9:30 in the morning.
Dr. John explained to the others what had happened to Rose the previous night. Hearing it once more, Edward seemed to grasp it more clearly than the rest.
"What I'm trying to say," the doctor continued, "is that we need to pull Rose out of this condition before it worsens. What she experienced was an episode of isolated sleep paralysis. But it could return at any moment as recurrent isolated sleep paralysis, and in the worst case… it might even push her toward death."
His words weighed heavily on the group, forcing them to realize the true gravity of the situation.
After a moment of silence, David raised his voice.
"Which way should we use to bring her back to her old self?"
"If we give her sleeping pills, we can avoid her waking up from sleep. But she will still carry that state inside her. I will never step back from this. I am a doctor. And Rose is my patient. If I was able to treat the wounds caused to her body from a terrible incident once, then I will also erase this current condition from her." John said with confidence.
After they finished eating, each of them began doing the tasks that had been assigned to them.
Barry's tent.
He was playing on the piano the music he had newly composed.
For an interview, Barry was walking along the roadside toward his apartment, holding an open umbrella. Because of the heavy rain, the top of the umbrella was blown away by the wind. It landed a little distance away from where he was standing. To retrieve it, he splashed through the water and ran toward it. After picking it up from the ground, he tried to fix it back onto the handle. But no matter how much he tried, it wouldn't fit.
He pulled out the shirt he had tucked in and let it hang loose. Since his tie was soaked, he pulled it from his neck and shoved it into his pocket. He now looked like a drenched chicken.
When he looked around, he saw that everyone nearby was staring at what he was doing. Suddenly, someone standing behind him said something to him.
"Excuse me, Mister. The rain doesn't seem like it's going to stop anytime soon. Why don't you step inside? At least you won't get drenched."
"Barry, can I come in? You were practicing music, right? That's why I asked." It was Arthur, Barry's friend, calling from outside the tent.
Hearing Arthur's voice pulled Barry out of his thoughts. Tears were rolling down his cheeks, dripping onto the piano keys. Even though he was lost in thought, his fingers hadn't stopped playing.
When Barry heard Arthur, he quickly wiped away his tears. The moment Barry told him to come in, Arthur stepped inside. He gave Barry two light taps on the head and then grabbed his shoulders, shaking him. Barry was sitting with his back turned.
"Why did you come?" Barry asked as soon as he turned around. His eyes were swollen, and Arthur could tell at a glance that he had been crying.
"Why are you still thinking about it? You knew everything, and yet you still chose it," Arthur said in a firm, slightly harsh tone.
"No matter how hard I try, I can't erase that memory from my mind. It keeps breaking me from the inside."
"Life is like that nothing happens the way we expect it to. We shouldn't surrender before fate," said Arthur as he hugged his dearest friend Barry.
"It's because you're staying alone like this that those memories keep haunting you. Come outside, let's walk around a little. At least then your mind might change."
Saying this, he picked up the bottle of water nearby and held it out to Barry. Then he told him to go wash his face. Taking it, Barry stepped outside and poured the water onto his face, washing himself. He felt a small sense of relief.
After that, the two of them started walking together. They talked about different things as they walked. When they reached Mary's tent, their daughter Max saw them, and came running toward them happily.
"Can I come with you too?"
The little girl asked with a soft smile. In that tiny smile, she had already stolen their hearts, so they couldn't say no. The three of them began walking, gazing at the sky and the sea.
"Let's go a little deeper into the forest," Arthur suddenly suggested.
"Not too far," Barry replied cautiously. Still, at Arthur's insistence, they agreed.
Holding both their hands, Max walked in the middle as they entered the woods. The sunlight filtering through the trees and the gentle breeze gave them a sense of calm and peace. In that wind, the branches swayed as if alive. Since it was Max's first time inside a forest, her small heart filled with both wonder and fear.
After walking for a while, they found a spot where they could sit, and the three of them settled there. Barry, whose mind had been disturbed by painful memories, already felt a quiet calm returning within him.
"What if the thing that attacked Rose comes before us now?" Arthur broke the silence, turning to Barry.
"In the light of day, it won't dare attack us," Barry replied, lifting his head.
"I don't understand what you're saying," Max's small voice broke into their ears. He had no idea what had really happened to Rose, and neither of them was ready to frighten him with the truth. So they told him a harmless lie and left it at that.
"We shouldn't stay here too long. Often, the greatest danger hides in the light," Arthur said as he rose to his feet, ready to leave. The three of them walked back toward the shore the same way they had come.
Martha's tent. Her grandmother, Sarah, was frail and spent half of each day resting. Beside Martha's trunk sat Sarah's old chest, her most treasured possession. Inside were her late husband's photograph and a few of his clothes. He had been a heavy drinker. Martha's mother had died from illness, and that loss had unsettled him deeply. To escape his grief, he turned to alcohol, and soon it became a habit.
By then, Martha had already taken her grandmother into her home. With no one left to keep him in check, her grandfather drank himself away, his body wasting to a shadow. Whenever Martha went out on errands, Sarah would try to slip away to visit her husband. Yet no matter how drunk he became, he never once harmed her. Still, once Martha caught her grandmother sneaking out, she began locking the house whenever she left afraid her grandfather might hurt Sarah in some way.
Then, one day, Sarah disobeyed and went to see him again. But this time, he lay lifeless on the bed struck down by a heart attack. The shock of that loss had never truly left her. Even now, when she lay down to rest, thoughts of her husband haunted her.
After giving Sarah her cholesterol medicine, Martha left her in peace and stepped outside. Meanwhile, in his own tent, Dr. John was searching for ways to bring Rose safely out of her condition.
He was sitting and looking through his books, but he couldn't find anything. In despair, he closed his eyes. It felt as though someone tapped his shoulder, and when he opened his eyes, it was Peter, the parapsychologist. He sat down beside the doctor. Then, in a raised voice, he said:
"I have a way in my hands. But it won't be as easy as it sounds. I'm not sure if it can return Rose to her original state. Still, I will say what's in my mind. Whether to carry it out or not, that decision rests with the doctor."
To be continued...