family clipped and moved out, leaving him to ward the house.
18:08He covered it in paper wards, painted sigils, burned bitter herbs.
18:13The place felt like a coffin.
18:18Guards heard nothing all night.
18:20At dawn, the family rushed back.
18:23Everything looked the same, but the keeper was gone.
18:26They searched.
18:28Old gentleman?
18:30Ian found him in the underground cellar, curled up against dry storage bags.
18:34The flower had turned black.
18:36The keeper's eyes twitched wildly.
18:38He kept muttering,
18:39Forgive me, don't come back.
18:41And he gouged out both his own eyes.
18:48Grandma's moonstone hadn't saved me.
18:51It had cut me out of a blood debt.
18:54Caitlin, do you know any other way to stop this?
18:57Dad motioned me to hang up.
18:58I don't know.
18:59I said I didn't know and ended the call.
19:01Dad would fail.
19:02We have to go.
19:03Right now.
19:04We can't stay here either.
19:07We're leaving the province.
19:23We left the province in a panic.
19:26Didn't even take our supplies.
19:29We bought plane tickets and got out.
19:34By the time Chantel found our home address, all she could do was curse us out.
19:38To stay alive, we headed straight for the countryside and checked into a hunting lodge.
19:45Good thing we ran fast.
19:48They started calling me like lunatics.
19:50Hundreds of numbers.
19:52But I had set my phone to auto-reject.
19:57This time, the one who died was Ian's younger brother, found hanged, a deep ligature mark around his neck.
20:05But police never found a rope, no cord, no belt, no murder weapon.
20:11Now Chantel was truly terrified.
20:14Ian's family scattered.
20:15Some fled overseas.
20:17Some begged the PAC council for protection.
20:19Everyone tried to get away from Ian's bloodline.
20:21Chantel and Ian brought in more warders, more rights workers, day and night.
20:25Dad just said it was useless.
20:27Back then, even hundreds of people together at Three Pines Hollow didn't survive.
20:32What happened at Three Pines Hollow was bizarre.
20:34Grandma overseen total destruction.
20:36She went there and asked if they had done something unforgivable.
20:41Crazy old woman, get out!
20:43They denied everything and chased her away, calling her a madwoman.
20:59That same night, a child vanished from Three Pines Hollow.
21:03The whole village searched.
21:04They found him trapped inside a dense blackthorn thicket.
21:07The branches were covered in vicious spikes.
21:09And blackthorn never grows alone.
21:11It forms a living cage.
21:13The boy's cries came from the center.
21:15They had to chop the whole thing down.
21:17When they pulled him free, he was out of his mind.
21:20Please!
21:23A few days later, the villagers begged Grandma for help.
21:27I cannot save you.
21:32Help.
21:33Help.
21:34Help.
21:35Help.
21:35Help.
21:40Help.
21:40A few days after that, the whole village was found hanged in their own homes.
21:44No murder weapon, no rope, nothing.
21:47Overnight, wiped out.
21:49Later, Grandma learned to get it done.
22:04water give me water go away the people of three pines hollow had ruined a woman who
22:11was only passing through she came asking for water
22:21the whole village helped to track her they locked her in an abandoned barn and starved her broke her
22:27her leave the sun brought her food he found her hanging dead rotting her white dress swaying in
22:34the dark her neck stretched too long by then she was no longer in her right mind whatever they did
22:40had broken her before death i thought three pines hollow was wiped out by hanging ian's brother was
22:47hanged too could this be the same thing my parents hated my guess don't go down that rabbit hole
22:53if your grandmother's charm hadn't blocked this for you the people dying right now wouldn't just be them
23:07a chill went through me if grandma hadn't left me the moonstone
23:12and if shantin hadn't stolen ian i would be the one trapped in that estate
23:20shantin had become my stand-in then the one who ran farthest died ian's uncle overseer hanged
23:27i noticed a pattern the farther they ran the faster the debt found them
23:31like something unseen was warning don't leave the estate
23:42could this be karma for stealing someone else's alpha
23:47if i apologize now is it too late she blocked my number
23:52wronged you
23:56the cheating was my fault my family's being punished now can you please save me
24:02i just shook my head cheating had only redirected the disaster there was something older underneath
24:08it all then ian had a dream a strange girl took his hand and said she would show him somewhere
24:14beautiful we're going she told him to lift the stone pressing on him he obeyed then to put his hand
24:20here
24:20and pass through the waterfall if the stone he did that's pressing then to climb the mountain he did
24:24then to cross a stream she stepped over first and waved ian said okay and was about to follow
24:37the girl's face twisted she snarled you're awake chantel dragged ian back from the rooftop edge
24:44below was a 10-story drop one more step and he would have been dead the whole thing was caught
24:49on
24:50live stream ian finally understood lift the stone meant throw off the blanket pass through the waterfall
24:58don't go over unlock the door climb the mountain meant take the stairs cross the stream meant jump
25:11i heard about it it scared me numb this ruin could not be avoided chantel had told ian about
25:19my grandmother so now they were hunting for us more deaths from overseas the farthest runners died
25:26fastest chantel the first to see the woman stayed closest to the estate and was still alive i told
25:33my parents dad said maybe it was a warning not to run i asked if staying closer meant better odds
25:39they didn't answer i thought for a long time then had sophie pass along what i observed that same night
25:47ian and chantel moved back into the estate more than half a year passed ian's family was wrecked
25:54yet somehow ian and chantel were still alive people said they had escaped the curse they kept living in
