The Truth Between Us
Throughout that day, Talia couldn’t bring herself to go back to work. She spent it all taking care of Mira assuring her it was going to be fine, making sure she was comfortable. But to Mira, all that care felt like torture. Every sweet word sounded like a hidden threat, and she kept wishing Talia wasn’t even there.
Night came in a jiffy. The rain poured hard, beating against the roof in a steady, merciless rhythm. Cold wind slipped through the cracks of the old house, carrying with it the scent of wet earth and thunder.
Talia lay in bed, staring at the ceiling. Sleep refused to come. The night felt cold too cold that it makes her wondered how Mira might be doing. She kept thinking about her.
What if she caught a cold? she muttered to herself. Could she be asleep already?
With a sigh, Talia rose from the bed and peeked toward the other room. She noticed a sliver of light spilling out from under Mira’s door. Before she could think much of it, a loud sneeze echoed through the hall.
Still awake? she thought. Maybe she was cold, maybe she couldn’t sleep. Quietly, Talia pulled an extra blanket from her wardrobe and padded barefoot down the hallway, the wooden floor cool beneath her feet.
As she reached Mira’s door, she lifted her hand to knock but froze.
A voice. Mira’s voice. Soft, urgent, trembling.
“It’s me… Sophie. Yes, Sophie Langford,” she whispered.
Talia’s heart stilled. Sophie? Didn’t I name her Mira? Then where did Sophie come from… She pressed closer to the doorframe, her body taut as a bowstring.
Inside, Mira clutched the phone Talia had given her, her fingers white around it. Her words spilled out in a frantic whisper, but the silence of the night carried them clear.
“Yes, I’m alive. I was never dead I was kidnapped that night and pushed off a cliff, but luckily I survived. I’m trapped here with her… a lady named Talia. She pretends to protect me, but I just realized she’s a killer. She’s dangerous. I lied to her, I told her I couldn’t remember… but my memory is back. I tried running away, but she keeps catching me. I don’t have any other way. Please, please come and get me before she finishes the job. I’m scared of her.”
The blanket slid from Talia’s hands, falling soundlessly to the floor yet to her, the sound was deafening.
She stood frozen, minutes dragging by like hours, torn between leaving and staying.
Mira, inside, suddenly noticed the faint sound at her door. Her heart jumped. She rushed over and swung it open only to freeze, her breath catching in her throat the moment she saw her. The phone nearly slipped from her fingers as her eyes widened in horror.
Talia stood in the doorway, rainlight casting her shadow long across the room. Her chest rose and fell sharply, her hands trembling at her sides. For a long, suffocating moment, neither of them spoke. Neither of them moved.
Finally, without a word, Talia turned away. She dragged her feet back toward her room, her shoulders stiff, her shadow shrinking as she disappeared down the hall.
Mira remained rooted in place, watching her leave, her pulse thundering in her ears.