Chapter 1842

Then her face returned to its blank expression.

She continued walking.

Jude looked at the chairs.

The broken pieces were beginning to reassemble.

One by one, they rose from the floor.

The names returned.

Susan.

Rose.

Serena.

Layla.

Natalie.

Zoey.

Lucy.

Stella.

Emma.

Grace.

Sophie.

Scarlet.

The chairs moved towards the women.

"Run!" Jude shouted.

They raced towards the passage.

But the exit had disappeared.

A wooden wall stood where the entrance had been.

Jude struck it with his palm.

"Move!"

The wall didn’t respond.

Behind them, the twelve figures continued approaching.

Sol looked towards the ceiling.

"Jude!"

"What?"

"Look!"

Above them, the shadow had begun to split.

It separated into two enormous shapes.

One resembled a tree.

The other resembled a man.

The man’s shadow bent down.

And its face appeared on the wall.

It was Jude’s face.

But older.

Much older than the silver-haired man.

Its eyes were completely white.

It smiled.

"Finally," it whispered.

The wooden key in Jude’s hand began to shake.

The silver crescent at its centre unfolded.

A narrow beam of light shot towards the wall.

The wooden surface split open.

Beyond it was the village.

The real village.

Jude could see the central firepit, the houses, the gardens and the familiar wooden walkways.

The women hurried towards the opening.

But Jude stopped.

Something was wrong.

The village was empty.

No people.

No animals.

No smoke.

No movement.

Only the shared house stood in the centre.

Its front door was open.

And beside the firepit stood the older Jude.

He was holding a small wooden bird.

Jude looked back at the shadow.

Then towards the village.

"Is that another memory?"

Sol shook his head.

"No."

"How do you know?"

The boy looked at the empty houses.

"Because I can hear the sea."

Jude listened.

Far away, beyond the village, the waves were breaking against the shore.

The first Sol stepped towards the opening.

"That’s home."

Jude nodded.

"Then let’s go."

They crossed the threshold.

The moment Jude’s feet touched the village path, the opening behind them vanished.

The twelve strange figures were gone.

The enormous shadow was gone.

The underground chamber was gone.

Only the village remained.

The women gathered around Jude.

Natalie immediately checked Sol.

"Are you all right?"

He nodded.

Rose brushed the dust from his shoulder.

"You’ve had a terrible adventure."

Zoey looked at the northern mountain.

"Can we agree never to go there again?"

Serena gave a tired laugh.

"I would happily agree."

Scarlet examined the wooden key.

"What exactly is that thing?"

Jude looked at it.

"I don’t know yet."

Layla approached the shared house.

"Then we’d better get inside. We need to talk."

Jude nodded.

But before they could move, the older Jude appeared beside the firepit.

He was standing exactly where they had seen him through the opening.

He held the wooden bird.

His clothes were clean.

His hair was no longer silver.

He looked younger.

Almost identical to Jude.

The women went silent.

The older man looked at the first Sol.

Then he looked at Jude.

And he said:

"You brought the wrong child back."

Jude stepped forward.

"What?"

The man raised the wooden bird.

"Look carefully."

Jude turned towards Sol.

The boy was standing beside Natalie.

His face was calm.

His hands were relaxed.

The silver crescent was around his wrist.

But Jude noticed something.

The boy’s shadow.

It was pointing towards the northern mountain.

Every other shadow in the village pointed towards the setting sun.

Jude looked back at the older man.

The man slowly shook his head.

"That’s not the child you found on the beach."

Jude’s stomach tightened.

He turned towards the boy.

"Sol?"

The child looked up.

"Yes?"

Jude stared at him.

"Tell me what happened on the beach."

Sol smiled.

"You found me."

"What was I holding?"

The boy looked confused.

"Nothing."

Jude felt his heart begin to pound.

The older man stepped closer.

"Ask him what he was holding when you found him."

Jude remembered the little wooden bird.

He remembered Sol sitting near the water, holding it carefully in both hands.

He looked at the boy.

"What were you holding?"

Sol’s smile faded.

For a moment, the boy didn’t answer.

Then he slowly raised his hand.

A wooden bird appeared in his palm.

The same one Jude had seen the older man holding.

But this one had a silver thread wrapped around its wings.

The boy looked at Jude.

And in a voice that was no longer quite his own, he said:

"You weren’t supposed to ask that question."

The firepit went out.

Every door in the village slammed shut.

And from inside the shared house came the sound of someone knocking.

Three times.

Then a voice called:

"Jude?"

It was the real Sol.

"Please open the door."

Jude turned towards the child standing beside Natalie.

The boy was still smiling.

Then he whispered:

"Don’t worry. I’ll explain everything."

He lifted the wooden bird.

Its eyes opened.

And from inside its tiny wooden body came the voice of the first Sol, screaming:

"JUDE, THAT ISN’T ME!"

The scream burst from the wooden bird so suddenly that Natalie stumbled backwards, nearly knocking over the small table beside her. The boy standing next to her tightened his fingers around the bird, and the silver threads wrapped around its body shimmered like tiny veins beneath its carved surface.

For one terrible moment, nobody moved.

Then the bird’s beak opened.

"Jude!" the voice cried again. "Don’t let him take me!"

"Put it down!" Serena shouted.

The boy looked at her.

He had Sol’s face. The same dark hair, the same pale features, the same small crescent pendant hanging from his wrist. Even the expression was familiar: frightened, confused, almost apologetic.

But something about him was wrong.

Jude couldn’t immediately identify it. He stared at the child’s face, searching for the small details that had become familiar over the last few days. The way Sol tilted his head when listening. The way his eyebrows drew together when he was trying to understand something.