Chapter 10
The name haunted Amira.
That night, she scoured Elias's old belongings — dusty boxes in the lighthouse basement, forgotten trunks layered in cobwebs. She searched for Mirabelle. There was nothing — no photo, no letter, not even a mention in old schoolbooks or Selene's faded journal.
But the whispers had returned. And now they were not only calling Elias — they were calling Amira.
She dreamed of a girl with wild hair and violet eyes, standing barefoot in the rain, whispering:
"You were never meant to stay."
The next morning, Amira visited Mma Nkem again. She recounted everything — the name, the locket, the dreams.
The old woman grew still. "Mirabelle was Selene's friend. A twin flame of sorts. They were inseparable for a while, until something tore them apart. Some say jealousy, others say love. But she vanished after Selene died."
"Vanished how?"
"Walked into the sea. Some say she drowned. Others say… the sea took her because it couldn't have Selene again."
A silence fell between them.
Then Mma Nkem whispered, "And some say she never truly left."
That night, Amira returned to the lighthouse alone. The shadows stretched longer than usual. The light above blinked once. Then again. Then… stopped.
When Elias came running up the stairs, Amira stood by the lens room, trembling.
"She's here," she whispered. "Not Selene. Mirabelle."
Suddenly, a cold wind swept through the lighthouse, and the lens burst into light again — but not gold, not white. Violet.
A voice echoed from the spiral staircase behind them:
"You forgot me. You both did."
They turned, slowly, but saw nothing. Only the locket resting on the stair.
Elias picked it up. The photo had changed.
It now showed three figures.
Selene. Elias. And a girl neither of them recognized — except for her violet eyes.