Chapter 1866

For a moment, it looked like an ordinary evening.

Then Jude noticed the people.

The villagers were standing along the paths.

Not moving.

Not speaking.

All twelve wives were there too.

Susan stood near the firepit.

Rose beside the storehouse.

Serena and Scarlet near the northern path.

Layla stood at the edge of the garden.

Natalie, Zoey and Lucy were gathered beside the central well.

Stella, Emma, Grace and Sophie stood on the wooden walkway.

They were all looking towards the shared house.

And none of them had shadows.

Jude turned towards the women beside him.

They were still in the dining room.

He looked back outside.

The twelve figures in the village raised their heads at exactly the same moment.

Then they spoke together.

"Jude, come outside."

The real Susan stepped closer.

"Don’t."

Jude glanced at her.

"What is that?"

Susan looked towards the village.

"Something that has learned how to wait."

A figure emerged from the darkness near the firepit.

It was the younger Jude.

He carried a wooden bird.

Another figure appeared behind him.

The silver-haired older Jude.

Then another.

And another.

Soon, dozens of Judes were standing in the village.

Some looked young.

Some were older.

Some wore clothes Jude recognised from earlier episodes of their strange journey.

One wore the dark coat from the room before the first house.

Another carried the wooden key.

One had silver threads wrapped around his wrists.

They stood silently beneath the trees.

Then the youngest stepped forward.

"Which one of you is coming home?" he asked.

Jude looked towards the older man beside him.

"Is this what happens when the house remembers too much?"

The older Jude nodded.

"It has started collecting the versions of us that were never allowed to exist."

"Why are they outside?"

"Because the house is trying to decide which one belongs inside."

Jude looked at the figures.

"Which one does?"

The older Jude’s answer was almost inaudible.

"None of us."

A low sound came from the hatch.

The wooden boards began to lift.

A thin line of silver light appeared around its edges.

The child beneath the floor whispered again.

"Father?"

Jude knelt.

"I’m here."

The older Jude grabbed his shoulder.

"No!"

But the voice beneath the floor had already heard him.

"Jude?"

The voice sounded surprised.

Then delighted.

"Is that you?"

Jude stared at the hatch.

"Yes."

A pause.

Then the child asked, "Which one?"

Jude did not answer immediately.

He looked at the older Jude.

At the four Sols.

At the twelve women.

At the figures waiting outside.

He had spent so long trying to discover which version of himself was real that he had forgotten something important.

He was still the one standing there.

The one who had found Sol on the beach.

The one who had searched the northern mountain.

The one who had sat beside the fire with his wives.

The one who had laughed with them, argued with them, planted trees, repaired roofs and watched the rain.

Whatever the first house had made, those moments had happened.

"I am Jude," he said.

The clocks started ticking again.

But this time, they moved forwards.

The hatch opened.

The staircase was visible beneath it.

At the bottom, the little boy was sitting with his wooden bird.

He looked up.

"Then you came back."

Jude placed one foot on the first step.

The older Jude moved towards him.

"Wait."

Jude turned.

The older man looked at the boy below.

"Don’t promise him anything."

Jude frowned.

"Why?"

"Because he will remember."

The little boy looked up.

"Father told me that too."

Jude stared down the staircase.

"Who is your father?"

The child smiled.

"You know."

The fourth Sol stepped beside Jude.

"Don’t go alone."

Jude looked at him.

The boy’s face was pale.

"Are you sure?"

The child nodded.

"I think I need to see him."

The other three Sols moved closer.

The first placed his wooden bird on the table.

The second removed his crescent pendant.

The third held out his hand.

For a moment, the four children stood together.

Then the pendants and birds began to glow.

Their light joined into a single silver thread.

It stretched from one child to another, forming a small circle around them.

The older Jude watched in horror.

"No. They mustn’t."

The fourth Sol looked at him.

"Why?"

"Because the circle will make you remember everything."

"Isn’t that what we want?"

"No!"

The older man stepped forward.

"You don’t understand what you are."

The smallest child beneath the floor laughed.

"Neither do you."

The silver thread tightened.

The four Sols suddenly looked towards the staircase.

Then, in perfect unison, they spoke.

"We remember."

The hatch opened wider.

A warm light rose from below.

Jude descended.

The fourth Sol followed.

The other three came behind them.

The older Jude remained at the top.

"Jude!"

Jude looked up.

"Don’t let him ask you to stay!"

The older man stared at the darkness below.

"And whatever you hear, don’t tell him the promise!"

The hatch slammed shut.

The staircase continued.

It was much longer than it had appeared from above.

The wooden steps descended in a spiral, passing through layers of timber and roots. Sometimes Jude could see rooms behind the walls. Sometimes he saw forests. Once, he passed a window that showed the sea flowing upwards into the sky.

The deeper they went, the warmer the air became.

The fourth Sol walked beside him.

"Do you think he’s really there?" the child asked.

"Who?"

"My brother."

Jude looked at him.

"You’ve called several people your brother."

The child nodded.

"I know."

"Which one are you talking about?"

"The one at the bottom."

Jude glanced at the other children.

"Do you remember him?"

The first Sol shook his head.

The second nodded.

The third looked uncertain.

The fourth lowered his eyes.

"He used to sit beside me when I couldn’t sleep."

Jude said nothing.