Brayden's POV

'I heard the door open. I saw a woman, pale-skinned, blonde-haired, light brown eyes, and wrinkles all over her perfectly sculpted face. "Mom" I called her. She smiled at me with the brightest smile I've ever seen. "Mom, what are you doing here? You shouldn't be." I said. There was tears at the corner of her eyes.

"Bradie" She said in a soft tone. But her voice sounded too distant though she was standing just two steps infront of me. "Bradie, Son you have to save her. She is in Pain. It's hurting here. Make her free." She said.

"Mom, who I need to free? Who is this girl?" I asked curiously.

"I can't say. I have to go. Noooo..." She screamed and I saw her dragged away into darkness and the door closed.'

"Mom" I shouted and the dream was over. I got up. The sun was bright and hit my tear-stained eyes.

Uncle Matthews arrived after an hour. "Good morning, Uncle Matthews." I greeted him.

"Oh Young Master. You scared me. Good morning to you too. You're up early. Are you going somewhere?" He raised his brow.

"Umm yeah... I've to go to meet someone, who has been waiting for me." I was determined. Uncle took the hint.

"Oh so you found it already." He asked. He didn't look good.

"Hmm" I replied.

"Young Master, would you like to go for a walk with me?" I was clueless, so I nodded.

We walked and walked... "Uncle could you please tell me, where are we going?" I asked impatiently.

"Yeah, so we're here." He said and then I looked at the building in front of me. 'A church?' I scrunched my nose. I was not much a religious guy, to be honest, but not an atheist too. So I followed him into the Church. The worshippers were having a Sunday mass. I stood there, not knowing what prayer they were singing.

I elbowed Uncle Matthews. "Why are we here? You were supposed to tell me how to get-"

"Ssshhhh" He silenced me.

After the mass, everyone started to leave. Uncle Matthews pulled me and dragged me to the man, who was addressing the mass before. What I came to understand was that his name was Father Xavier and Uncle Matthews was well-acquainted with him. "Good morning, Father." Uncle greeted Father Xavier.

"Good morning, John. And he is?" Father looked at me.

"He is my Young Master, Sir Brayden Davies." Uncle replied.

"Oh I see." Father said.

"Good morning, Father." I greeted Father.

Father smiled at me and said, "You're not a religious kid, are you?" He caught me off-guard.

"Umm.... yeah." I don't know what to say. I was at a loss of words.

"Oh don't get nervous my boy, I was just saying. Come Let's have some chat over a coffee." Saying that, he patted on my shoulder.

"So, why are you here anyway?" Father asked me.

"He came-" Uncle was going to say but Father stopped him.

"I want to hear it from his mouth." Father pointed a finger at me.

"Umm hmm... I want to know where is Elif? What happened that day when she came back to the mansion again? And what does it mean to save her? I mean, I keep having these dreams and illusions of my Mom telling me to save 'Her.' I don't know who she was talking about." I was so nervous that my hands were sweating. Father was crossing his arms to his chest and looking intently at the cup of coffee.

"Hmm" he finally said.

"The girl which your mother was talking about is Elif." I looked at him bewildered. "You want to meet her that means you read the Diary." I nodded in confirmation. "But you don't know what she did that Day, right?" I nodded again. "John," Father said to Uncle Matthews.

"Yes, Father." Uncle spoke. "Give him the letter." Father said to Uncle. 'Another letter?' I thought. Uncle took out a letter from his leather bag and handed it to me. I opened the letter.

Uncle,
I know it will be hard for you to hear this but I agreed to Father's idea. I'm willing to be the Barrier between Brayden and him. Please don't hold any grudges against him. He don't know anything about this. Today I'll go in the mansion and finish it off myself. I'll come back. I promise.

Elif.

To tell the Truth, I still don't know what this thing is that's being constantly mentioned in the Diary and this letter too. I closed the letter. "Uncle, what is this thing that Elif keeps mentioning in her writings?" I asked.

"My Son, the day your Father died and the day that man, who was there in that room-" Father spoke. 'That man?'

"Mr. Richard?" I asked.

"You can't take the name of an Evil spirit." He warned. I got startled.

"Wait, what?" I asked with disbelief.

"Yes, you heard right. The day your Father died, that man had also died but he was left in that room and the Soul was separated from the body. This happened because the man wanted Revenge, so after his death, his Soul didn't perish but stayed to complete his revenge." I was just concentrating on what he was telling. 'Like, am I living in a horror movie?'

It was too hard to believe. And anyone in my place, would have also thought that way. I looked back at Father. "The one who killed your Mother and the one who is till now torturing Elif is that Evil spirit. The spirit was after you. He might have killed you on that day, the day you left that house, if not for Elif." On hearing that, I raised an eyebrow. "She asked me that evening to seal the spirit in that room, so that you can leave the house unharmed. We performed the ritual but we couldn't open the door so the spirit was sealed within the house. When you left, the evil spirit hurt Elif and she was hospitalized. The girl is a blessing, sacrificing herself for the people she cares. After that we came to the conclusion that Elif will be the wall to keep the evil spirit at par. So as long as she stays within the town, the spirit can't reach you. But after an year, on the day when he died, it's strength was maximum and by a misunderstanding he lured Elif to this place again. John was able to stop her but for how long? That night Elif asked me how to finish the spirit completely, but it's not possible without the body and for that we need to enter into that store room, where Elif hid the body in a cupboard. So we thought of breaking the shelf. On Elif's request I performed the ritual, but then we came to know an awful truth." Father looked lost in some thoughts.

"What was it?" I asked.

"Your mother. She was obstructing us to reach there. When your mother fell from the window, the spirit possessed her soul and was controlling her since then. Unexpectedly, she responded to our call and said that she won't let the evil reach us. We believed on her. The door opened and Elif ran inside. But suddenly, the door locked behind her. There were screams and devilish laughter. I tried my best to open it but I couldn't. All of a sudden, everything was silent. The door opened and I found Elif lying on the floor, covered in blood. She wasn't breathing." I don't know why but my chest was paining. Something was hurting inside and I was scared.

Father was silent for a while and then he spoke, "That night was the scariest thing I ever witnessed in my whole life. I don't know how did that girl live upto this day with all those nightmares haunting her and a constant fear in mind that something could happen to you any moment. After that night, she was in coma for almost 7 days. When she woke up, she was traumatized. It was all because of Sister Merissa that she was able to live normally again. Later, she told us that when the spirit was going to escape from the room, she took that opportunity and threw the holy water at him. I couldn't think of what that girl had faced behind that door. The spirit left your mother's soul and was sealed in that store room for the moment but we don't know when it might attack that girl or you. So we need to get the body out of that room and burn it. And so far you're able to breathe is just because the evil is sleeping now. Once it is freed, it'll kill you and Elif. Whatever you wanted to know, I have said you. Now, it's upto you, what you choose. But remember my son, the path might be dangerous but Jesus always protects his children. If there is a problem, the solution should also be there." He finished.

'So she thinks she can do everything without thinking about herself. Why would she sacrifice her life for me?' I crossed my hands. "Oh yes, before leaving take this holy water, in case you think of staying in that house tonight and returning to New York tomorrow." Father said while leaving the room. 'Hey, how did he know I live in New York?' This was really pissing me off now. 'And I already know what I've to do.'

"Father, can you give me the address. I'm tired of this hide and seek now... I won't let her win this time." I chuckled. "Her wait is Over."

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