Gabriella’s POV
“Well, nothing serious. It’s just that I feel our daughter is not herself.”
“Did you two have a misunderstanding?”
“No, nothing like that. I just feel like something is bothering her.”
“Well, I would say, give her some space, okay? You know kids of this generation are smarter than we think. They also act very mature even when they’re not. If something is really bothering her, I’m sure she’ll come to us and talk about it.” I took a deep breath and reassured myself, “Nothing bad will happen to my daughter.” I picked up a towel and wrapped it around my chest as I walked out. Nick volunteered to dry my hair, and I agreed.
He kissed my neck while using the hair dryer, and I tried to play along. But deep down inside, I was worried as hell. I needed to see my daughter with my own eyes and make sure she was alright.
Leaving the room, I headed to the place where she was having her lessons with her tutor. On my way, I encountered her tutor. “Good morning, ma’am.”
“Good morning, miss. Is my daughter on break?”
“Yes, ma’am. She’s working on her classwork with her friend. I just needed to grab something.”
“Okay, thank you so much. But can I ask you something?”
“Yes, ma’am,” the female tutor replied.
“Have you noticed anything strange about my daughter?”
“Not at all. She’s smart and kind.”
“Okay, thank you so much. I’ll just check on her.” I left the tutor and opened the door. My eyes nearly popped out of my sockets when I saw her friend lying on the floor, unmoving, and my daughter laughing.
“Estella, what happened here? Talk to me. Did you hurt her? Why isn’t she moving?” I questioned, holding my daughter and hoping that none of this was real. My daughter hurting a witch’s daughter… they wouldn’t take it lightly. It could be an opportunity for the witches who hate us to start a fight with the werewolf pack.
“Mother, why are you looking at me like that?” Estella asked with a sad tone, and just then, the girl on the floor woke up.
“Are you hurt?” I asked her, and she nodded, saying, “I’m not hurt. We were just playing a game. I was pretending to be dead, and Estella was acting like she had taken my soul.” For a few seconds, I tried to digest the whole thing. “So, you mean you were just playing?”
“Yes,” they both answered simultaneously.
“Goodness, you really scared me. Can you two play a different type of game, not this?” I said, attempting to fake a smile.
“Okay, Mom. But why are you here? Don’t tell me you thought I’d actually hurt someone?” Estella asked. My daughter was too wise for her age. If I agreed to what she was saying, it might seem like I was doubting her innocence. “Oh, come on. My daughter is not capable of hurting anyone. And I missed you as well. I came to check on you. Since you’re fine, I’ll be leaving now.” I kissed her cheek before leaving.
Oh, Gabriella, you need to calm down. There’s nothing wrong with Estella. Everything that happened last night is over, and she’s much better today. I’ll continue with my daily routine today, and that’s all. I took a deep breath and left.
I joined the other ladies at the market as usual since Nick wasn’t at home. But I noticed I couldn’t fake my happiness with them anymore. I kept thinking about what happened last night and wondering if Estella might actually do something to harm her tutor or her friend. Maybe I should return and keep a close watch on her, or maybe I should have faith in my daughter that no harm will come to her.
“Gabriella, are you okay? You’re not contributing to our conversation,” one of the ladies tapped me, and I lied.
A few days later, I noticed Martins’ absence, and I also observed that Nick was spending a lot of time in the woods. I felt like everyone was hiding something from me, and I couldn’t handle everything on my own. So, the first thing I decided to focus on was my daughter. I received complaints from her friends that when they were with my daughter, she would suddenly act like a different person and appear very scary to them. But if I questioned Estella, she would always claim not to remember such occurrences.
Every time I closed my eyes, I had the same dream of my daughter being consumed by darkness. I could barely sleep or eat. I always wanted to check on her. I stopped joining the women’s gatherings, and Nick hadn’t even noticed.
“Gabby, what’s on your mind?” I heard Margaret’s voice, snapping me out of my deep thoughts.
“Me? What did you say?”
“Talk to me. Is something going on that I should know?” She asked, and I decided to confide in her.
“It’s Estella. She’s behaving strangely, and I keep having these scary nightmares about her being consumed by darkness.”