As Jordan approached the house that he once called home, he could see nothing but ash and charcoal. After what felt like years, he finally made it to his front door. He pushed the door open, which fell apart in his hands, and walked inside.
Swallowing the lump in his throat he called out "Mom, Sasha, Aran? Anybody here?" and of course, he received no reply. Jordan hearing no reply felt a slight glimmer of hope in his heart, maybe there was no one here.
He quickly increased his pace and began searching the house from top to bottom, intentionally avoiding this most burned part. With no sign of his mother or siblings anywhere he remained enthusiastic that maybe it was not as bad as it looked.
He was finally ready to search through the most burnt part of the house. He began rummaging through everything he could to see if there was maybe anything that could be salvaged.
Unfortunately, nothing survived that could still possibly hold any value or meaning. As he approached the old linen closet which despite all the burn and scorch marks still held strong, for some reason he began to feel a sense of dread.
He quickly chose to believe that it was just his mind and that after was all done he would find his family and rent a room at the village local inn and get a good night's rest.
As Jordan pulled out the debris that had fallen from the second floor and ceiling that blocked the path, the sense of dread encroaching on his heart and mind only intensified.
He began panting and swiftly pulling everything blocking his path as he simply and without care tossed it all aside. As the path was cleared Jordan looked into the closet as his face slowly morphed into one of absolute terror and he took a few paces back.
'No, no…this can't be real. This is all just one big nightmare and I'll wake up soon, right? RIGHT?' he began muttering and talking to himself. Inside the closet were the figures of three burnt corpses tied and bound together in shackles and ropes that had mostly been incinerated.
Two females and one male, two of kids' stature, and one adult. Jordan stared at the corpses as tears began to stream down his cheek.
Jordan felt lost, hopeless even. His eyes grew listless as his brain drew blanks and failed to comprehend how he should respond. He was overwhelmed by grief and no longer did he desire to live.
Everything he desired to protect was taken from him, all his hopes and dreams crushed. His aspirations and goals? Mere jokes in the face of reality.
Jordan began to scream at the top of his lungs as he wailed and cried. He cried so hard that soon there were no tears left to be spared.
His tears turned to blood and his wails to whimpers. This was it, he could take no more, and he could continue no further. It was at this time amid his pain and suffering that he suddenly noticed his mother's corpse begin to glow a bright blue color as a transparent midst suddenly enveloped the area.
In front of him and out of his mother's burnt husk a little goldfish appeared. Its light was dim and it looked very weak. The goldfish suddenly opened its mouth, and a voice began to sound out.
Not just any voice but that of his mother. Jordan suddenly focused and listened closely when the voice started speaking.
"Jordan, I don't know if you will make it in time before my spirit passes away after me. But just in case I decided to leave this message for you. First, I want you to know that both me and your father loved you so much as well as Sasha and Aran. I'm sorry we won't be there for you any longer, but our memory lives on in you.
I don't have much time but Jordan you need to run, escape this village and this forest, and never return. You should have received your spirit companion today, I'm sure it's wonderful. Use its power to escape and survive. Last but not least, you need to find your father, he will protect you. I love you."