Chapter 5 The Moment Returned

Chapter Five: The Moment Returned

Elena closed her eyes, clutching the strange watch tightly. It pulsed faintly against her skin, as if it were breathing.

She thought of the lake. Of Lila's laughter. Of the cold.

A low tick echoed in her ears-then another. Each beat deepened until it drowned out everything around her. The smell of cedar vanished. The clocks disappeared. And when she opened her eyes...

She was there.

The lake stretched before her, frozen and shimmering under a soft winter sky. Snow drifted in slow spirals, catching the light like falling stars. Two girls ran across the ice-herself and Lila. Just as it had been.

Younger Elena shouted a playful challenge and sprinted ahead. Lila followed, her boots slipping now and then, her scarf fluttering behind her.

Then the ice cracked.

Elena held her breath.

Lila screamed as the surface gave way beneath her-but not entirely. A splash. A flurry of limbs. Then, from the edge of the trees, a figure emerged-a man with a red knit hat. He rushed toward Lila and pulled her free. Her face was pale. Her lips trembled. But she was alive.

The memory shifted. Elena saw what she'd never known: Lila hadn't drowned.

The fall hadn't taken her.

It was what came after-weeks later. A fever. A quiet slipping away that had nothing to do with Elena's mistake.

She let out a breath she hadn't known she was holding.

It had never been her fault.

The truth was colder than the ice, but lighter than the guilt she'd carried.

The ticking faded. And so did the lake.