Boom!

A faint blasting sound waves in the old pinkish room. The glass of the window tinkles as the sound waves hit it. Ciana twists and turns as her sense comes back. She rubs her eyes in sleep and flutters them. She stares at the ceiling and within few seconds her expression changes from shock to fear. She jerks up and looks in front where a smiling Brenna is gazing at her without fluttering her eyelashes for once. Ciana looks at her as her hand moves at the neck where Brenna pressed to make her unconscious.

Seeing the movement, Brenna breaks her gaze and leans towards Ciana.

"You are awake. I was waiting for this moment for so long." Brenna caresses Ciana's forehead with love.

Taken aback, Ciana keeps quiet until Brenna says, "Now we'll always be together."

Fear grips Ciana again as she flinches back. Shoving away Brenna's hand, she shouts, "Leave me! Why am I here with you? Where's my mommy?"

Anger covers Brenna's green eyes, but she controls herself and holds Ciana's hand. She whispers looking straight into Ciana's eyes, "Your mom is here, darling. I'm your mother."

Ciana's eyes widen in shock. She pulls her hands away and jumps off the bed. "No! You're lying. You are not my mother. You are a stranger." Brenna stands and glares at Ciana. Her anger is now not only visible in her eyes but also on her golden tanned face. She closes near Ciana but Ciana steps back while fumbling, "Don... Don't come closer. Don't. Hel... help!" Tears drop on her pale face as she chokes. Brenna grips her arms tightly. She pulls Ciana and throws her on the bed. Ciana falls with a thud as she winces in pain.

"Get up! You forgot all your manners. But no problem. I'll teach you and you'll be just like before. My obedient daughter. Now get up. Right now! I don't like repeating." But Ciana clutches the old pink quilt and sobs.

"You know what? I didn't want you to see this but now, I have no other choice." She brings out her phone from her pocket and opens the gallery. But Ciana doesn't budge. Brenna clutches a handful of Ciana's locks bringing out a "aaa!" from Ciana. Not able to tolerate the pain, Ciana sits up, but she moves at the far end of the bed pulling her knees closer to her chest. Seeing Ciana in that way, a sudden pain flickers in Brenna's eyes. Sighing, she holds her phone before Ciana's eyes and says, "Watch this."

But Ciana being stubborn, hides her tear-stained face in between her knees and keeps on sobbing.

"You!" Brenna pounces at Ciana like a hunter and shoves her face up by clutching Ciana's hair.

"aaa!" Brenna pushes Ciana's face towards the phone's screen where a video is playing.

"Watch this carefully." Leaving Ciana's hair, she sits in front of her. As Ciana watches the video her eyes widen in shock.

The video that is flashing on the screen looks like a camera's footage of a hospital. In the video a red-haired woman leaves a room in a devastated way. Her face is not clear as her hair is falling over her face. She crosses the next room like an sleep-walker. Just as she crosses the room, she halts hearing a piercing cry of a baby. She turns back and stands at the door of that room. Tears trail on her cheeks as she removes her hair from her face. The woman is none other than Iris. A young Iris, whose face is portraying nothing but pain and exhaustion.  She looks inside the room where a black-haired woman is lying unconscious on the bed and a little black-haired girl is sitting on the chair and crying. Iris goes into the room and pats the girl's head. She says something, but the girl continues sobbing. Iris picks her up as the girl cries. She rubs the girl's back to stop her from crying. Few minutes later, Iris again says something to whose response the girl nods. They come out of the room. In the bright white light of the corridor the girl's green eyes twinkle as she hugs Iris and buries her face in her neck. Iris closes her icy blue eyes as a smile paints her nude lips. Suddenly she opens her eyes and looks around. The whole corridor is empty. She fastens her pace and leaves the corridor.

"No!" Ciana throws the phone away as it hits the floor with a thuck!

"Mommy... she... I..." She pulls the quilt and throws it on the floor.

"I'm he... her daughter. She... can... can't. No!" Ciana closes her eyes and sits like a stone.

