The sketch trembled in Feriha's hands.
The two children.
The blue ribbon.
The silver bracelet. 📿
Her fingers went numb.
Ravihan watched her carefully.
"Feriha… do you recognize this?"
"I don't know," she whispered;but the lie tasted bitter. 😓
A faint ache pulsed in her temples, like something buried deep was trying to claw its way out.
She stared at the drawing again.
At the small hand holding the other.
At the quiet innocence of it.
A sudden sharp pain flashed behind her eyes.
She gasped;
and the world tilted.
Ravihan caught her before she stumbled.
"Feriha! Hey;stay with me." 🤗
But she wasn't hearing him.
In her mind, something cracked open;
a ripple
a whisper
a forgotten echo. 😩
A small voice.
A child's voice.
"Feri… don't let go…"
The words flooded into her memory like a lightning bolt. 💡
The hospital room dissolved.
Suddenly, she was standing in a dim corridor.
Cold concrete beneath her small bare feet.
A flickering light above.
The smell of dampness and fear.
Her younger self—five, maybe six years old;held the hand of a little girl with a blue ribbon in her hair. 💠
A door clanged somewhere in the distance.
The little girl whispered:
"If she comes… we hide. Promise?"
Tiny Feriha nodded.
Another flash;
White lights.
Sharp voices.
A woman's cold footsteps approaching.
Then__
Darkness. ⚫
The memory snapped shut.
Feriha gasped, falling forward as the present world rushed back.
Ravihan steadied her, his grip firm on her shoulders.
"What happened?" he asked urgently.
Feriha's chest rose and fell rapidly.
"I… I remembered something. A corridor. A girl. She had a blue ribbon in her hair." 🧐
Ravihan's eyes widened.
"The same girl from the sketch?"
"Yes."
Her voice cracked.
"And she called me… Feri."
Ravihan exhaled slowly.
"Selene didn't just pick you at random. She knows you from before."
Feriha hugged her arms around herself.
"If I was there… if I knew her back then… does that mean—"
"That you survived something horrific," he said gently.
"That's all it means."
Feriha shook her head.
"No. Selene said I 'always come back.' The girl said I 'belong to her.' What does that even mean?" 🤔
Before Ravihan could answer, the door creaked.
A nurse poked her head inside.
"There's someone asking for you at the reception," she said.
"She didn't give a name… but she said you would understand." 🙂
Ravihan and Feriha exchanged a look.
"Describe her," Ravihan said cautiously.
The nurse frowned, thinking.
"She's calm. Too calm. And her eyes;very sharp. Like she already knows what you'll say." 👁👁
Cold fear slid down Feriha's spine.
"Where is she now?" Feriha whispered.
The nurse pointed down the hall.
"She's waiting for you. Alone."
Feriha felt her heart slam against her ribs.
Ravihan's voice was low, controlled.
"Feriha… you know who that is."
Feriha nodded.
For the first time, the name didn't feel distant.
It felt immediate.
Present.
Near.
Selene.
She had come for her. 👩