25:59the mansion covered in the dead keepers then new updates came both had completely broken down
26:06their minds were gone they couldn't clean couldn't function barely recognized day from night the estate
26:12became a nightmare trash rotting food rats roaches it looked like a giant grave i thought the disaster was
26:20finally over then dad told me something that stopped me cold ian had been the child trapped in the
26:28blackboard thicket at three pines hollow his parents sent him to a hospital in another province that was
26:37why he survived he eventually came back to himself but forgot his childhood then he was adopted by a good
26:43family ian's father's line grandma had seen it on the night three pines hollow fell one person probably
26:50slipped through ian's age matched that boy the death had never ended it had changed houses changed names
26:56waited but i still told myself none of it had anything to do with me anymore then something new
27:03happened many people online said they had all dreamed of the same woman in white every one of
27:08them had watched chantelle's live streams i finally understood what grandma meant by ruin the live
27:14stream hadn't just shown the horror it had carried it it turned every viewer into a witness and witnessing
27:20opened the door when three pines hollow fell she'd not harmed any innocent outsider she still knew who she
27:33wanted but now strangers who only watched through a screen were dreaming of her her restraint was gone
27:39the ruin was still spreading i scrolled through comments people seeing her on balconies by lakes faceless
27:49i closed the app outside autumn wind acorns falling everything looked peaceful too peaceful the net
27:57was tightening around thousands of eyes after dinner i helped mom clear dishes she could tell i was
28:06still thinking about it i asked if that thing could travel through live streams through watching how many
28:11people would die mom turned on the faucet with water running she said grandma once said that woman
28:18went alive hated being falsely accused three pines hollow said she was sleeping around but she was only
28:25passing passing through asking for water i froze she wasn't already like that mom shook her head they
28:34terrorized her until she broke they locked her in the shed by the third day she broke by the fifth
28:40she
28:41killed herself i asked what she was wearing mom shut off the faucet a white dress almost white that night
28:50i couldn't sleep i held the broken moonstone grandma had worn it for 99 years i had worn it for
28:56less than
28:5610. it blocked one disaster then it broke for the first time i regretted not asking grandma one more
29:02question what was that woman's name that night i dreamed of grandma she sat in her rocking chair the yellow
29:09dog lay at her feet i crouched by her knees she called my name i asked what happened to the
29:16woman from
29:17three pines hollow grandma didn't answer she touched my head and said you just live well
29:29i woke up with a damp pillow
29:34next morning dad said he was going to town for supplies i went with him
29:41on the way he told me mom wanted to take me back home for a visit
29:43not now after things settle grandma's grave needed fresh soil also before she died she left a box
29:50under her bed they never touched it mom thought it was meant for me i didn't ask anything else
29:55in town dad bought oranges i stayed in the truck then my phone buzzed sophie we hadn't talked in a
30:03long
30:03time she asked if i had heard about ian and chantelle i typed yeah she sent a long message two
30:11nights ago
30:12during a shift change ian climbed onto a third floor balcony saying once i cross the stream i'll be
30:18home an orderly grabbed him but couldn't hold him he jumped he didn't die but both legs were broken
30:25chantelle was completely gone she didn't recognize anyone every day she hugged ian's suit jacket repeating
30:33it wasn't me i wasn't the one who locked you up
30:38don't come for me sophie's last message if i hadn't given her that ceremony would the one in the hospital
30:45be me i locked the screen outside dad looked old half his hair had gone white since grandma's warning
30:53if the charm breaks leave immediately they had spent their lives running from hometown to city
30:59to another province to this little town beyond any pack land they had done nothing wrong grandma saw it
31:07coming they believed her and used everything to keep me alive ian died with the first snow of winter
31:14sophie sent the news post-op infection multiple organ failure chantelle was sent back to her family
31:20still the same if not controlled she hit people and screamed no one dared live in the estate now
31:26listed for sale for six months no buyers people said you could hear crying from inside at night
31:33i deleted the screenshot winter came the oak tree was there this little town was quiet no one knew we
31:40had escaped such a large disaster the hashtag about the woman in white was scrubbed from trending not
31:46because it ended but because it was too strange and dangerous under the silence the dreams still happened
31:52five springs passed people forgot only we were still alive hiding like survivors on stolen time
32:00eventually we stepped out the air felt clean i was tired not from surviving one terrible thing
32:06but from half a life tied to prophecy i wanted to see the ocean my parents nodded i took a
32:13train east
32:13the ocean opened up waves rolled in endless the wind was wet and salty i stood at the shore my
32:21whole
32:21life i had lived inside prophecy dragged by invisible ropes what was on the other side of the sea the
32:28waves
32:28answered nothing maybe the other side was just another sea and the far shore every chained person longs
32:34for is not a place it is learning to live with the water already inside you under the open moon
32:40with no bond
32:41and no pack i let out a slow breath for the first time in five years i was not waiting
32:47for the next prophecy
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