Brenna looks at Ciana with a satisfied smile and embraces Ciana's shocked state. "Don't cry darling. I know you are hurt. I'm here for you. Your mom will now stay with you. Forever! We'll do so many things together. We'll play, eat, dance, sing. And just like before I'll teach you at home. I'll not let anyone take you away from me. You'll not meet anyone. We'll always stay at home and be with each other until we die." Pausing for a second, Brenna shouts, "No! I'll kill death too. Yes. We'll stay alive together forever in our home."

Hearing the last words Ciana opens her eyes and breaks the embrace. She moves away like a rocket and jumps off the bed shouting, "Stop! Just stop it! You... you are crazy. I have friends. Why will I not meet them?" Ciana is not crying anymore. She looks like Brenna's duplicate. Both of them are raging in anger as their green eyes glare each other. Brenna rushes towards Ciana and grabs her before she can escape. She shoves her on the bed and shouts, "Because I want no one else in your life other than me. Remember this. You are my daughter. No one will love you as much as I do. I'm your mother and you'll listen every word of mine. Carve these words in your mind forever. You will always be My. Obedient. Daughter."

"No! I don't want to be your daughter! You hurt me and want to imprison me. I don't want to live with you. I will live with my mommy! You are..."

Slap!

Brenna's rough palm touches Ciana's left cheek and leaves five finger prints on her soft skin.

"Shit! I'm so sorry, darling. I..." Brenna tries to cup Ciana's cheek but Ciana moves back and screams, "No! Don't touch... touch me. Don't come near... me." Ciana chokes as she mumbles to herself.

Brenna fists her palm and once again a wave of pain hovers on her face.

ring! ring!

Brenna looks at the phone lying on the floor. The broken screen is flashing something hazy. She picks it up and leaves the room. Devastated, Ciana sits on the bed as she lets down her tears fall with a blank expression on her face.

Going downstairs, Brenna opens the main door letting icy gushes of wind inside. Along with the wind enters those two masked men and an unconscious, injured Elroy.

"Dump him beside her bloody wife." Dragging him into the creaking wooden living room, they left Elroy beside Iris. Brenna walks up to them saying, "Leave."

As the two masked men leave, she sits on one of her toes as the other knee touches the floor.

"Poor husband." Murmuring, she looks at Iris and says, "Bitch! Still sleeping. No problem. This is the last night you are sleeping. After this, you'll stay awake every night and wait... wait for your child. Just like I did." Standing, she leaves the house and halts beneath the lonely, looming, lifeless tree. Raging cold wind is piercing her face as she looks at the dark foggy night. A few moments later, a tear drops from her green eyes as she mumbles, "Finally. After long seven years, I'll spend 31st December with my daughter."

☆☆☆

The snowy ground is glittering as the golden morning rays caress the snow. Three unconscious body bathe in the warmth as some unknown birds hover and chirp over the snowy forest.

"Ah!" Luna flutters her eyes as she touches her forehead where she has a blood clot. She closes her eyes and within a few seconds shot them open mumbling, "Ciana!"

She jerks up and hisses as she feels a pain passing through her right ankle. She looks around and sees Sean and David still unconscious. But there is no sign of Elroy.

"El! El!" Luna shouts as she gets up and limps towards Sean and David who are lying beside each other. Gasping out a pain, she sits beside Sean and pushes him. "Sean, wake up! David! Sean! Can you hear me?" Fearing the worst, she turns pale and tears well up in her hazel eyes.

"Sean! Wake up, please. Open your eyes. Wake up!" Hearing all these, David comes back to his senses and jumps up looking at Sean and a hysterical Luna.

"Sean! Get up buddy. This is not the time to joke." But Sean is still unconscious. David puts his finger in front of Sean's nose to feel his breathing. But a cold shiver rushes through his body as he can't feel Sean's warm breath. He looks at a hopeful Luna and nods a no. She sits with a thud as he whispers, "No. He can't leave me. No!"

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