01/11/2025
๐๐๐ญ๐ก๐๐ฅ๐ข๐โ๐ฌ ๐๐๐๐ซ๐๐ญ ๐๐ก๐๐ฉ๐ญ๐๐ซ ๐: "๐ป๐๐ ๐พ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ฉ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ฎ๐๐๐๐"
The sound of rain was the only thing that filled the silence after our loud screams. It drummed continuously against the muddy ground, drowning out everything except the pounding in our chests. It was so horrible that none of us could speak. Our breaths came out in ragged gasps, mixing with the mist that curled through the night air.
Nathalieโs lifeless face stared back at us from beneath the wet soil. Her eyes were half-open, staring blankly, reflecting the faint glimmer of the flashlight that flickered weakly in my shaking hand. She was pale, cold, and impossibly stillโso still it felt wrong, as if the world itself was holding its breath. Yet, I could still hear her. Her voice echoed in the back of my mind, soft and playful, the way she used to say it: โItโs going to be fun.โ Then I realized that she had been in my dreams before.
Mariel dropped the shovel with a dull thump, the sound swallowed by the rain. She stumbled backward, her shoes sinking into the mud. โThis isnโt real,โ she said nervously, her voice cracking between sobs. โWe just saw herโwe just saw her right there behind us! She was right there! She might be hiding in the trees. This co**se must be an illusion of her.โ
Jake started to panic. โWe need to vanish now. Cover the co**se again. Letโs find a way to get out of this scary place.โ
We witnessed it all. The truth lay before us. Nathalie was dead and had been for a long time. Her clothes were tattered, faded with time, and her hair clung to the damp soil like roots desperate to hold on. Then suddenly, a smell like rotting earth mixed with something metallic filled the air. I gasped and backed away, clutching my chest. That was when I noticed something carved into the wooden cross above the grave. I wiped away the mud, and beneath it, faint letters appeared:
โForgive me, Father.โ
A sudden gust of wind caught our attention, howling through the trees, snuffing out our flashlights one by one. Darkness swallowed us whole. And then, faintly, someone started humming. It was Nathalieโs voice.
โRun!โ I shouted, grabbing Marielโs hand, but she froze, her eyes wide, staring past me. Slowly, I turned back.
It was Nathalie, standing a few feet away from us. I wasnโt sure at first. It seemed to look like her. Her hair hung wet and tangled, and her dress was the same as the one on the co**se, but this one dripped with water, not muddy soil. Her eyes glowed faintly in the darkness, and when she smiled, her lips cracked open like dry clay.
โYou guys really came,โ she said softly, tilting her head. โNow you can see.โ
Before we could move, the ground beneath the grave began to tremble. The flowers faded in color and started to decay. The cross cracked, and a low moan escaped the earth. It was a hand. Another hand pushed its way out from beneath Nathalieโs co**se. We all screamed and trembled in fear. The rain fell harder, drowning our cries. I desperately tried to pull Mariel away, but she was frozen, staring at the emerging figure of a man. The manโs face twisted with pain and madness. The smell of decay filled the air as he rose, clutching something in his handโa silver locket. It turned out to be Nathalieโs locket because her name was engraved on it.
Suddenly, Nathalie turned to him. โYou promised me,โ she whispered, her tone trembling between sorrow and hatred. โYou said you wouldnโt leave me here.โ
The manโs jaw fell open, his voice rasping through the storm and wind, โYou were never supposed to come back.โ And then everything went black.
When I woke up, I was in my bed. The morning light poured through the window. My clothes were dryโno mud, no scratches. No Mariel, no Jake. No spooky mountains. Only the image of a black kokok bird perched outside my window. It was calm and silent, and then it began to fly away.
I tried to convince myself it was all a dreamโuntil I saw the dirt beneath my fingernails. I dismissed it and started to clean my bed. But then, a horrible sight caught my attention.
There, on my bedside table, lay Nathalieโs silver locket.
Nathalie's Secret Chapter 1 https://www.facebook.com/share/p/17ai9j7Hy4/
Written and Artwork by: Rex Barrita | Cartoonist
