Mother puts both daughters inside the fir… See more

But Lina remembered their mother’s fear.

“No,” she said. “We promised.”

And for a while, that was enough.

Until the night the storm returned.

The Storm’s Echo
Thunder cracked across the sky, shaking the cottage. Rain lashed against the windows, and the wind howled through the trees.

Elara stood frozen.

It was too similar.

Too familiar.

Without a word, she grabbed her cloak.

“Stay here,” she told the girls.

But Lina stepped forward. “You’re going to the tree, aren’t you?”

Elara didn’t answer.

She didn’t need to.

“I’m coming with you,” Lina said.

“No,” Elara replied sharply.

But Maris had already picked up her coat.

“We’re not letting you go alone.”

For a moment, Elara considered arguing.

But time was slipping.

“Stay close,” she said.

Inside the Hollow
The tree loomed even larger in the storm, its branches whipping violently in the wind.

The hollow glowed faintly.

Stronger than before.

Elara stepped toward it, her heart pounding.

She could feel it calling to her—offering relief, peace, an end to the ache she had carried for years.

But then she felt Lina’s hand in hers.

And Maris’s presence at her side.

She stopped.

“This is what it does,” she said over the roar of the storm. “It waits for you to be weak.”

Maris looked at the hollow, then back at her mother.

“It still feels nice,” she admitted.

“I know,” Elara said. “That’s what makes it dangerous.”

Lina took a step forward—then stopped herself.

“We don’t need it,” she said firmly.

Elara felt something shift inside her.

For years, she had believed she had to carry her grief alone.

But standing there, with her daughters choosing her over the easy escape the tree offered, she realized something important.

She wasn’t alone anymore.

Letting Go—Without Losing
The storm began to pass.

The wind softened. The rain slowed.