Elara's Point of View
"Be honest with me."
My voice didn't sound as big as I wanted it to. The words felt heavy in my mouth, like they would break something if I said them too loudly.
Silas stood by the window, where the moonlight split his face in half. One side is bright and the other is dark. He didn't look at me.
He said, "I am."
"No, you're not." I moved in closer. "You never are."
The house was quiet again, but not too quiet after the locked room. I still remembered the names. My name is glowing. The way the walls moved. The way Silas had pulled me away made me feel like I was already lost.
I put my arms across my chest. "You said the house takes people."
"Yes."
"You said it catches them."
"Yes."
"And you said that love is the reason."
Finally, Silas looked at me. He looked sad. Not afraid. Sad.
"Was there anyone else?""I asked.
He didn't say anything.
My heart sank. "Silas."
He looked down. "Yes."
The word hit me harder than I thought it would. It wasn't very loud. It wasn't very sharp. There was no noise. Soft. And it still hurt.
"How many?"I said softly.
He shook his head. "I don't remember all of them."
I laughed once, but it didn't sound like it. "You don't remember the people who cared about you?"
He said, "Not all of them loved me." "Some were just alone. Some were just interested. "Some people wanted to leave."
"And you?"I asked. "What did you want?""
Again, Silas looked away. "I wanted them to stay."
It felt colder in the room.
"So you let them get close," I said slowly. "You let them go. "You let the house..." My voice broke. "You let the house take them."
He said quickly, "I didn't know at first." "I swear." The first one... I thought she had already left.
My chest felt tight. "And the second?"
He was quiet.
"And the third?""
Quiet.
I moved away from him like he was sharp. "So I'm not special."
Then he looked at me. Looked me in the eye and said, "You are."
"How?""I lost it. "Because I'm next?""
"No," he said. "Because you see more." You get into more fights. You ask questions.
"I bleed for you," I said softly. "I understand your pain. I lose time for you. And you're saying I'm just a name on a wall?"
He said, "You're not." "But you could be."
That scared me more than anything else he had ever said.
My legs were shaking as I sat on the edge of the bed. "Tell me about them."
He frowned. "Why would you want that?""
I said, "I need to know what happens to girls who love ghosts."
Silas got closer. "Elara..."
I said, "No." "Don't touch me." "Not yet."
He came to a stop. His hands dropped to his sides.
I looked up at him. "Did you love any of them?""
His answer came too quickly. "Not like this."
I hated that part of me that trusted him.
"Did any of them try to get away?""I asked.
"Yes."
"Did they win?"
Silas shut his eyes.
That was enough of an answer.
My voice got lower. "So the house keeps them."
"Yes."
"Where?""
"Not here," he said. "Not completely alive." Not completely gone.
My throat hurt. "Like you."
He looked up. "Like me."
There was a thick silence between us. A lot. Full of everything we weren't saying.
"So what will happen to me?"I whispered."
Silas didn't respond right away. His voice was low when he did. "That depends on how much you give."
I laughed again, but this time it was sad. "You make it sound like a deal."
"Yes, it is," he said. "The house trades feelings for time." Touch to breathe. "Love for life."
My hands turned into fists. "And you just let it?"
He said, "At first I didn't know." "Then I was scared. "Then I was alone."
"And now?"
"Now I'm in love."
The words hurt me more than the truth.
I slowly got up. "So what am I supposed to do with that?""
Silas moved closer. I didn't stop him this time. His fingers were close to my arm but didn't touch it. As if he was afraid to go over the line again.
He said, "You should go."
I looked at him. "Do you want me to?""
His voice was barely a whisper. "No."
My heart hurt. "Then don't say it."
He put his hand on my arm. Light. Be careful. He touched my skin, and it burned, but not with pain. It was something deeper. Something warm and not right.
He said, "You don't know what you're giving up."
"I already am," I said.
He took a drink. "Everyone said that."
I pulled my arm back. "Don't put me next to them."
"I'm not," he said. "I'm giving you a warning."
"I don't want to be warned." "I want honesty."
He stared at me for a long time. Then he said, "One of them tried to stay after the house picked her."
I couldn't breathe. "What happened?"
"She forgot her name."
My stomach dropped.
He went on, "She forgot her face." "Her voice. Her body. She became "part of the walls."
I was sick.
"And one more?"I whispered.
"He began to hear thoughts that weren't his," Silas said. "He spoke to corners. To doors. He said that the house was in his head.
My hands were shaking.
"And the last one?I asked.
Silas turned his head away. "She didn't cast a shadow anymore."
The room seemed too small. As if the walls were listening.
I said softly, "And me?""
For the first time, Silas looked scared when he looked at me.
"I don't know yet," he said.
The house made a soft creaking sound. A long, slow sound, like a sigh.
There was a strange pull in my chest. A dull pain. It felt like something was pulling me from the inside.
I said slowly, "Silas." "Do you feel that?""
He nodded. "Yes."
"What is it?""
He whispered, "The house is keeping count."
"Count of what?""
"Of how much of you is already gone."
My heart stopped. "What do you mean?""
The candle flickered before he could answer. The light got dimmer.
I looked at my hands.
For just a moment, they weren't all there.
They were thin. Gone. Like smoke.
I gasped. "Silas—"
He took my hands and looked scared. "Don't look at them." "Don't think about it."
"But they're going away," I said.
He shook his head. "Not yet." Not completely.
My voice shook. "Did that happen to them too?""
"Yes."
I looked at him. "So I'm already turning into one of the girls before me."
Silas hugged me tight. Tight. In need.
He whispered, "No." "You're the first person I don't want to lose."
Again, the house creaked. This time, louder.
And I heard a soft whisper deep inside the walls.
Not Silas's voice.
Not mine.
A woman's voice.
She said my name.