Flora and Nadi was walking towards the staircase when she heard voices of servants who were coming up from the opposite wing. She realized that she was bound to be discovered with Nadi if she continued to walk towards the staircase. She knew that she needed to act fast before the servants get to where she and Nadi were. Then, she saw the storage room and decided to hide there. Immediately, she and Nadi ran to the storage room and she let Nadi sit behind the laundry baskets.
The voices got louder as the servants went closer to the storage room. Flora opened the door a little and she saw that the servants were carrying dirty laundry. Flora panicked as she realized that the servants were going to the storage room and leave the laundry there. Without thinking she did something that she would otherwise not do.
After a while, the door to the storage room opened wide. The servants stopped talking abruptly when they saw Flora inside.
“Oh!” said one of the se
As Flora went back to the mansion, Nadi stayed inside the storage room and waited. She always found herself alone when her mother was at work so Nadi did not mind having to stay for a while inside the enclosed space. She found the presence of her doll comforting whenever she was left alone and would even talk to it as if it were a real playmate.“What do you want to do, Dolly?” Nadi asked her doll and placed an ear over the doll’s mouth as if to listen to it speak.“You know we can’t go outside,” replied Nadi. “Mommy, told us to stay here.”Nadi went silent as she pretended to listen to her doll.“I can sing for you if you’re sad,” Nadi replied. Then, she started singing her nursery rhymes while making her doll dance on the floor. Nadi giggled as she imagined her doll dancing merrily while she sang. All of a sudden, Nadi heard the door to the storage room open and she went quiet. She crouch
Flora felt the water on her face and realized that she had been crying. She wiped the tears of her cheeks with her hands and steadied herself by leaning on the bannister. She was still trembling and found it hard to forget what she had just witnessed. She saw the master glide across the floor towards her and Nadi and in her very eyes, she saw him transform into the hideous reptilian creature that she only thought existed in stories told her when she was a child. However, it was his final transformation when his face turned into that pallid face with burning eyes that made her tremble. Seeing those eyes only confirmed what she had tried to deny. The stories about the ember ghost were true and she had seen him in her very eyes. She felt dizzy and her breathing was uneven as she held on to Nadi while leaning onto the bannister.Nadi had buried her face into her mother’s body, too afraid to look after seeing the horrific images to which Dante had appeared. She hugged
Flora felt the three sisters push her to the ground. She tried fighting them off, punching and kicking the air, but she lost her balance and brought Nadi with her to the ground. She felt disoriented, but continued to push the three sisters away from her and her daughter. When she saw them gathering above her and Nadi, she decided to cover her daughter with her body.Flora screamed when she felt a pair of hands lifting her off the ground and she tried to keep Nadi close to her. She swung her arms to the air wildly, not knowing if she would be able to hurt the three sisters. She hit them as hard as she could with her hands until she felt them back away from her.“This is a feisty one!” said one of the sisters, surprised at how Flora was able to hold them off.“That thing the little one is wearing though!” warned the second sister.“Surely, you’re not afraid of that small thing!” said the third sister.“
Flora woke up from the sound of flapping wings and realized that they were birds that were nesting inside the cave. She immediately looked beside her and found that Nadi was holding her arm and was still asleep. The fire she had built a few hours ago had not fully extinguished and there were still live embers as well as small tongues of fire rising from the remaining firewood.Flora gently removed Nadi’s arm and looked out of the cave. It was morning and she knew that she needed to get food for Nadi and herself. She decided that she should go to the vegetable patch and pick some of the vegetables and then go fetch some water for them to drink. She intended to get as much food as she could and stay inside the cave with Nadi as much as she could.Knowing that she could not leave her daughter alone in the cave, not after what they had experienced the previous night, she gently tapped Nadi’s arm to wake her up.“Wake up, Nadi,” said Flo
Flora’s scream filled the small shed as Emil took another step closer. She began praying loudly, hoping that Emil would just leave. She found that she and Nadi had reached the back wall of the shed. She immediately held Nadi tightly and tried to cover her daughter with her own body. All of a sudden, Emil froze in his tracks. He shook his head and held his forehead with his hand. When he raised his chin, lift fell on his face and Flora saw that the evil look in his eyes were gone. Flora saw the friendly Emil that she had talked to the last time that she was in the greenhouse.“Emil… I know you recognize us. Please stop what you’re doing and help us,” Flora pleaded.
The three women in white continued to beckon at Flora, calling her name repeatedly. Flora found their gaze irresistible and if not for Nadi’s presence, would have ran out of the cave and into the rain. Nadi remained a constant reminder to Flora that she must stay and protect her daughter.The three sisters continued to call at Flora repeatedly, beckoning at first and luring her away. Then, their voices became thinner and shriller as they mocked Flora by calling her name. Their voices seemed to force their way into Flora’s head, making it almost unbearable.“No!” screamed Flora at the three women in white. “You shall not have us! I know who you are! I’ve seen what you did at the mansion and you cannot lure us away from this cave!” Flora shouted at the top of her lungs, her voice echoing from within the cave and letting it be heard even with the sound of the rain.Her shouts were met with giggles as the three sisters
Flora was horrified, but her instincts as a mother protecting her child from harm instantly kicked in and she flew to Nadi’s side. Without thinking, she used the firewood she held in her hand to hit the arm that was trying to pull her daughter outside the cave. There was a scream of pain and the white arm withdrew. Flora immediately placed herself between the three sisters and her daughter, raising the sanaria branch in the air and threatening to hit any of the three sisters who attempt to step forward.“Aaahh! It hurts!” cried one of the three sisters, holding her arm tightly against her body. Flora saw the patch of skin on her arm scalded as if touched by fire. She realized that it was the same area that was touched by the sanaria branch.“Stay away from that wretched branch she’s holding!” said another sister, pointing to the firewood that Flora held in her hand.“Are you alright, dear sister?” one the women ask
Flora did not know how long she hunched over the fire. She was able to hold back her tears for most of the time since she experienced the horrors of almost losing her daughter. She remembered running from Pablo and then the three sisters before she was helped by Rosa to escape. Then, she thought about Nadi and what would happen to her daughter and herself. She knew that they could not stay in the cave for long and would need to leave island if they were to survive.Flora let her tears flow freely as she realized the hopelessness of their position. Then, she prayed hard that they could survive the night. Perhaps the morning would bring knew hope. Flora wiped her face dry with her dress and resolved to stay awake that night to guard her daughter.“Why are you crying?” said a voice that sounded comforting yet chilling at the same time.Flora looked up and saw a man standing just outside the cave. His skin was smooth and pale while his hair was as dark a