The bathroom had become a small chamber of breathing steam.
It clung to the ceiling.
Curled around the cracked tiles.
Wrapped itself around the weak yellow bulb until the light no longer looked warm… but sick.
The bulb trembled faintly.
The water inside the tub murmured.
Not the soft sound of water.
No.
It sounded like breathing.
Slow.
Heavy.
Like something in the room had lungs.
Sorin stood still for a moment.
Something in the air felt wrong.
She slid her hand into the pocket of her coat.
Her fingers found the photograph.
She pulled it out.
The photograph of the grandson.
She stared at it for a long time.
The paper was old.
The edges eaten by time.
And the face—
The face was blurred.
Every time her eyes tried to focus, the features seemed to move away from her sight.
As if the photograph refused to be remembered.
As if the boy inside it did not want to exist.
Sorin exhaled in uneasy frustration.
“No use…”
She slipped the photo back into her pocket.
“I’ll deal with it later.”
Then she raised her voice slightly.
“The bath is ready!”
She turned.
And her eyes widened.
Slowly.
Then all at once.
The grandmother was sitting directly behind her.
So close.
So impossibly close that Sorin felt the cold breath of the old woman brush against the back of her neck.
The grandmother smiled.
A calm smile.
“T̶h̶a̷n̶k̷ ̴y̶o̷u̸… ̶m̸y̶ ̶d̴e̷a̶r̶.”
Sorin froze.
“H–when did you get here? I didn’t hear—”
The grandmother did not answer.
She lowered her head slowly.
Her eyes remained fixed on the floor.
For several seconds… she simply stared.
Then she spoke.
Her voice had become rough.
Dry.
Like something dragging across rotten wood.
“C̶o̴u̷n̸t̶ ̷t̸h̶e̷m̶.”
Sorin blinked.
“What?”
“C̶o̷u̷n̸t̷ ̷m̷y̸ ̷g̴r̸a̶n̷d̸s̵o̷n̶’̷s̸ ̶p̷i̶c̴t̶u̷r̸e̶s̷.”
A cold tremor ran through Sorin’s chest.
“…What do you mean?”
“C̶o̷u̸n̶t̶ ̵t̶h̶e̸m̶.”
Silence fell heavily into the room.
Sorin began counting in her head.
Her voice trembling.
“One in the dish… two in the hallway… three in the bedroom… four in the kitchen… five… six… seven…”
The more she tried to remember…
The more her vision blurred.
The bathroom began to spin slowly.
The air thickened.
Something pressed against her lungs.
“What… what is this…? I can’t see properly…”
She gripped the sink for balance.
A soft laugh escaped the grandmother.
Dry.
Cracked.
Broken.
“T̸h̴e̶ ̶n̵u̸m̷b̴e̶r̷ ̵i̶s̵ ̶w̸r̶o̷n̶g̸.”
Sorin slowly lifted her eyes.
“Wrong?”
“O̸n̷e̸ ̶p̴i̷c̸t̵u̷r̸e̶ ̷i̶s̸ ̶m̷i̴s̶s̷i̶n̴g̴.”
The blood in Sorin’s veins turned to ice.
Before she could speak—
A hand seized her throat.
Hard.
Far too hard for an old woman.
Sorin gasped.
Her eyes shot upward.
And that was when she saw them.
The grandmother’s eyes had turned completely black.
No whites.
No pupils.
Only darkness.
Pure.
Endless.
Her smile widened.
Wider.
Wider.
Until the skin of her cheeks split at the corners.
A long row of thin, needle-like teeth revealed themselves beneath the tearing flesh.
They looked wrong.
Like they had grown inside dead meat.
“Y̶o̸u̸… ̷t̷h̸i̵e̶f̸.”
Sorin choked.
“What—what?!”
The grip tightened.
The grandmother’s fingers dug into the flesh of her neck.
“Y̸o̵u̷ ̸s̵t̷o̶l̶e̴ ̷m̷y̷ ̸s̴o̸n̴.”
“I didn’t! I swear I—”
Suddenly—
Her head was forced downward.
Slammed into the water.
The water was boiling.
Sorin screamed—
But the scream drowned beneath violent bubbles.
She tried to lift herself—
But the hands pressing her head down had monstrous strength.
