CHAPTER 6: THE INEVITABLE

Claribel played with an old piece of rope.

The demon watched her from the shadow of a crumbling wall.

“You know,” she said, “my parents don’t wake me up as quickly anymore. They wait longer.”

“Does that bother you?”

“No. Sometimes… I like being here.”

“Sometimes they just want to see if you can stay a little longer. But they’re afraid that one day, you won’t come back.”

“And if I don’t?”

The demon stepped closer, his voice softer than ever.

“Then I’ll be here, on this side, waiting for you. And you won’t be alone.”

“Does dying hurt?”

“No. What hurts is what we leave behind.”

“And what if I leave nothing?”

“Then everything you were… will live on in those who loved you.”

That night, Claribel shivered. The air in the empty city felt colder than usual.

“Am I going to die soon?”

The demon didn’t lie.

“Yes. Your little body can’t keep going much longer. But dying isn’t disappearing. It’s only… changing rooms.”

She closed her eyes.

“Will you be there?”

“Yes. To take your hand when the time comes.”