!!TW: Mentions of Cannibalism and suicide!!


'November 21, 2025 – Wednesday
It was the first warm morning in years, yet I felt nothing but cold. I had to get out of bed—eat, breathe, live. When I looked at Kelly’s photo, something stirred inside me. A feeling I hadn’t let myself feel in years. Today, I miss my sister and my peculiar family. I don't want to write more.’
Closing her journal for the day Viola started her usual day, it is strange and lonely to work at a place where people are so indulged in finding out about the horrors of humanity, but she was not bothered by the most disgusting cases she worked on and that is what made her the best. Detective Viola is always perceived as a workaholic arrogant person by her colleagues, but she needed work to distract herself from herself. Her family distanced her when she was born and her mother died during delivery in the small village of Elthara. She barely knows about her family but met them only once in her lifetime. The reason was something she never found out but she felt like running away after she started having nightmares about her own family killing her, which terrified her to death. The distance between them killed her, she always wanted answers but never asked questions because she always had this peculiar pressure of just running away from them. She is an exceptional detective and yet her own family is unknown to her. All these strange memories rush her head every time she misses or even thinks about them, she always passes through an old tree on her ride to the office. Today it was leafless and dry. Her eyes at her phone and road while biting her nails thinking about what the day held for her, the phone rang waking her up.
"Good morning Viola."
"Good morning Ash! I am about to reach the station so let's talk there."
"Bring me a coffee on your way please"
"Talk about irony, assistant ordering her officer"
"You're such a darling! bye!"
At the coffee shop, she came across a strong familiar scent of lilies but she did not look around for it she took the coffee and went quietly to her car. She wondered while driving 'How strangely familiar the day can go, why do I feel like I have been living this day again and again.' Ashley was waiting for her at the front door looking like a child needing the candy, Viola giggled at her look and handed the coffee to her. As they both entered the building together, Ashley asked, " Did you hear about the Elthara case?”
Viola froze. That name slammed her head like a heavy stone. She didn’t speak. She couldn’t. The fear she’d buried for years was clawing back to the surface. Ashley continued, "I heard it is a pretty solid case that is why they won't disclose any information about it." When they reached the office Viola was completely terrified from the inside and that is when the police officer asked for her, she knew she had to face it all again and the morning she started with was no coincident, the place that makes her disgusted from the core of her heart is haunting her again.
"You asked for me?"
"Ms Vorenth! May we have a word please?"
"Of course, Officer Benard"
"I would like you to take the lead on the Elthara case. We checked your profile, and we learned that you were born in Elthara and this case might be connected to you."
"I was not raised there but yes I was born there"
"You see Viola, we believe there is something strange going on in that village"
"Wh- What's going on sir?"
"Your family was living there and strangely they just disappeared. There was a total of four members, two of them were an elderly couple named: Eric and Isabel Vorenth, two men believed to be in their 50's named: Peter and Ethan Vorenth. We were informed that Ethan and Peter both had a daughter and both of their wife died after delivery. They sent Peter's daughter away in the city, who we believe is you and Ethan's daughter was living with them.
We did some background checks and some locals said they were the oldest family living there, they were mysterious and peculiar. Upon checking some records, we found out that they had a tourism business but then they closed it down and strangely they did not stop advertising for a few years until they received a legal notice, there were a lot of foreigners in their register, we tried to track them down but all of them are filed as a missing person. We only found one body of a female who committed suicide and searched the whole house and we found a few things."
"Wh-who committed suicide?"
"Locals informed that she is " said the officer showed her the image of the cold and pale body out of which the soul was taken and all she could see was a familiar face and her dress reminding her of Kelly. She saw her pale face, blue lips and dead eyes staring straight at Viola's memories, forcing her to finally accept that it was Kelly. Viola stuttered to speak her name but then the words finally made out her mouth.
"That's my sister...Kelly"
"Oh...Viola, are you alright?"
"It's fine sir, I am okay"
"This might be complicated for you because this case became a bit complicated for you so I would understand if you don’t wish to do this"
"Don't worry sir, I am alright"
"If you say so, I would like to give you further details but first I need you to recognise this page which Kelly was holding in her hand”

‘ᚦᛖ ᛖᚡᛁᛚ ᚲᛁᛚᛞ’

