Semua Bab Beneath The Burning Silence : Bab 1 - Bab 10

The soft warmth of early spring sunlight crept across my skin. Somewhere down the hall, the familiar scent of my mother's Sunday cooking drifted through the cracks of memory. That meal—eggs, herbs, smoked potatoes—always meant safety. Outside, the birds sang like nothing had ever gone wrong, their chirps blending with the wind threading its way through the old trees. I could almost hear my mother calling me—soft at first, then fading, slipping away like everything else. Next to me, Keli sat, watching me with those steady, amber eyes. He was the only soul left in my life, my stubborn, greedy dog, who never let me wake up alone. That morning was no different—except everything had changed. Everything else had been torn away. I got upset slowly. Books lay scattered across the wooden floor, fallen from the overstuffed shelf, and ash still smoldered in the fireplace, the remnants of last night's cold. The air was sharp, seeping in through the cracks in the walls like the world outside wante

At last, I opened my eyes, only to be met with nothing but darkness. In the distance, beside me, I could hear the sorrowful whimpering of Keli, trying to find me. Judging by the echo of his whimpers, I concluded we were in some kind of small, enclosed space. I still lay motionless on the cold concrete, feeling the weight of the metal cuffs around my wrists."Keli, come here," I whispered, turning my head in the direction of the sound. Keli eagerly approached, barking softly."No, be quiet," I told him, trying to remove the cuffs that still clung tightly to my wrists.Suddenly, the creaking of a door broke the silence, drawing both of our attention and forcing us into stillness. From another room, voices could be clearly heard."So, a man... and—" I muttered to myself, "—a woman's voice." I raised my head slightly off the floor. "It's Merlin. That woman…"Rage surged through me, and I began searching my surroundings for anything that might help me remove the cuffs. Keli remained silent

The forest we walked through was cloaked in darkness. A thick mist enveloped us, winding through the trees and pressing against our skin like a cold breath. It was hard to see where we were going—every step forward was shrouded in uncertainty. With each crunch of dry twigs beneath my feet, a flicker of fear surged through me, as if the forest itself were whispering secrets I wasn't meant to hear. Birds could be heard in the distance, but their songs weren't like the ones from my childhood memories. These sounded warped, distant, almost wrong—as though sung by creatures mimicking life rather than living it."We're almost there," said Merlin, who walked ahead of me. Her voice cut gently through the silence, like a thread of familiarity. She glanced back over her shoulder, her eyes shadowed. "You don't remember this path?"She slowed her pace just enough for me to catch up."We used to sneak away down this trail every day when no one was watching," she said, a nostalgic smile playing on

I felt the first rays of morning sunlight brush against my face. Slowly, I opened my eyes. The forest was bathed in pale gold, still half-dreaming beneath a veil of mist. I sat up on the blanket, and saw Merlin extinguishing the dying embers of our fire."Finally awake," she said with a glance in my direction."We need to move. It wouldn't be good if they found us here."I nodded silently, folding the blanket I had slept on and tucking it into her backpack."I hope we'll find more food. And somewhere we can rest properly," I murmured, my voice still coated with sleep."I hope so too," she replied.We once again ventured deeper into the forest, where the trees grew older and denser, the light more reluctant to pierce through the interwoven branches. As we walked, my thoughts returned to the night before — to what had happened while the world was quiet, while the fire flickered and she was so close to me I could feel her breath.I glanced at her. She met my gaze, raising a brow in playful

The path we had set out on was long and exhausting. A whirlwind of thoughts and feelings moved through our minds. Night was falling slowly, as if even the forest itself feared the light. The sounds had quieted, save for the occasional whisper of a snapping twig, the distant song of a bird, or the rustling wind rolling through the branches like a lullaby from another world. To gather strength for the journey ahead, Merlin and I decided to sit beside a river that blocked our way, not far from the house we had left behind. We both shared the same questions, the same fears, lost on the same roads.The water was calm, almost unreal—like stretched glass suspended between me and reality. Merlin sat quietly on the grass, lost in thought, her curls tousled wildly by the breeze. I knelt at the riverbank, dipping my palms into the cold stream, letting droplets slide down my wrists. My gaze caught my own reflection. The eyes staring back were mine—and yet, they were not. They bore the marks of ba