The silence returned after Corina left the room.
Eliza continued gazing out at the valley, though night had nearly erased the landscape that had stretched before her eyes. The mountains were now deep shadows, and the forest merely a dark mass fading into the distance. Only the waterfall remained visible, a silver line falling eternally from the top of the cliff.
The murmur of water filled the air.
Constant. Unchanging.
As if nothing in the world could stop it.
Eliza remained motionless on the balcony floor, absently hugging her own arms as the cool night air brushed against her skin. Her thoughts kept slowly circling around the same point, like a needle stuck in a scratched record.
Sofia was alive.
The idea still felt unreal to her.
Painfully unreal.
Behind her, the door opened again.
This time the sound was more evident.
Eliza didn't turn at first.
But she heard the voices.
"She's there," one of them whispered.
"I know," another replied with a thread of concern.
