The antiseptic smell of the hospital wrapped around Feriha like a cold fog.
It wasn't the smell that frightened her;
It was the sight waiting behind the glass door. 🚪
A girl lay on the bed, small, fragile, hooked up to monitors that beeped in slow, steady intervals.
Bandages wrapped her wrists.
Her breathing was shallow, almost hesitant.
Ravihan paused beside Feriha.
"Are you ready?" he asked quietly.
"No," she whispered, "but I need to see her."
They entered.
The girl's eyes fluttered open at the sound of footsteps. 👣
And for the first time, Feriha saw them clearly,
Those eyes. 👁👁
Brown, soft, familiar.
A familiarity that stabbed straight into the center of her chest.
The girl stared at her with the terrified confusion of someone who has been ripped away from everything she knew.
"Hi," Feriha said gently, pulling a chair closer.
"I'm… my name is Feriha."
The girl didn't reply.
Her fingers twitched under the blanket. 🤞🏻
Ravihan stood near the wall, giving them space but watching everything with his careful, protective gaze.
Feriha swallowed hard.
"What's your name?" she asked.
The girl opened her mouth.
Her voice came out cracked.
"I… don't… remember." 🔕
Feriha felt her heart sink.
The doctor had warned them that trauma could erase memories, especially if the child had been isolated and manipulated.
But hearing it directly from the girl made it real;too real.
"It's okay," Feriha said softly. "You don't have to remember anything right now." 🙂
The girl stared at her again… longer this time.
Her eyes flicked to the bracelet on Feriha's wrist,
the same silver bracelet her mother had bought before she disappeared. 📿
The girl's breathing changed.
Quicker.
Uneasy.
She lifted one trembling hand and pointed at the bracelet.
"You… you had one…" Her voice wavered. "In the place… where I was…"
Feriha's blood ran cold. 😥
"What place?" she whispered.
The girl squeezed her eyes shut, tears slipping down her cheeks.
A single word escaped her lips;
"Selene." 🔊
Ravihan stepped forward immediately.
"You remember her?"
The girl flinched violently.
Her heart monitor jumped.
Feriha reached out instinctively, taking the girl's shaking hand.
"You're safe," Feriha whispered.
"No one will hurt you again. I promise."
The girl's body slowly relaxed, but her face remained pale, haunted. 🙍🏻
And then, almost inaudibly, she whispered:
"She said you would come."
Her eyes locked onto Feriha.
"She said… you always come back to finish what you started."
Feriha froze. 😬
Ravihan stiffened.
"What did she mean by that?" he asked quietly.
The girl shook her head, tears dripping onto the pillow. 😪
"I don't know… but she said your name. Over and over. She said you belonged to her."
Silence wrapped around the room like a suffocating blanket.
Feriha felt something heavy, cold, and undeniable settle inside her.
Selene didn't just know her.
Selene had been waiting for her. 👀