Isoldes's perspective
Lucy had fallen completely asleep before I could even notice. His breathing was calm, rhythmic, as if his entire world was at peace. I should've done the same: closed my eyes, surrendered to rest.
But it happened again.
That kind of dream again. The second time now. The same unreal, blinding glow, as if my eyes couldn't adjust. The most disturbing part was that it didn't feel like a dream. It was more like… remembering something that shouldn't exist.
My feet moved without my permission, guiding me toward what seemed like a park. I recognized some structures, though they were foreign to everything I knew: slippery towers, metal swings creaking faintly as children swayed, some pushed by parents with warm smiles I didn't understand.
"Here's your ice cream, sweetheart," the woman said. The same one from the previous dream, though her features were more worn by time. She extended her hand and offered me a cone with two scoops of chocolate. I took it, bringing it to my mouth almost automatically.
"Thanks, Mommy," I said, with a smile I didn't know where it came from.
We walked together toward the structures. For a moment, it felt almost real. Almost warm.
And then it changed. As if the memory couldn't sustain the lie any longer.
The light went out. Not gradually, not naturally. It was a violent blackout, like someone had ripped the sun from the sky. Everything turned to darkness, a black that wasn't just the absence of light but the presence of something else… something that recognized me.
My face was wet. I was crying. Why?
A crash. Something breaking. Chairs being thrown. The sound of chaos in the middle of nowhere.
"Do you know how hard I've fought for this family?! Huh?!" A man's roar filled the space. I didn't need to see him. His tone was enough to feel the venom.
"Honey, calm down. You know that's not true. You know I only love you. How can you think this baby isn't yours?" The same woman's voice as before. But this time, it trembled. It pleaded. It clung to something already broken.
"Because we haven't had sex in months! And I'm a damn detective! Did you really think I wouldn't notice your little escapades? That leaving the kid alone wouldn't raise suspicions? You made me play the fool… and I did. To see how far you'd go. And now I know."
"You're wrong. It's not true…"
"Let go of me!"
A dull thud. Another. As if the dream had surround sound, I felt it in my gut. The man had hit her. My body shuddered without permission. Fear didn't announce itself—it just arrived.
I was panicking. My hands trembled. My legs wouldn't respond. Tears fell as if they had a will of their own.
"I'm done. Let's see how the hell you manage to get by."
A door slammed. An echo. And then, light. Harsh, sudden. A contrast as violent as the darkness before.
I saw the woman. Beaten. Her white shirt stained with red. Her face exhausted, lifeless, as if something inside her had shattered forever.
How much had happened? Why did I remember it like it was mine? Was it a dream? A vision? A memory buried in some corner I didn't recognize?
I had to analyze it. Like Lucy would. I couldn't let myself ignore it just because it hurt. I had to know. To understand. Even if the answer was something I'd rather not face.
But just as I tried to piece the puzzle together, the world began to unravel. A tremor. An invisible crack devouring everything. And then…
I woke up. Abruptly. As if fear still had its grip on my throat.
The room was pitch black. The kind of darkness that doesn't invite rest but weighs on your shoulders like a damp blanket. I looked at Lucy. He was trembling.
Instinctively, I glanced at the windows. Closed. Not a sliver of light came through. Worry began to tighten my chest. Panic is like a silent guest: it slips in uninvited, settles in, and whispers that everything's about to get worse.
"Lucy…?" My voice came out barely a whisper. I wasn't even sure if I expected a real response.
There wasn't one.
"Hey, Lucy…"
I leaned closer, shook him gently. Nothing. His trembling intensified, as if my touch amplified it. Fear gripped me. Real fear, the kind that paralyzes. I grabbed his shoulders, no longer thinking, and shook him harder.
"Lucy!"
"Ah!" He jolted upright, as if yanked from an abyss. He let out a muffled cry, just soft enough not to wake our parents. I leaned closer and touched his back: it was soaked. Cold sweat. Real nightmares.
"You okay?"
"What…? Agh!" He clutched his head. "Shit… it hurts. I feel… dizzy. Why…?"
"Lucy," I pressed, firmer. "Answer me. Are you okay?"
"Huh…? Oh… yeah. Sorry. I'm fine, don't worry… Why're you awake?"
