Suddenly, a boy older than me appeared. He wore a straw hat that hid his pronounced freckles, and his trousers were held up by suspenders."I'm no threat. I'm here to help you settle into the village," he said.
He was sociable, and slowly, he helped us blend in with the villagers. In return, Varek taught him how to hunt, and since he had learned to read and write, he taught the boy that too. His visits became frequent—he brought baskets of fruit, blankets… he was kind.
"Hi there… little friend,"he said once, handing Sariel a fruit.Sariel let it drop to the ground, smashing on impact."Sariel!" Varek stopped slicing vegetables."Kids... it's just a small mistake," Varek said, brushing it off.
The cabin began to fill with shadows—both literal and figurative. Children from the village started disappearing mysteriously, and soon, I discovered Sariel was behind the crimes.
"Do you like my brother?" Sariel asked, his voice laced with malice.The boy took a sip of his drink and changed the subject."He's like a little brother to me.""Impossible… impossible," Sariel laughed and lifted his face. "He doesn't need anyone but me.""It's just a silly joke," the boy replied, standing up to close the window. "We should light the fireplace. It's cold, Sariel.Oh, and Varek—yesterday, a strange man arrived in the village. Dressed formally, all in black, his face hidden beneath a veil.""A foreigner?" Varek asked."Yes, he spoke a different language. He was looking for some children," the taller boy added, biting into an apple. "Forget it. I doubt he'll come back."
The faint chime of the cabin's entrance bell startled Sariel. He recognized the breeze—it felt familiar. He peeked through a crack.
Brother... brother...
He froze in the kitchen, watching us talk, unease creeping into his thoughts.[My brother Varek… so kind, smart, and talented. Maybe I should hide him so no one ever notices him.]
He kept listening.
"I think I know why my precious brother trusts you," Sariel said, smiling sweetly as he cupped the boy's chubby cheeks. "I just hope you never betray him or disappear… maybe someday."
"You say strange things, little Sariel.""I understand it well enough. Your hands, your eyes… the way you look at him, so bright… I hope you give them to him as proof of your devotion." Sariel stared intently at the boy's hands and eyes over and over again."He's mine. I won't share him."
Time passed, and Sariel's obsessive behavior deepened. Isolated from the outside world, he developed a clean and cold method to manipulate and eliminate what he considered a nuisance.
"WHAT DID YOU DO, SARIEL?!" I screamed, horrified at the mutilated body I found in the shed."Nothing, brother. I was only trying to help them save themselves," Sariel replied with an innocent smile.
I tried to lock him up, to control his nature, but I was wrong. Sariel was no longer the sweet boy I had known. His obsession with keeping us together had turned him into something monstrous.
Everything spiraled when I learned Sariel had manipulated our brother Sanathiel into attempting suicide. When I tried to stop him, I realized I couldn't protect everyone. The cabin went up in flames, and through the smoke, I saw Sariel holding Sanathiel, dark energy radiating from his small body.
Sariel, enraged:"Even if you reject me, brother, you'll never break our bond."Sanathiel was there too—his golden eyes blazing with fury as he tried to stop Sariel. Amid the chaos, I grabbed a dagger, ready to do the unthinkable.
With tears in my eyes, I stabbed my younger brother. My promise to our mother shattered in that moment, leaving a void I will never fill.
The fire devoured the cabin—and with it, my innocence.I can still hear Sariel's final words before his eyes closed:"I forgive you, brother. We'll always be together..."
That was the moment I understood the truth. Our family was cursed from the beginning, and no matter how far we run, our father's legacy will always catch up to us.