The grandmother’s laughter exploded into hysterical shrieks.
“T̶h̵e̷ ̴f̶i̷r̷e̵!̵!̸!̴ ̴Y̵o̴u̷ ̶b̴u̶r̷n̴e̸d̷ ̸h̴i̶m̴!̷”
“Y̶o̶u̸ ̶l̵e̷f̴t̷ ̶h̷i̸m̶ ̸t̶o̷ ̵d̵i̸e̷!”
“Y̸o̶u̷ ̷s̸e̴t̴ ̸t̵h̷e̴ ̶h̷o̷u̶s̶e̷ ̸o̴n̷ ̷f̸i̷r̶e̵!”
“Y̴o̴u̷ ̸l̶e̷f̵t̴ ̴m̶e̸ ̷t̸o̴ ̵b̴u̴r̸n̷ ̸a̵l̸o̵n̷e̴!”
Water rushed into Sorin’s nose.
Her mouth.
Her lungs burned like molten metal.
Then—
Another sound appeared.
Behind her.
A humming voice.
A child’s song.
“L̷a̴ ̴l̵a̸ ̵l̴a̴… ̶d̷o̴n̶’̴t̸ ̵t̸r̵u̶s̴t̶ ̴h̸i̸m̴…”
“D̴o̸n̵’̶t̴ ̴t̷r̶u̶s̷t̴ ̷h̷i̷m̷…”
Sorin opened her eyes underwater.
The bathroom suddenly darkened.
The bulb exploded.
Glass scattered across the floor.
Outside the bathroom—
The statues.
She could swear their shadows moved.
Stone heads tilting.
Listening.
Singing.
Little giggles.
Innocent.
Wrong.
Her tears dissolved into the boiling water.
Her mind began to crack.
Where is this strength coming from?!
she screamed silently inside her skull.
Then she saw it.
Inside the water.
A face.
Black.
Its skin cracked like burned coal.
Two enormous white eyes without pupils.
A smile stretching from ear to ear.
“I told you not to trust him.”
The voice came from the water.
From her mind.
“You lied when you said you were fine.”
The face moved closer.
A black hand rose from the water.
From the bathtub itself.
It grabbed her face.
Fingers pressing violently into her cheeks.
Her skin stretched.
Pulled.
Tearing.
Sorin tried to scream.
But only bubbles escaped.
Cold fingers peeled her flesh.
The bathroom filled with the smell of iron.
Blood mixed with steam.
The walls turned red.
Above her, the grandmother screamed curses in a language that sounded burned.
Accusing.
Weeping.
Laughing.
Blaming her for the fire.
For the death.
For the loneliness of dying in flames.
“Y̸O̷U̴ ̷D̵I̸D̶ ̷T̴H̶I̴S̷!”
Sorin’s body convulsed.
Her legs kicked wildly.
Her nails scraped the tub.
Her lungs begged for air.
Her head pounded like it would split apart.
The black thing continued pulling her skin.
The room trembled.
The laughter.
The singing.
The screaming.
The water boiled.
The air vanished.
And finally—
Her movements slowed.
Her fingers loosened.
Her vision dimmed.
The last thing she saw—
The black face drifting toward her eyes.
Smiling.
Then—
Darkness.
Silence.
Absolute.
Only one sound remained.
A distant laugh.
Echoing through the bones of the old house.
Darkness should have been the end.
But Sorin did not lose consciousness.
Not yet.
The world beneath the water trembled.
Her lungs screamed.
Her skin burned where the black fingers had torn it open, pain spreading across her face like knives made of fire.
The boiling water swallowed her cries.
Her head struck the side of the tub.
Once.
Twice.
A dull sound echoed through the water.
Her tears dissolved into the heat.
Then—
She heard it.
At first it was only a whisper.
A thin vibration inside the water.
Then another voice joined.
And another.
And another.
Soon the bathroom filled with the sound of children.
Many children.
Dozens of them.
Singing.
Soft.
Broken.
A lullaby that did not belong to the living.
The voices were wrong.
Some too deep.
Some too thin.
Some sounded like they were coming from mouths filled with smoke.
Sorin’s eyes widened under the water.
No…
No…
Please stop…
The song grew louder.
The voices surrounded her like ghosts pressing against the walls.
