Episode 19

My mother sobbed endlessly, hugging a photo of me while my father went down the dark stairs that led to the storage room.

"I'm sure I left flashlights here" he said in the shadows. "Woman, calm down, she can visit us whenever she wants."

"I know, but I'm going to miss their wedding" she yelled in anger and burst into tears once again.

"There's really no way for her to go?" I got a little closer to Christophe, who shook his head.

"Humans can't enter Sombria." He explained. "It's unfair, I know, but they never get past the two trees."

"How lovely, isn't it? You walk our lands and we can't know your side."

"You're the only one who can and no one knew why until we discovered your soul ended up in the wrong body in the first lineage and that's why you can make this crossing. By the way, that's how I met you in the past. A curious human crossed the trees and I went to stop her, but I fell in love."

"Let me see if I get this right. Was it the first time you saw me?" I asked, teasing him.

"It was." He admitted. "You were the most beautiful thing I had ever seen in my entire life. You charmed me right away."

"And you gave me a fright." I said, laughing. "You came out of nowhere, with those bright brown eyes and those fangs. You looked like a monster."

"But I didn't hurt you." Christophe also laughed, however, he soon became serious. "Wait. How do you know that?"

"What? About the fright you gave me?" I repeated and at the same instant realized what he meant. I put my hand over my mouth, startled. "How do I remember this?"

"I think you're recovering those memories" he smiled.

"Found them!" A yellow light emerged from inside the storage room and my father appeared right behind, holding two old flashlights. "Didn't I say we had flashlights? Shall we go?"

My mom had gone to cry in the kitchen, but upon hearing my dad celebrate, she came running back to us and hugged me as tightly as she could, as if it were the last time. Her eyes were red and her nose was running, but she was trying to smile.

I shrugged and let out a sigh. She had already repeated that after the Christmas holiday, when I had to go home. If I didn't cut it short, she'd hold me for another hour, like last time.

"Come on, woman." My dad grabbed Mom, who was holding me tightly, and tried to pull her away from me. It was the same Christmas scene.

"Mom, remember the invisible giant wolves that are chasing me?" I reminded her. "You don't want them tearing up the farm, do you?"

"Of course not, daughter. But I also don't want you to leave." She said, sobbing. "You're my only baby."

"Oh, Mom, I'm not going to disappear. I'm just getting married." I tried to comfort her and shuddered at my own words.

After the confusion, I grabbed my backpack and paid attention to my father's directions. He told me to climb on Christophe's back, who would turn into a wolf, and shrink as small as possible. It was the fastest and safest way to get through the tunnel. For there were more passages along the way that connected different parts and invisible creatures might be roaming around.

With a sigh, I followed the big guy down the stairs, after a long hug with the three family members I was leaving behind.

The basement of the house was huge and housed all the family's clutter. It used to be the ground floor, but a farm accident caused the house to sink and be buried halfway.

My grandfather was a quiet and adaptable Brazilian. He simply took his belongings to the second floor and rebuilt his house there, using the basement as a giant storage space. He wasn't worried about the house sinking further, which was scary.

With the flashlight, I looked for the old front door, where the tunnel began, according to my father. When I found it, I was relieved that there wasn't much junk in the way.

"Can I ask you a question?" I illuminated the big guy's face with the flashlight and he nodded.

"Do you feel your bones breaking, your skin tearing, and your organs shifting when you turn into a wolf?"

"What a crazy curiosity. Me? It just itches a little" he said and kissed me by surprise. "You thought I was going to let that one slide, didn't you?"

I snorted, crossed my arms, and kept the flashlight pointed at him, waiting for his transformation.

"Let's go."

"Don't look, it's horrible. Open the door and see if the tunnel is there." He ordered and I snorted again.

I walked towards the door, trying to ignore the sound of bones snapping and skin tearing behind me. Just by the sound of it, I had already given up watching the transformation process. It sounded too scary.

I opened the door slowly and the wind ruffled my hair. I looked at the dark and damp tunnel, but I couldn't see the end of it, even with the flashlight.

The huge white wolf joined me, after transforming, and I illuminated its face. He blinked his blue eyes and tilted his head, inviting me to climb on his back.

I did so, climbing onto his furry back and clinging to his fur. He stood up, grunted as if asking me something, and I nodded when he looked my way.

Christophe shot down the tunnel, like a white arrow in the darkness, and I balanced myself on his back, holding the lantern tightly. His warmth and his rhythm soothed me, like a lullaby, and I trusted his direction, like a faithful guide. He knew the way, as he had come that way to me, facing dangers and obstacles. I just had to be quiet, as my father had instructed me, so as not to attract the attention of anything that might be roaming those tunnels.

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