When the devil knocks

Dear Journal,

You won’t believe what I’m about to tell you. Honestly, I can barely believe it myself. But let me catch my breath and start from the beginning.

A week ago, I had dinner with Brian — you already know about that. I told you everything. And honestly, when I think back on it now, my feelings are... complicated. After he left that night, my heart felt heavy. Like someone had tied a brick to my chest. I put the boys to bed, took a long bath, and laid down for a nap.

In my dream, I was walking through a red desert. Thick red smoke hung in the air, and the sand beneath my feet felt warm and strangely familiar. Three enormous moons lit up the sky, and even though the place was strange, I felt at peace there — like I belonged. I was wearing a white dress and could'nt bring myself to not look at the sky, it was so beautiful, a place I seemed to know, a place my soul could'nt forget. Where was I? Where was this place? I couldn't tell, I could'nt seem to remember and this place didn't look like my planet, it was so strange but so comfortable, so I just stood still and looked at the sky. When I woke up, I had one of those pounding headaches I always get after dreams like that. I popped a Tylenol and caught the 11 a.m. bus to my first shift.

At 7:30, half an hour before leaving work, I called Elhoïme to make sure he and Mathias had gotten up for school. I kept calling every ten minutes until I was sure they’d both made it safely. I hate that they have to walk to school so early — and alone. But what else can I do?

At 9 a.m., I clocked in at my second job. That’s when the boss gathered all of us in the hallway. I hate those meetings — no matter how freshly showered I am, I feel like I still smell like smoke. That smell sticks to me. Like the weight of everything else I carry.

Two girls behind me whispered and laughed, pointing in my direction. I tried not to let it get to me, but inside, I was crumbling. I had made an effort that day. I’d even worn perfume. Still not enough.

Then the boss stood in front of everyone and said, “I’ve got great news. Today, we welcome our new project manager.”

And just like that, Brian walked up to the front. Dressed in a sharp suit, his expression colder than I’d ever seen. He scanned the room and our eyes met.

Mine filled withshock.

His with confusion.

I won’t lie — I spent the whole week avoiding him. At work. At home. I even tried dodging his mother when she returned from New York. But I couldn’t ignore her forever.

When I knocked on their door that morning, I prayed he wouldn’t answer. Thankfully, it was his mother. She looked older, of course, but still graceful, still warm. Silver streaks ran through her thick dark hair. Wrinkles now lived at the corners of her kind eyes. She hugged me tight and ushered me inside like no time had passed.

She made me eat — so much — saying I was too thin. I didn’t feel like I deserved her kindness. But I sat in her kitchen and told her the truth. About my parents. About that night. And she cried.

That’s when Brian came in. He calmed her down and pulled me outside, at my house.

“You’re serious, Jane?” he said, half angry, half hurt.

“I’m sorry, but she deserved to know.”

“I’m not talking about that,” he said with a sigh. “I’m talking about the fact that you’ve avoided me all week.”

I looked down at my scuffed shoes, ashamed. “I didn’t know what to say.”

“You didn’t have to say anything. You could’ve just shown up. Like always.”

Before I could answer, the doorbell rang.

Brian and I turned toward the door. A chill spread down my spine.

He opened the door. And there she was.

The devil.

Amelia.

Dressed in a beige designer coat, oversized sunglasses, and a practiced frown. She clutched her chest like a soap opera actress and rushed toward me.

“Jane! Oh my God, Jane…”

Her hug was stiff. Her perfume was too sweet. Her whole presence felt wrong.

“Amelia?” I whispered, frozen.

“I came as soon as I heard,” she said, blinking quickly to summon tears. “I had no idea what had happened. I didn’t know you were all alone with the boys.”

“You did know,” I said. “You lived with us for a year after the funeral. You helped. And then you just disappeared.”

“I needed space!” she snapped, the mask slipping for a second. Then, gentler: “I was overwhelmed. I had just lost our parents. I couldn’t breathe."

I stared at her, heart thudding. “And we didn’t?”

She waved her hand like she didn’t hear me. “I didn’t come here to fight.”

Brian narrowed his eyes. “Then what did you come for?”

Amelia took a breath. “I want custody of the boys.”

The words knocked the air out of me.

“You’re joking.”

“They deserve better, Jane. You’re doing your best, but it’s too much. You’re working two jobs, barely surviving. Let me take them. I have the money, the time, the connections. They’d be better off. And you will be able to become a lawyer, like you always dreamed".

“You left,” I said, my voice sharp. “They cried for you. And you left.”

“I had to,” she said, already annoyed. “But now I’m back. And I can give them what they need.”

Brian stepped closer to me, quietly placing a hand on my back.

“You need to leave,” I said coldly.

Amelia stared at me for a beat, then nodded, smiling as if she hadn’t just detonated a bomb.

“We’ll see about that. I already contacted a lawyer.”

And just like that, she walked away.

My knees buckled. Brian caught me.

“I’ve got you,” he whispered.

But I couldn’t shake the feeling that I’d seen this before — in that red desert, under the three moons.

The devil had knocked.

And now she wanted in.