“W̴e̶ ̴a̸r̷e̷ ̴a̷l̷o̷n̶e̶…”
“W̴e̶ ̷a̷r̶e̷ ̷c̴o̷l̵d̷…”
“W̶h̶e̸r̷e̶ ̸d̷i̸d̷ ̷y̴o̶u̵ ̸g̶o̷…?”
The melody twisted painfully.
Like a nursery rhyme burned in a fire.
Sorin began to shake.
Her head struck the tub again.
A weak, desperate movement.
Tears continued flowing from her eyes.
The voices continued singing.
“W̶e̷ ̵w̸a̸i̷t̶… ̶i̶n̴ ̷t̶h̸e̶ ̷h̴o̶u̵s̴e̸ ̴o̸f̶ ̶f̴i̶r̴e̸…”
“W̷e̷ ̴c̶a̸l̴l̴ ̷o̷u̶t̸ ̸f̵o̷r̴ ̴h̷i̷m̶…”
“W̴h̶e̶r̸e̶ ̶i̶s̷ ̴o̶u̷r̶ ̷c̴l̷o̶w̶n̴…?”
The word echoed.
Clown.
Clown.
Clown.
Images began to flash inside Sorin’s mind.
A hallway.
Children running.
Their laughter echoing.
A painted door.
A red nose.
A smiling mask.
Then—
Fire.
The children continued singing.
The melody became slower.
Heavier.
“W̷e̷ ̴w̸a̸i̵t̷ ̶f̸o̵r̶ ̷o̷u̴r̶ ̸c̵l̷o̴w̷n̶…”
“W̷e̷ ̸w̴a̴i̶t̶ ̴i̷n̷ ̶t̴h̵e̸ ̶d̷a̴r̷k̶…”
“W̴e̶ ̶c̷a̴l̸l̷ ̴h̴i̴s̸ ̸n̷a̶m̸e̵…”
The water trembled around Sorin’s face.
The voices became strained.
Painful.
Like throats burning.
“B̷u̸t̷ ̶t̴h̶e̷ ̷f̴i̶r̵e̷ ̶i̷s̴ ̸h̶u̶n̷g̶r̴y̷…”
“F̶i̵r̶e̷ ̴e̵a̷t̶s̶ ̴o̴u̶r̴ ̸s̵k̴i̶n̷…”
“F̵i̴r̵e̶ ̶k̶i̵s̴s̷e̴s̴ ̷o̴u̴r̴ ̵f̶a̵c̴e̴s̵…”
Suddenly—
Sorin saw them.
Inside the water.
Reflections that should not exist.
Children.
Standing in flames.
Their small bodies trembling.
Their clothes burning.
The skin on their faces peeling like wet paper.
Some had no lips.
Some had no eyes.
Yet their mouths continued singing.
“C̴l̸o̵w̴n̷… ̴c̴l̶o̷w̸n̴… ̸w̴h̷e̵r̶e̵ ̴a̶r̴e̶ ̶y̵o̷u̵…?”
“W̵e̷ ̵a̶r̷e̶ ̴b̴u̶r̸n̵i̷n̶g̶…”
“W̷e̴ ̷a̶r̴e̸ ̷a̴l̵o̷n̵e̷…”
Sorin shook her head violently under the water.
“No… stop… please stop…”
Her voice became bubbles.
Her forehead slammed into the side of the tub again.
The pain barely registered anymore.
Her skin still burned where the black hands had torn it.
It felt like something was peeling her face apart.
The children’s song grew louder.
More desperate.
“W̶e̴ ̷s̴c̴r̶e̴a̴m̴…”
“B̴u̸t̸ ̵n̵o̶ ̶o̸n̷e̶ ̵h̴e̷a̵r̸s̷…”
“W̸e̷ ̷c̷r̶y̵…”
“B̷u̸t̶ ̶n̸o̶ ̷o̷n̷e̵ ̵c̸o̵m̷e̸s̴…”
Flames reflected across the surface of the water.
The burning children began reaching out.
Their melted fingers stretching toward her.
“C̴l̷o̷w̸n̷…”
“C̷l̶o̶w̷n̸…”
“C̴o̵m̶e̷ ̶s̶a̴v̷e̸ ̷u̸s̷…”
One child’s face slid apart.
Charred flesh falling from the skull.