"You woke me up. You were trembling too much," I said, staring at him. But it wasn't him. Not entirely. His face had something different. Not just fear—it was like he'd returned from somewhere far away, somewhere you don't come back from unchanged.
"Is that so…? Sorry then. Go back to sleep. It's not dawn yet."
"Yeah…" I paused for a few seconds. "But first… I need to tell you something."
My voice carried a weight I didn't fully understand. Lucy noticed. He looked at me. But his gaze… it was lost. Not in the room. Somewhere else. As if his eyes saw something I couldn't.
"I… had that dream again. But this time it was different…"
It took me no more than two minutes to tell him everything. Word for word. But something inside me resisted. It was like prodding an open wound. It wasn't just fear—it was an incomprehensible sadness, foreign yet mine. That dream had latched onto my mind like an emotional parasite. Like a bad memory… that wasn't even mine.
Lucy took my hand. It was like he offered an anchor in a stormy sea. Sometimes, a small gesture is enough to keep you from drowning.
I'd never seen anyone abused like that… I didn't even know those people, but… it hurt. It hurt like I knew them. Like it was me.
"I get it…" he said softly. "But you're okay, Issy. It's over. I don't know what these dreams are. Or if they're memories. We'll figure it out together. I don't know what to say… it must've been tough."
"I was so scared… The dream started right when everything went dark. I tried to analyze it, like you would. But I couldn't… I didn't know what to do. My mind was trapped."
"Hey, calm down," he said, his voice low, warm, but tense. "It was just a dream, okay? It wasn't real. I'm here with you."
I could tell he was improvising. That he didn't have answers. And for the first time, that didn't make me feel alone. Because we were lost together. And that was something.
"Well…" he sighed. "Truth is, I had a dream too. But it wasn't just a dream. It was a memory. A horrible one. Maybe it started when I fell asleep… but it felt as real as when it happened."
"What happened?"
I looked at him closely. His face changed as he spoke. Each word cracked his expression further. Sadness. Disgust. Pain. Guilt. And as he told me… something inside me changed too.
What I heard froze me.
Lucy… in his other life… had been…
A killer. A damn killer.
My mind didn't want to accept it, again, but I couldn't deny it. It was too real, too vivid. It reminded me of those dark legends, names you'd rather not speak. Jack the Ripper. And yet, Lucy… had been worse.
Nausea hit me. I wanted to vomit. But I held it back. Because I knew that all of that… didn't exist in this world anymore.
"It's okay if you want to throw up… or if your mind can't process it right," Lucy murmured, looking down, disappointed in himself. "It's… too much."
"I'm fine," I replied, looking away. I didn't want him to see my eyes. "It just… caught me off guard."
"You sure?"
"…Yeah."
"Okay…" He sighed, as if each word drained a bit more of his strength. "I don't get why they're coming back. All these years have been… normal. Calm. No signs of anything. Why now? What the hell's going on?"
I didn't answer. Not because I didn't want to, but because I didn't know how.
For the first time, I felt like this… wasn't mine to carry. Like it wasn't a pain I could take on as my own. And yet… it was my duty to be there. Because I was his twin. Because that's how it had always been. Like a silent promise. A quiet vow we'd sealed through years and love.
"We should go back to sleep," he said finally, his voice weary. "You don't have to say anything…"
He lay down. I stayed sitting. I watched him for a few seconds… then lay beside him. I hugged him from behind, gently, as if touching him too hard might break him.
"I'm sorry…" I whispered against his back. "This is beyond me. I don't know what to say. We've never dealt with anything like this. But… I have this feeling. Like all this is happening for a reason. Like something bad is coming. And that scares me. A lot."
"I know…" he replied, with the honesty of someone who's already lost too much. "I know it's not easy. We're both trapped in this. And if it helps… I feel it too. That it's not a coincidence. That something's coming. That's why… we have to be ready. Whatever it is, we'll face it. Together."
"I agree. No matter what happens. No matter what comes. Because it doesn't matter if you had a past life… in this one, you and I are twins. That's what matters."
"Yeah…"
I felt his hand find mine under the sheets. He squeezed it tightly. With a silent resolve. With the unspoken promise that, no matter what, he wouldn't run.
"I love you, Lucy."
"I love you too, Issy."
I smiled. Closed my eyes.
"Hey, Lucy."
"Yeah?"
"I'm thirsty…"
"Go to sleep."
"Okay…"