Her eyes, as dark as the deepest night, bore into him, filling him with the worst sense of dread. They seemed to pierce him through his own eyes, as if she could see every thought in his head. The woman's hoarse, hostile voice matched her dark, cold aura perfectly. It was as if his body was frozen in place, paralyzed by fear.
The woman's words repeated in his brain like a broken record, as he tried to process what had just happened and avoid panicking. He didn't understand why Rebekah didn't scream or react, just stood there motionless.
He heard his father's call, signaling that it was time to leave. His footsteps echoed as he approached, and the sound of debris clattering served as a warning.
"No one will have my diary," she stressed every word before disappearing quickly.
Elijah stared at a fixed spot in the cemetery, feeling someone in front of him patting his cheeks and hearing his father's voice calling out to him, but it was as if the voice was a mere whisper.
"Elijah, son," it was his father. He looked up at him finally, blinking. "What's wrong with you? You look pale. Walk, Rebekah is in the car," his father practically dragged him, as it seemed that his feet had no strength. "Okay," he said as he got into the car and they drove away. "What's wrong with you?" his father asked again, but Elijah just stared blankly, still in shock. "Orleans... what...?"
"I saw her," Elijah said, and his father furrowed his brow in confusion. "I saw Melia."
"What?" he asked, turning on the windshield wipers as the rain poured down. "Stop messing around, who knows what you saw, you're just cold. Rebekah...what? Oh, listen to the music," he said, glancing at her in the rear-view mirror. But he could see that both his son and daughter were uneasy and restless. What had they seen to make them so frightened? he wondered. Still, he couldn't give any weight to what his son was saying. We're talking about someone who's over two thousand years old. It's absurd," he muttered, wiping a cloth over the fogged-up window. The rain was getting heavier, and Josh slowed down, remembering what his wife had told him: Keep your speed low in heavy rain. "We're almost there," he announced. He noticed his son writing furiously in his notebook. "What are you writing?"
"...Her gaze was like the sharpest barbs, her tone of voice was hostile and dark, almost malicious," he read aloud. "She had the strength of three strong men combined when she struck someone." His hands were shaking as he abruptly closed his notebook, gripping the seat tightly. "Father, you have to believe me."
"Did you see what you wrote or did you just come up with that yourself?" Josh asked in a serious tone.
"I saw what I wrote," Elijah insisted, and Josh rolled his eyes, letting out a sigh. "I swear."
"Elijah, come on, cut it out," his father said sternly. "You're so obsessed with this that you're seeing someone who's already dead."
"She's not dead!" Elijah yelled. "Ask Rebekah, she saw her too."
"I'm not going to ask her anything," Josh said firmly. "And let me say this once and for all: this thing with that woman is over."
Elijah threw a tantrum, which led to his father scolding him and starting an argument. Josh was fed up with it; he never thought his son would become so fixated on the subject.
"Shut up, we're on the road," Rebekah suddenly snapped. "Shut up, we're driving. Keep your mouths shut," she added, returning to her music. Josh and Elijah exchanged tense glances, knowing this could cost them their father.
It was a long drive home. Josh kept his eyes fixed on the road and suddenly felt the car jerk as if it had hit something. He shouted and pulled over to the side of the road.
"Wait here," he instructed, before getting out of the car into the pouring rain and shutting the door behind him.
Inside the car, Elijah was fidgeting with restlessness. His father and Rebekah seemed to be oblivious to his discomfort..
"Did you tell him?" she asked, and he nodded. "Did he believe you?"
"No," he replied, frustrated. "And why can't you just cooperate?" He tried to peer out the window through the rain. "Whatever," he muttered before opening the door and stepping out into the downpour.
Rebekah and Elijah watched as their father squatted down to change the flat tire.
"You never listen to me," Josh chided Elijah as he took the tool from him. "I don't know how the tire got damaged like that. It looks like an animal got its claws deep into it." He chuckled softly. "Nonsense." Standing up next to his son, he pulled out his mobile phone and called for a tow truck. "They're on their way. Should be here in ten or five minutes."
The three of them got back into the car and waited. Josh called his wife to let her know he would be running late, and then the car lapsed into silence.
Rain continued to pour down outside.