Still singing.
“W̴e̸ ̵w̴a̵i̶t̸e̵d̶…”
“W̷e̷ ̵t̴r̴u̸s̴t̷e̷d̴ ̵y̷o̷u̶…”
The water shook violently as Sorin’s body convulsed.
Her lungs were collapsing.
Her chest burned.
Her mind screamed.
Why am I hearing this?!
Why are they singing?!
Then—
The voices whispered together.
Soft.
Broken.
“Y̶o̷u̸ ̷l̶e̸f̶t̶ ̴u̶s̸ ̶t̴o̷ ̵b̸u̴r̷n̷…”
And the song ended with one final line.
Slow.
Cold.
“W̸e̵ ̵a̴r̸e̷ ̶s̴t̴i̴l̷l̴ ̵w̶a̷i̶t̶i̶n̵g̴…”
Sorin’s vision began fading.
Her fingers twitched weakly in the water.
The burned children slowly dissolved into darkness.
Only the echo of their song remained.
And the boiling water continued to breathe.
Around her dying body.
Inside the darkness that swallowed her whole, Sorin became aware of something small standing far away.
At first, it looked like a shadow.
Then the shadow moved.
And slowly, painfully slowly, the darkness shaped itself around the figure of a child.
A little girl.
Golden hair fell loosely around her thin shoulders, strands drifting in the heated air like threads of pale sunlight trapped in smoke.
She stood in the middle of a long corridor.
And the corridor was burning.
Fire devoured the walls from both sides like a living creature feeding upon the bones of the house. The wooden panels cracked and split open under the heat, black veins spreading through them before they collapsed inward.
The ceiling above groaned.
Chunks of plaster fell like dying snow.
Smoke crawled upward along the walls, thick and oily, twisting through the air like a serpent searching for lungs to suffocate.
But the girl stood perfectly still.
Unmoving.
Untouched.
In her small hand she held a box of matches.
Its lid was half open.
Inside, the tiny red heads of the matches gleamed faintly.
Her eyes were blue.
A color that should have been warm.
Instead they were cold.
Cold like winter glass.
Cold like something that had watched too many things burn.
Slowly…
very slowly…
the girl turned her head.
Her gaze slid through the fire and found Sorin standing in the darkness behind the flames.
And then the girl raised one finger.
Thin.
Blackened slightly at the tip.
And she pointed directly at her.
“Y̷o̶u̷ ̴d̶i̸d̴ ̴t̵h̶i̴s̷.”
The voice was wrong.
Horribly wrong.
Two voices spoke from the same throat.
One was high and thin like a child whispering.
The other was low and heavy, dragging against the first like rusted iron scraping across bone.
The voices overlapped imperfectly.
Like something inside her was trying to imitate a human voice… and failing.
Sorin trembled.
The darkness around her seemed to breathe.
“No… no!” she gasped.
“I didn’t do anything!”
Her voice cracked apart like brittle glass.
“I didn’t kill anyone!”
The girl took one step forward.
The fire followed her.
Flames curled through her golden hair like glowing snakes weaving themselves between the strands.
The hair burned.
But it did not turn to ash.
Instead it glowed brighter.
As if the fire belonged there.
As if it had always belonged there.
“Y̴o̶u̷ ̴c̶o̵u̷l̷d̴ ̴h̵a̴v̴e̷ ̶t̸o̴l̷d̴ ̴h̷e̵r̸.”
The girl whispered.
The air around her trembled with heat.
Sorin shook her head violently.
“Told her what?!”
The girl lifted her frozen blue eyes.
“T̴h̵a̸t̴ ̶h̶e̵r̴ ̴g̷r̵a̷n̶d̸s̷o̴n̶ ̷w̴a̸s̶ ̶m̶u̸r̵d̴e̵r̷e̶d̸.”
The words sank into Sorin’s mind like cold knives.
Her breath vanished.
“That’s not true…”
The girl tilted her head.
And smiled.
The smile was too wide.
Too calm.
The skin of her face began to crack under the heat.
Thin black fractures spread across her cheeks like broken porcelain.
Her right eye softened.
Then melted slowly down the side of her face.
“N̷o̶t̴ ̴t̷r̴u̵e̸…?”
The girl whispered.
And then—
The world shattered.
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