Before We Knew Novels & Stories

Pattern consistent with prior flagged cases. Prior. Not singular. Not an aberration, not one grieving brother's understandable but ultimately unfounded suspicion, but a documented pattern, acknowledged in the Institution's own internal language, closed not for lack of evidence but for fear of what evidence might do to public confidence in a system the entire city has been taught, since childhood, to trust without question.

When my boyfriend, Caleb Steele, loses his family and everything he has, I walk away. After he makes a comeback, I come to see him every year. The first year, I hold my daughter, Claire Sutton, in my arms. Caleb throws fifty thousand dollars at me and tells me to stay away. The second year, I bring my late-stage cancer diagnosis, and he doesn't even look at it. Instead, he gives me a hundred thousand dollars and tells me to disappear for good. In the third and fourth years, I vanish just as he wants. Then, in the fifth year, he gets a call from Claire. "Mommy, when are you bringing me dinner? I'm hungry."

because she doesn't deserve to be addressed or respected that way, after what she did to me, to Akira, and my parents. We disembarked near the border of Eastfox. My sister and I couldn't enter there using our powers because there's a high chance Amara would find out about our arrival and entering her territory. Once we made sure there were no mortals in our vicinity, we started walking into the city. Kuya Vince led the way since he knows the place well. My sister mentioned she had never been here before and she had no intention of venturing here until I discovered my true identity. All those years, she was simply waiting for me to awaken alongside my power. As I stepped into the place, I was

“I remember telling you last night that it will be me who’s going to cook breakfast for us.” “And I also remember you telling me that you do not know how to cook,” she retorted before sipping on her coffee. “You… remember that? I mean, I was just surprised because that small detail remained in your mind. I know you’re going through some sort of, you know, memory loss.” “Just sit down and eat. We have a lot of work to do at the farm today,” she told me.

Not after everything we had endured. We sat in silence for a few moments, each lost in our thoughts. The road ahead was uncertain, but I knew one thing for sure. "Who could be behind this unknown group? Our enemies thought they could break us, but they were wrong. they were about to find out.

she asked, her eyes wide with concern. But we just shook our heads, unable to speak. We didn't know what was going on, or what the truth was. All we knew was that our lives would never be the same again. And as we stood there, unsure of what to do next, the scene faded to black.

We knew the journey ahead was going to be difficult, but with each other by our side, we were ready for anything. Ahead lay a twisted turn of days, but our love was a strong element in the relationship. And as we moved into the unknown, we knew that we had the courage and strength to overcome whatever our path held.

We let ourselves stay just for a beat longer, reminiscing how lovely it was. If only we knew that our world was about to come crashing down.

What if it was us? With every passing day, I knew one thing for sure—we needed to figure this out. But I didn’t know how. And neither did he.

Because we all knew the truth. This wasn’t just a battle. This was the war to end all wars. And I had no idea if we could win.