Chapter 1864

A second light appeared.

A wooden bird.

Then a third.

A small crescent pendant.

Then a fourth.

A silver key.

The objects floated around the figure.

"You wanted to be free."

Jude’s mind filled with fragments.

A dark room.

A table.

A child crying.

A tree.

A door.

His own voice saying something he could not quite hear.

The figure lowered its hand.

"So I agreed."

The fourth Sol suddenly shouted.

"YOU LIED!"

The figure looked at him.

"Did I?"

"You said he would come back!"

"I did."

"You said we would all be together!"

"I did."

"You said nobody would be lost!"

The figure’s expression did not change.

"And nobody was."

The child trembled.

The figure looked towards Jude.

"You were the one who asked me to keep them."

Jude stared.

"Who are you?"

The figure stepped closer.

The doorway widened.

The tree’s roots began to break.

The older Jude raised his hand, and a silver symbol appeared in the air.

A barrier formed between the figure and the group.

But the figure merely looked at it.

The symbol cracked.

The older Jude staggered.

"Jude!" Serena shouted.

Jude moved towards him.

The figure spoke.

"You have spent so long searching for the first house that you forgot to ask who built the door."

The barrier shattered.

A wave of darkness swept through the forest.

The twelve women were thrown backwards.

The four children disappeared into the roots.

Jude reached for them, but the ground opened beneath his feet.

He fell.

The older Jude caught his arm.

For one brief moment, they hung above a vast darkness.

The older Jude’s fingers tightened.

"Listen to me!"

Jude looked up.

"What?"

"The house isn’t the prison!"

The roots began snapping.

"The tree isn’t the prison!"

A branch broke above them.

"The island isn’t the prison!"

The older Jude’s grip slipped.

"Then what is?" Jude shouted.

The older man’s face changed.

He looked directly into Jude’s eyes.

"You are the door!"

His hand slipped.

Jude fell.

The darkness swallowed him.

He expected to keep falling.

Instead, his feet touched a wooden floor.

He was standing in the shared house.

The real shared house.

The familiar dining room.

The old wooden table.

The thirteen chairs.

The kitchen beyond it.

The windows overlooking the village.

Everything looked exactly as it had before the first house appeared.

For several seconds, Jude could only stare.

Then he heard movement behind him.

He turned.

All twelve wives were sitting at the table.

They looked peaceful.

Each had a cup in front of her.

Each was smiling.

At the far end of the table sat the silver-haired older Jude.

Beside him sat the four Sols.

The smallest child was sitting on the floor, playing with the eyeless wooden bird.

Jude slowly approached.

"Are you all right?"

Susan nodded.

"Of course."

Rose smiled.

"We were waiting for you."

Jude looked at the others.

"Where is the tree?"

Serena tilted her head.

"What tree?"

"The enormous tree."

Layla looked at him.

"Jude, sit down."

He looked towards the empty chair.

It was the thirteenth chair.

The one with his name.

He stepped back.

"No."

The older Jude looked up.

"Why not?"

"Because I know what this house does."

The older Jude smiled.

"Do you?"

Jude looked at the four children.

"Get away from the table."

None of them moved.

"Sol?"

The fourth child lifted his head.

"Which one?"

Jude stared.

The boy smiled.

All four children spoke together.

"We’re all here."

Jude turned towards the wives.

"Get up."

Susan frowned.

"Why?"

"Because this isn’t real."

The women exchanged glances.

Then Layla slowly stood.

"Jude, what’s wrong?"

He looked at her.

"Tell me what happened at the eastern river."

Layla smiled.

"We planted the little tree."

"What happened afterwards?"

She frowned.

"You told us it would grow into the tallest tree on the island."

Jude stared.

That was right.

He looked towards Susan.

"What did I say about building a house beyond the mountains?"

Susan shook her head.

"You never said that."

Jude looked at the older Jude.

The man smiled.

"Are you satisfied?"

"No."

"Why?"

"Because you’re all repeating the same memories."

The older Jude tilted his head.

"Perhaps because those are the memories we share."

Jude looked at the four children.

"Then tell me something none of them remember."

The smallest child stopped playing.

He looked up.

"I remember the first time you cried."

Jude stared.

"When?"

The child picked up the eyeless bird.

"When you realised the room had no outside."

The older Jude’s smile disappeared.

The child continued.

"You sat beside the window and cried because you couldn’t see the sea."

Jude felt a strange pressure in his chest.

The child looked at him.

"Then the other boy told you that he would build one."

The fourth Sol slowly stood.

The third Sol followed.

The second Sol touched his pendant.

The first Sol placed his wooden bird on the table.

The older Jude rose.

"Enough."

The smallest child looked towards him.

"You remember too."

The older Jude’s face tightened.

"You don’t know what you’re talking about."

The child shook his head.

"You were there."

The room became silent.

Then the child said:

"You were the one who opened the first door."

The older Jude looked at Jude.

"Don’t listen to him."

The child continued.

"You were the one who let the thing outside come in."

The older Jude’s expression changed.

For the first time, Jude saw something like fear in his eyes.

"You were the one who made the promise that nobody would ever be lost."

The older Jude took a step towards him.

"Stop."

"And you were the one who changed the promise."

The older Jude froze.

Jude turned towards him.

"What did you change?"

The child looked at Jude.

"The first promise was not that nobody would ever be lost."

The smallest Sol held out the eyeless bird.

"It was that nobody would ever be kept."

The older Jude closed his eyes.

The child continued.

"But when the first Keeper became afraid, he changed it."

Jude stared at the older man.