Yousef went to the nanny's house. He knocked on the door three times in a row, the sound echoing through the old home. No one answered, but the door was ajar. He pushed it open quietly and stepped inside.
In the living room, strange shadows moved silently. Two shadows were cleaning the ceiling and high corners with a grace that resembled dancing, while two smaller ones were arranging books on the shelves, as if they knew their exact order better than any human could.
He said nothing, as if their presence here was perfectly natural—or as if they couldn't even see him. He walked past them toward the kitchen.
The sound of a blender filled the air, along with the smell of spiced chicken simmering in a pot. Two more shadows were there—one cooking, the other washing dishes—moving mechanically and silently, making only the sounds of metal, glass, and water.
He turned to leave the kitchen and found her standing in the doorway. The nanny.
Nanny (firmly): You shouldn't be here! It's cleaning day.
Yousef (hesitant, anxious): I want to ask you… is Daniel my brother?!
She didn't answer. Instead, she raised her hand and slapped him hard across the face. The heat of her palm burned his skin, and soon smoke began to rise from her head as if her anger was about to set her aflame.
Nanny (eyes gleaming): Did you do something to Daniel?!
He stepped back, holding his cheek.
Yousef (confused): No! I didn't do anything! Why did you hit me?!
No reply. She went to the fridge, pulled out a glass dish with an orange cake inside—its warm, sweet scent filling the room—and handed it to him as though nothing had happened.
Nanny (suddenly calm): Put it in the living room. I'll bring the tea.
Yousef (cautiously): Alright…
They sat in the living room. Dim light filtered through dusty windows. The air was still, broken only by the ticking of an old wall clock.
Nanny (softly): What are you looking for, Yousef?
Yousef (meeting her eyes): I'm looking for… who I am. And why all of this is happening to me.
She slowly shook her head, as if searching her memory for an answer.
Nanny: Hmm… I don't know much, but I think the father of that woman you married… knows more than I do.
Yousef: And where can I find him?
Nanny: I don't know… but what I do know, is that he's the one who convinced you to try magic for the first time… on Tamaris's children.
Yousef (shaking): What are you saying?!
She whispered to herself, but her voice didn't pass him by—Yousef had cat ears, able to catch even the faintest sounds.
Nanny (trembling whisper): And I don't know… whether you sacrificed Daniel's son or not…
His brows knitted. He swallowed hard, feeling as though his heart was being wrung out. He lowered his head, clasped his hands, and wept without realizing it. His tears were silent, but they hurt.
She moved closer, gently placing her hands on his head.
Nanny: Do you feel regret? Fix what you've done—or you'll lose Tamaris's children too…
Yousef (broken voice): Alright…
He rose to his feet, his steps heavy. As he neared the door, a shadow suddenly lunged toward him, opening its mouth wide—emitting a sound like a blaring phone alarm, followed by Tamaris and her children's screams, and the sound of gunfire.
Yousef threw the door open and leapt into the air. In an instant, he transformed into a massive bald eagle, his wings stretching wide across the sky, and soared at lightning speed toward Tamaris's home.
But when he arrived, chaos had consumed the place. The door was broken, furniture overturned, bullet holes riddling the walls. There was no one in sight.
He landed hard, facing two towering shadows in human form. He knew at once—they were the nanny's followers.
Yousef (hoarse): I didn't find anyone…
One of the shadows opened its mouth, and the nanny's furious voice came out:
Nanny (through the shadow): Find them! This is your fault! If anything happens to Tamaris… I'll kill you, Yousef!
Then the shadow's mouth shut.
Yousef grew tense, pacing in place, speaking to himself in agitation:
Yousef: Where do I look?! Where?!
And suddenly… he remembered.
The little bird! The one he'd left at the library window.
He sped off like the wind, the two shadows silently following.
But when he reached the library… the window was empty.
Inside, heavy silence hung over the dusty shelves. The shadows behind him moved quietly, as if they were his own extensions. When he reached the locked office door, he heard a faint sound from outside—someone jiggling the handle, hesitant, uneasy.
Yousef slowly turned toward the door and opened it carefully…
There stood Noah, breathing hard, his face pale.