“This is an ancient text of which we are not able to get a translation, if you know something about it can you explain”
Viola was not surprised about her family being peculiar but this was a different level.
“No sir, I do not recognize this text, but maybe Gabe can help. He is Ashley’s fiancé working in an archaeological department of scripts, I know we cannot give him details of this case but we can ask him to translate if he can”
“Okay then, I am leaving this case to you. I believe this is all I need to provide and further details will be mailed to you. You need to go there and take Ashley with you, find out about the whereabouts of those foreigners and your family and report back to me.”
Viola left with her assistant Ashley and Gabe to unravel the horrors her family left for her, upon arrival her feeling of restlessness returned seeing those pale-yellow walls and tinted glass windows and her garden turned brown and the Tree was strangely flourishing. As they entered the house a strong rotting smell filled the room. Their mouths covered as they went further, Ashley and Gabe following Viola who was heading upstairs to Kelly’s room as they went further Viola’s blood started to run cold not because she knew the truth would be terrifying but because the past she left for her to recover won’t be easy.
“Hey Gabe, Will you translate this text for me real quick?” Viola asked giving him the page which Kelly held.
“It says ‘The evil child’
Viola wondered about Kelly’s situation and she was confused about everything but couldn’t stop herself from going near her shelf which had a huge box. When Viola opened that box she saw a dress, a dried bouquet of lilies, a few photos and a letter addressed to her. Her hands were eager to read it but she knew she could not go through that.
“I think you should read it,” said Ashley
“No. I think it seems personal and we are working on a case right now”
“Working twice than feeling once will not take you anywhere but a messed-up mind Viola”
“Let’s just work Ash”
They searched Kelly’s room for evidence and then Viola got a text which terrified her, so much that she lost her balance
“Are you okay?” asked Ashley holding Viola and seeing her terrorized face full of fear and disgust she sat her down,
“It’s Kelly’s autopsy” Viola freed the words trapped in fear
“Well, what does it say?”
“They found h-human f-flesh in her stomach and that too of f-four different people”
“Are-“ Ashley was shocked and could not believe what she heard
“We need to find out why” Ashley concluded with a disturbed trance
Viola gets up and goes to her grandfather’s room and starts to search as he was the one acting too strange when she was around, she only had one dinner with her family at her place and after that day they all never saw each other again. She found a book in his locker which was strangely unlocked. She called Gabe and Ashley who were searching around in different areas.
“This book seems like it be written in the same language as the page Kelly was holding, I think the page she tore was from this book,” Viola exclaimed but she could not stop shaking even though it was not visible she could not be still
“Gabe translate the title of this book,” Ashley asked Gabe but little did she know after seeing Viola’s face which screamed she knew what was written.
“Viola? Are you okay?” Gabe asked, his voice distant through the fog in her mind.
She didn’t answer at first. Her voice finally broke the silence—shaky and terrified.
“I- I can read this.”
“What does it say?”
She swallowed. “The Crimson Covenant.”
“Viola how can you read this?” asked Ashley
“I- I don’t know”
“It might be blood bound” suggested Gabe followed by Ashley and Viola’s eyes on him
“It might go down the generation so Viola might be able to read it” said Gabe
“This book- I- I don’t know how to believe this” Viola did not just read the book she read her past which lingered with her to the future
“What does it say?” asked Ashley asked
“It says something about eating foreign souls in a page and another about a child who will eat the mother is evil so one must send it away or it will eat us.” Viola’s mind shutters in disbelieve and disgust of herself whom she believes is the cause of her mother’s death in such a disgusting way she never believed she would ever do it.
“If you were the one they sent away, then why Kelly kept ‘The Evil Child’ page, could it be that your family misunderstood you?” Ashley exclaimed in some sense she could process this horrible nature she discovered.
“This might be true; we cannot say anything until we read the whole book” supported Gabe nervously.
“I- I will read more” Viola flipped the pages in the hope that she wasn’t what she thought she was,
“This says something about utilizing humans to their full potential and I think it is not motivational so be ready to be horrified guys

‘Feed blood to Earth and flesh to nourish the wild beasts,
Keep them safe under the tree
Eat their soul to keep them alive

“Don’t read ahead I cannot listen to this anymore” Gabe begged with his blood frozen and mind disturbed unable to hear the fearful and disgusting truth.
“I think This is enough Viola, We should report this much to Officer Benard and tell him what happened to the tourists and I think this might be a horror to read about this and your family like this Viola,” Ashley said Viola who seemed weak but pretending to be alright but there was one thing left.
“No. This is not over Ash; we are asked to report everything and I know this all explains everything but we are yet to know the reason for suicide besides I deserve to know the truth. If Kelly was the evil child why did they keep me away from the truth my whole life.” Viola broke down after a long time.
“Kelly might have something to say” suggested Gabe
“Read her letter, Viola, she might tell you everything you want to know” Ashley agreed with Gabe while holding Viola.
Viola gathered some courage to read Kelly’s letter which read:

‘ Dearest Viola,
You live in a different world than us. A world where you are treated as a curse in ours because of a lie my father told. We share the same birthday but not the same childhood. I hated it all when I realised the truth that my father lied so that they wouldn’t separate me from him. You did not deserve to live away but living here was not pleasant at all. I was suffocated and forced to live in a world of lies and disgust while you were hungry for the family’s love. I heard you became a detective while I am a monster. I envy you but I love you so I'm ending this all with me leaving you with a book which might be able to explain to you about a monster like me. This family is not your past you wrote it all yourself. The dinner you invited us all to went in an eerie silence because they were scared of you. I felt like shouting the truth but my guilt was so deep that it wouldn’t have any effect on their hardcore heads. I would do it all the same way it has been written because I cannot stop myself now the guilt is driving my body now. ‘

Shivers ran down everyone’s spine and Viola was terrorized by the truth. The whole ride towards their city from the horrifying village was silent and traumatized. Viola sat in the back while Gabe was driving. They could not believe this monstrosity of human nature. Viola looked outside the window and saw that tree she used to see all the time; it was covered in snow.