Chapter 7 The School In The Shadows...

It had been about three weeks since that weird evening with Aunt Reina.

Lana hadn't really talked to Una since then. At first, Una thought she was just busy, but when her texts went unanswered and the few times they crossed paths at school Lana barely said more than a "hey," she knew something was wrong.

Una hated the quiet between them. They'd always talked about everything, school gossip, random crushes, random TikTok nonsense. Now, it was just awkward smiles and short replies. It didn't feel like them anymore.

So one afternoon, Una decided she was done waiting.

Lana was sitting on the bench behind the cafeteria, scrolling through her phone with her earphones in when Una walked up to her.

"Hey," Una said carefully. "You've been avoiding me."

Lana looked up, pulling one earphone out. "Avoiding you? No. Just... giving space."

"Why?" Una frowned. "Did I do something?"

Lana sighed, placing her phone down. "You really don't remember, do you?"

Una blinked. "Remember what?"

"That day," Lana said, "when you came to me talking about weird things happening around you. You literally said you were moving water and that your aunt was acting strange. We planned to talk to her, Una. And then, out of nowhere, you acted like I made the whole thing up."

Una stared at her, stunned. "Lana, I swear, I don't remember saying that. I thought you were mad about something else."

Lana scoffed softly. "Well, it made me feel like I was crazy for believing you."

"I'm sorry," Una said, her voice soft. "I really am. I don't even understand half the things happening to me lately. But I didn't mean to make you feel stupid."

Lana looked at her for a while before her lips curved into a small grin. "Alright, apology accepted. But next time you decide to start moving cups and water like Elsa, give me a heads-up."

Una laughed, shaking her head. "Promise."

It felt good to laugh again. The weirdness between them melted away just a little.

But as their laughter died down, Una hesitated, then asked quietly, "Can you... Tell me what actually happened that day? From the start? Because I can't remember a thing. It's blank."

Lana tilted her head. "You really want to know?"

Una nodded. "Everything."

"Okay," Lana said, sitting up. "We got to your house. Your aunt smiled at us like she always does, and told us to sit down. Then she offered us food, that stew she makes with all those herbs. You even joked about how it smells like she's cooking an entire garden."

Una frowned slightly. "Yeah... I kind of remember that."

"Well," Lana continued, "after we started eating, she went upstairs. Then, a few minutes later, she started humming. You know, that soft tune she hums sometimes? I even teased her. I said, 'Okay, go Shakira!'" Lana chuckled, then her tone softened. "But then something changed. You froze for a bit. Just listening. Then you started humming along too."

Una blinked, startled. "I... what?"

"Yeah. You were literally humming the same song. At first, I thought it was just cute, but then you looked far away. Like, your eyes were open, but you weren't there. It freaked me out."

Una's skin prickled. "Lana, that's... really creepy."

"I know," she said. "And then when we were done eating, I told you, 'Okay, let's talk to your aunt now,' and you turned to me, totally blank, and said, 'What conversation?' Just like that."

Una exhaled, her voice trembling. "That's impossible."

"It happened, Una. I remember it like it was yesterday."

There was a pause before Lana continued. "I know it sounds crazy, but maybe your aunt... did something."

Una swallowed hard. "You mean like magic?"

"I mean something," Lana said. "I started doing my own research after that day. Because, honestly, the way you were humming and then forgot everything? It screamed creepy vibes. I went online and found stories about siren songs, you know, how they can control or erase memories. Like Bianca in the Wednesday series..."

Una's breath hitched. "Now you're the one allowing freak characters to get to you. You think Aunt Reina used one on me?"

"I don't know. But it fits." Lana leaned in. "And that's not all. Remember that creepy book? You dropped it that day before you ran out. I kept it. I looked through it. Googled some of the symbols. I even went to the library to ask that weird librarian. He nearly chased me out."

"What did he say?" Una asked quickly.

"Nothing. Just told me I shouldn't be messing with things I do not understand and are clearly not my business. Which, honestly, only made me dig deeper," Lana said, pulling out her phone. "And I found this."

She scrolled for a second and then turned her screen toward Una.

It was a photo of a wide, mist-covered campus with old stone buildings surrounded by tall pines and a thin fog rolling over the ground. Under it was a name in faded gold letters:

"University of Ardenvale."

"What's this?" Una asked softly.

"It's a university," Lana explained, "but it's got a department for mystical studies, mythology, and folklore. Apparently, some of the students there research old legends, strange abilities, stuff like that. I even found this article by a girl who said she used to have weird things happen to her like flickering eyes, things moving around her - kind of like you. She studied there for a few years and said she finally understood herself."

Una's fingers brushed the screen, her heartbeat thudding in her ears. "She... wrote that?"

"Yeah," Lana nodded. "She said Ardenvale helped her make sense of things. And, well, the place itself has a reputation. Some say it's haunted, others say it's just... different. The kind of place where weird things don't feel that weird anymore."

Una didn't answer. She couldn't.

Because as she stared at the photo on Lana's phone, her chest tightened.

Something inside her stirred - like the ground beneath her shifted. It was the same feeling she had when she picked that old book at the library.

Her fingers trembled. The edges of the photo seemed to blur for a second, and the faint sound of running water echoed faintly in her ears though there was no stream nearby. The air felt heavier.

And suddenly, she whispered, almost to herself,

"I know this place."

Lana blinked. "What?"

Una's voice was barely a breath. "I've been there... I've seen this before."

Lana blinked. "What do you mean you know it? You've never been there."

"I don't know," Una said, shaking her head. "I just... I've seen it before. Somewhere."

"Maybe in a dream?" Lana teased, trying to lighten the air. "Or one of those random YouTube documentaries you binge at 2 a.m.?"

But Una didn't laugh. Her fingers hovered over the phone, trembling slightly.

The image seemed to hum. Like the gate itself was calling her name.

"Lana," she said softly, not taking her eyes off the screen. "Something's not right about this place... and I think it's calling me."

A loud thunderclap just once but enough to make both girls freeze.

Lana gave a nervous laugh. "Okay, that was... weird timing."

But Una couldn't hear her. Her gaze was still fixed on the gate, her reflection warped against the phone screen. The air felt heavier, and the scent of sulfur and ancient wood smoke (like the trauma in her dreams) flooded her senses for a split second.

​

And somewhere, deep in the static silence that followed, she thought she heard a voice-faint, distant, and hauntingly familiar whisper the name.

"Nevera..."

Una lifted her head, her eyes bright and resolute. "I have to go there, Lana. Now."

​Lana's eyes widened. "Now? Una, school just started!"

​"I can't stay here knowing my life is a secret my aunt is actively hiding," Una stated, grabbing her friend's hands. "If that place is the only way I can make sense of these, then I am not taking chances. Help me apply, Lana. I am going to Ardenvale."