Whispers of the Turning Seasons (part 24)

Snow whispered against the cabin windows like fingers tapping from the outside.

Evelyn sat at the edge of the old, soot-covered crib, gripping the photo the intruder had left behind. Her hands trembled, the edges of the picture digging into her skin.

The girl in the red coat…
smiling, unaware…
was her.

The boy beside her—
the same boy now sitting a few feet away, hugging his knees—
looked just as lost back then as he did now.

Rowan paced near the hatch, jaw clenched tight.
Ellis stood by the window, scanning the forest for any sign of movement.

The radio message still echoed in the air:

“Don’t trust the one who raised you.”
“I’m coming to get what’s mine.”

Evelyn closed her eyes.

Whoever said those words…
knew her.
Knew everything.

And that terrified her more than anything in the basement.


---

The Boy’s Fear

The boy looked up at her with wide, wet eyes.

“Do you think he wants me too?”

His voice cracked.

Evelyn knelt beside him and cupped his face gently.

“No. He’s after me.”

“But he was here… he was standing over us,” the boy whispered. “Why didn’t he come down? Why didn’t he try to hurt us?”

Evelyn hesitated.

Rowan answered for her.

“Because he didn’t need to. He wasn’t trying to confront us tonight.”

Ellis added, “He wanted to send a message.”

The boy frowned.
“What message?”

Evelyn whispered:

“That he’s close.”


---

The Scent in the Snow

A deputy at the door called out:

“Sheriff! You’ll want to see this.”

Rowan motioned for Evelyn and Ellis to follow him outside.

Cold air slammed against them the moment they stepped out.

The deputy pointed to a tree at the forest’s edge.

There, carved deep into the bark, illuminated only by moonlight:

“YOU OPENED THE WRONG DOOR.”

The words were fresh.
The cuts sharp.
The tree sap still bleeding.

Evelyn shuddered violently.

Rowan examined the marks closely.

“Carved within the last hour.”

Ellis scanned the treeline.

“He was watching the whole time. He didn’t run because he was scared—he ran because he wanted us to follow.”

Evelyn swallowed a trembling breath.

“Why? Why leave messages? Why watch us instead of attacking?”

Rowan looked at her, eyes heavy.

“Because you aren’t prey to him, Evelyn. You’re a prize.”

Her stomach twisted.

“N-No. I’m not—”

“Yes,” Rowan said softly. “Someone doesn’t stalk with this level of patience unless it’s personal.”

Evelyn stepped back.

“But I don’t know him.”

Ellis shook her head gently.

“You might not remember him. But he remembers you.”


---

The Unmarked Path

The tracks that had previously disappeared now seemed to form a faint trail deeper into the woods—
not running tracks…
guiding tracks.

Rowan studied the direction.

“He wants us to go this way.”

Ellis frowned sharply.

“And you’re not seriously considering walking into that like it’s an invitation?”

But Rowan’s expression said everything.

Evelyn’s stomach dropped.

“Rowan… no.”

He turned toward her.

“If he’s leading us, it means there’s something he wants us to find.”

“Or he wants to separate us,” Ellis countered.

Rowan shook his head.

“No. If he wanted to separate anyone, he would’ve done it inside the cabin.”

He turned toward Evelyn again.

“But I’m not going without you.”

Her breath caught.

“Why me?”

“Because this is your past,” Rowan said gently. “And he’s using it to pull you.”

Evelyne felt her chest tighten.

“He won’t stop. You know that, right?”

Rowan nodded.

“That’s why we need to stay ahead of him.”


---

A Voice in the Woods

They followed the path cautiously, staying within sight of the cabin.

The boy remained inside with two armed deputies— a decision that made Evelyn’s heart throb with guilt.

Snow crunched under their boots.

The forest was a cathedral of silence…
until a voice drifted through the trees:

Soft.
Distant.
Whistling.

A lullaby.

Evelyn froze instantly.

Her blood turned to ice.

“That song…” she whispered.
“I’ve heard that before.”

Rowan lifted his flashlight, scanning.

“When?”

She swallowed hard.

“When I was little.”

Ellis whispered, “Are you absolutely sure?”

“Yes,” Evelyn breathed. “He used to whistle it. I remember… at night. Before bed. When I lived with the woman in the basement nursery.”

Rowan stiffened.

“So he knew you back then.”

Evelyn nodded shakily.

“And he knows you now.”

The whistling stopped.

Silence swept through the forest again.

Rowan exhaled slowly, realizing the implications.

“He wasn’t lying…
He really is coming back for you.”


---

The Box in the Snow

As they followed the trail, something small glinted beneath a thin layer of snow.

Evelyn spotted it first.

“Wait.”

She knelt and brushed the snow aside.

A small metal box.
Old.
With soot along its edges.

Rowan knelt beside her.

“Careful.”

Evelyn opened it slowly.

Inside:

A lock of hair—
black and curly, tied by a red ribbon.

A child’s mitten—
burnt at the edges.

And a note written in the same slanted handwriting:

“I kept everything you lost.”

Evelyn’s hand flew to her mouth.

The mitten…
she remembered losing it the night of the fire.
Her “favorite one,” the woman had said through tears.

Rowan took the note from her trembling fingers.

“This means he was inside the nursery during the fire.”

Ellis added, “Or before it.”

Evelyn’s breath caught.

“You think he took these things… while we were living there?”

Rowan nodded grimly.

“This box didn’t survive the fire accidentally. He saved it. He preserved it. And now he’s returning it piece by piece.”

Evelyn began shaking.

“This is obsession,” Rowan said quietly.
“It’s not about revenge. It’s fixation.”

Ellis whispered:

“And it’s escalating.”


---

The Glowing Light

A dim, warm glow flickered deeper in the woods.

A lantern.

Hung from a branch.

Evelyn recognized it instantly.

“That’s—”
Her voice cracked.
“That’s the lantern the woman used in the nursery.”

Ellis tightened her grip on her weapon.

“He’s luring you.”

Rowan stepped closer.

“But why use something from her childhood?”

Evelyn stared at the glowing lantern, her heartbeat thundering.

“Because he knows I won’t walk away from it.”

The wind howled through the trees.

The lantern swayed gently, casting long shadows like reaching hands.

Rowan whispered:

“Evelyn…
are you ready?”

She swallowed.

“No.
But I’m going anyway.”

And the three of them stepped toward the lantern—

Unaware that, just behind them, a figure watched…
smiling through the dark.