Noah (panicked, pointing behind Yousef): Behind you! Behind you!
Yousef looked back calmly, then turned to him again:
Yousef (coolly): Yes… they're my friends.
Noah relaxed and sighed, hand over his chest.
Noah: Oh, Yousef… where have you been? I've been looking for you everywhere.
Yousef (slightly uneasy): Why?
Noah (with childish excitement): Because you promised… to turn me into a monster!
In an instant, Yousef's expression changed. He grabbed Noah's arm and yanked him out of the office harshly, slamming the door shut behind them. Noah stood frozen outside, stunned. A few seconds passed before he knocked again.
Yousef opened the door, eyes narrowing.
Yousef: What do you want now?
Noah (hesitant): What if I told you… Judy has someone with her?
Yousef said nothing, shutting the door in his face again—but the knocking came back, faster this time.
He opened it and found Noah still standing there.
Noah (voice trembling): She… and that person… they're looking for a victim. A human sacrifice.
Yousef's face went rigid, as if ice had replaced his blood.
Yousef (furious, gripping Noah's neck): What did you say?! Where are they now?!
Noah (choking): I don't know… but probably… the forest near the cabin!
Yousef shoved him out the window, then leapt after him. Mid-air, he transformed into a giant bald eagle, his wings gleaming in the sunlight. He caught Noah before he hit the ground and soared away, the two shadows behind them now transformed into black eagles.
They neared the isolated cabin among the trees—when suddenly, flocks of black crows descended on them, attacking with savage fury. The birds were relentless.
Yousef tried to maneuver, but the crows seized the shadows and tore them apart until they vanished into thin air. He kept fighting, but a deep wound tore into his wing, his eyes half-closed from exhaustion.
He dropped lower, releasing Noah onto a pile of leaves before crashing down beside him in eagle form, unconscious—but still aware of the pain, the betrayal.
Strange, hard-faced men dragged him by the wing through the forest and strung him up in a net between trees, surrounded by glowing green wards radiating hidden danger.
Yousef's eyes opened slowly. Around him hung other nets—in one was Nora, in another Tamaris's son. All of them were trapped. But Noah… stood outside, unbound, only his eyes heavy with regret and tears.
Yousef (weakly): Noah… Noah…
Noah turned toward him, a tear slipping silently down his cheek, but he said nothing.
Suddenly, Daniel entered, walking heavily, his eyes nothing but darkness. Behind him came Judy—and Tamaris, bound.
Tamaris's children screamed from their cages:
Son (crying): Nooooo! Daniel! Don't do it! Take me instead!
But he didn't stop.
He ordered the guards to release a small hyena from its cage. He laughed quietly as he watched the frightened animal, then killed it in front of them all, tossing its head into a pot boiling over a dim fire.
He seized Tamaris and dragged her roughly.
Yousef (shouting from the net): Stop! Please… stop!
Daniel turned to him with a crooked smile.
Daniel (coldly): Why?… She chose you.
He moved closer to Tamaris, raising the dagger slowly.
Yousef (desperate): Daniel… Tamaris doesn't deserve this!
Daniel (with venom): No, she doesn't deserve me. She left me for you. I told her I loved her… but she wanted you!
Nora (sobbing): Please… don't…
Daniel looked at her, then murmured:
Daniel: You… you look like your mother…
Then he turned back to Tamaris, staring into her eyes, and asked in a trembling voice:
Daniel: Why didn't you love me… why?
A single tear slipped down his cheek—a fleeting moment of weakness.
Then… he drove the dagger into her chest.
Her children screamed in their cages, and Yousef screamed from the depths of his soul, as blood dripped from Tamaris's heart before she collapsed, soundless… lifeless.
In that moment, Yousef remembered every tender moment they had shared—her laughter, her whispers, her embrace.
He tried to rip the net apart, but it was bound with unbreakable magic.
Daniel completed his ritual and left with the others. Even Noah… was pulled away by Judy without resistance.
Only Yousef, Nora, and Tamaris's son remained—trapped, alone, in nets of grief and pain, beneath the shadows of a forest that had swallowed the light.