Chapter 1863

"What does it mean?"

"It means the tree has started questioning its own memories."

The silver leaf began to vibrate.

The fourth Sol stepped closer.

"Can you hear it?"

Jude listened.

At first, there was only the sound of wind moving through the branches.

Then he heard whispers.

Hundreds of them.

Some were familiar.

Some were not.

They came from the doors in the roots.

"Don’t forget me."

"Come back."

"I was here first."

"Let me go."

"Open the house."

"Remember the name."

One voice stood out.

It was a woman’s voice.

"Jude, please."

He turned towards a small door in the nearest root.

It had a familiar mark.

A silver leaf.

And a name.

LAYLA.

The door opened a fraction.

Jude approached.

The older Jude caught his shoulder.

"Don’t."

Jude looked at him.

"You keep telling me not to open doors."

"Because you keep trying to open the wrong ones."

"Then tell me which one is right."

The older Jude looked towards the tree.

"The door that has no name."

Jude scanned the roots.

There were hundreds of doors.

Some were tiny.

Some were enormous.

Some had names.

Some had symbols.

Then he saw it.

At the base of the trunk was a small dark opening, almost hidden beneath a thick root.

It had no handle.

No inscription.

No symbol.

No visible frame.

Only a narrow gap.

The silver leaf trembled.

Jude approached it.

The older Jude followed.

"Be careful."

Jude crouched.

A faint sound came from inside.

A child humming.

The melody was familiar.

Layla had been right.

It was the song the child could not remember.

Jude leaned closer.

"Who’s there?"

The humming stopped.

Then a little voice answered.

"I’m waiting for my brother."

The fourth Sol went pale.

The third Sol took a step forward.

The older Jude whispered, "No."

The voice continued.

"Father said he would bring him back."

Jude looked at the two children.

"Who is it?"

Neither answered.

The small dark opening widened.

A tiny hand appeared.

It was holding a wooden bird.

But unlike the others, this bird had no eyes.

The hand placed it on the ground.

Then withdrew.

A second hand appeared.

Then a third.

And finally, a child crawled out.

He was smaller than the other Sols.

His hair was dark.

His face was pale.

He wore no pendant.

No silver thread.

No familiar clothes.

He looked at Jude.

Then at the fourth Sol.

Then at the third.

His eyes filled with tears.

"You came back."

The fourth Sol stepped forward.

"Who are you?"

The little boy smiled.

"Don’t you remember?"

The third Sol moved closer.

"Are you the one from the cradle?"

The boy shook his head.

"No."

"Then who?"

The child looked towards the enormous tree.

"I’m the one who was never born."

The older Jude closed his eyes.

Jude stared at him.

"Another one?"

The older Jude nodded.

"How many are there?"

"I don’t know."

The child picked up the eyeless wooden bird.

Then he looked at Jude.

"You brought the others."

Jude crouched.

"Who are you?"

The boy smiled.

"I don’t have a name."

"Why not?"

"Because nobody remembered me."

The fourth Sol looked at Jude.

The third Sol looked at the tree.

The child continued.

"But I remember all of you."

He raised the wooden bird.

"I remember the first room. I remember the tree. I remember the house. I remember the island before the sea."

Jude felt a chill.

"What happened before the sea?"

The child looked up.

"There was a door."

The older Jude opened his eyes.

"Don’t ask him."

But Jude was already listening.

"What door?"

The child pointed towards the trunk.

"The one that was here before the tree."

The enormous tree shuddered.

Every door in its roots opened a fraction.

A rushing wind swept through the forest.

The child looked towards the darkness between the branches.

"It’s still there."

Jude followed his gaze.

Beyond the tree, the stars were disappearing.

One by one.

A black shape was moving through them.

The same enormous presence that had reached for the island.

Only now Jude could see more of it.

It was not a hand.

It was a doorway.

A vast, upright opening in the darkness.

Its edges were made of pale roots.

Its centre was filled with a blackness deeper than the space surrounding the island.

And something stood inside it.

A figure.

Tall.

Still.

Watching.

The older Jude stepped in front of the children.

"Everyone behind me."

Serena moved beside him.

Scarlet and Sophie gathered the others.

Jude remained where he was.

The figure inside the doorway lifted its head.

A voice came from the darkness.

"Keeper."

Jude stared.

The voice continued.

"You have brought them all together."

The fourth Sol grabbed Jude’s hand.

The third Sol moved to his other side.

The smallest child stood behind them.

The figure took one step forward.

The enormous tree began to bend.

Its branches lowered.

Its roots tightened around the ground.

The older Jude whispered, "It cannot cross."

The figure tilted its head.

"Is that what you told them?"

The older Jude said nothing.

The figure looked towards the twelve women.

"Do they know?"

Jude turned.

"Know what?"

The figure’s voice became almost gentle.

"Do they know what you promised me?"

The wives looked towards Jude.

He shook his head.

"I don’t know what it’s talking about."

The figure seemed amused.

"Of course you don’t."

It lifted one hand.

A small silver light appeared in its palm.

The same silver leaf Jude had been holding.

Jude looked down.

The leaf was still in his hand.

But now it was black.

The figure spoke again.

"Do you remember the day you asked me to take your place?"

Jude felt the world tilt.

The older Jude turned sharply.

"Don’t listen!"

The figure continued.

"You were tired of being the one who remembered."

A second light appeared.

A wooden bird.

Then a third.

A small crescent pendant.