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: The Quiet Before the Rift

Vale Hollow was filled with laughter that week.

With the Summer Festival around the corner, preparations filled the air with spice and music. The aroma of roasting yams and sugared nuts drifted along the dusty paths. Everywhere, the children were not left out.They weaved ribbons through their hair, and elders sat under broad trees telling old tales in hushed, fearful tones.

The summer festival was one enjoyed by all

It was a festival celebration dedicated on then conquering “the hollow”

The era of bloodshed has ended and they were not living on fear any longer

Aelina and Yvonne were often seen with their closest friends: Jorah, the weaver’s clever son, and Tala, the fire-hearted baker’s daughter.

Jorah has always had a little crush on Yvonne but he couldn't muster the courage to tell her since they—the villagers believed the girls are not of them. Tala was their best friend, she was always seen with them and people often thought that she was their sister. Sometimes, the twins would come help out tala in her father's bakery.

Together they danced between stalls, helped grind herbs for the festival stew, fetch firewood and tried unsuccessfully to teach goats how to bow.

“You’re too soft and calm,” Aelina teased Yvonne as they fed them leaves. “They know you’re a pushover.”

“They listen to me more than you,” Yvonne countered, smiling. “At least I don’t chase them with sticks and fight them but I know someone who does” she said looking at Aelina.

They laughed until their stomachs hurt. Even the villagers, who were once wary of the twins, had grown to welcome them, especially when they helped Mira predict the weather with accuracy, or found lost trinkets with almost supernatural ease.

But Thalia had grown quiet.

It started two nights before the festival. She had woken from a dream drenched in sweat,as if someone was chasing her,her hands were on her chest, whispering words no one taught her. She told the girls it was nothing—just the heat, just bad food—but her eyes no longer lingered on them the same.

She spent more time in her study, beneath their house. She grew cold not only to herself, to her daughter's even. The candles seemed as though they were pressured to give light. It shone dimly through the day, and she would stare at a bowl of water as if waiting for it to speak. Sometimes, she left letters folded in the hollowed base of the old cedar tree—letters she never mailed.

Yvonne noticed first.

“Mama doesn’t sleep at night, she is always in her study these days,” she whispered to Aelina as they lay on their mats. “I hear her crying sometimes.”

Aelina stayed quiet. She had noticed too, but didn’t want it to be true.

“She seems distant”added Aelina

The morning of the festival, Thalia took them aside before the music began.

She placed her hands over their foreheads and muttered a blessing neither of them recognized. It wasn’t the usual village words. It felt older. Wilder.

It also made them scared.

“If anything happens to me,” she began.

“Mama—” Aelina said sharply.

“Listen. If anything happens… she said amidst tears

“Don't be afraid, Never lose those pendants no matter what, they are your identities and will see you through. Who you are and why you are on earth is linked to these pendants. Never forget to find her!”

“identities, what identities” Yvonne asked, her voice trembling.

Aelina hugged her and she then noticed how fast her heart was beating.

“Why are u holding us like you are saying goodbye” added Aelina.

What's wrong” came Yvonne's voice amidst sobs.

While this was happening she never allowed her eye to meet theirs. She was saddened, now she leaves her daughter to fate. Her daughters also felt something bad will happen like her mother was leaving them.

Thalia looked at them with a mixture of fierce love and sorrow.

“To the Mother of All. You were not born just to live in this hollow. You were born for a bigger mission. And one day, you’ll understand. But not yet,not now”

She turned quickly after that and joined the dancers with a forced smile.

That night, while the village celebrated, Thalia went alone to the hidden study beneath their house.There, carved into the walls, was a twin-like feature,the Hollow Demon—sealed long ago by a traveler’s sacrifice. The seal pulsed faintly, as if something beneath it stirred.

In the village square, Marcus, a carpenter, who went to chop down some woods.He was seen running and terrified.

“The trees…..The trees

They…..they are all wilting and dying” said the man.

The villagers were shocked. What is happening could it be that the hollow has been stirred.

Afterwards, they concluded that the sun has been too strong lately, maybe that's why the trees were wilting.

Immediately, Aelina remember, mom has been acting weird tonight

“Yvonne, go look for mom. she has been quite weird while i go check what happening, maybe it's related to why mom……tears flew

“Ok, but be careful,” Yvonne replied.

“I’m not ready,” Thalia whispered, her hand over her heart.

But the voice from the shadows replied:

> “You were chosen. Your heart will keep the seal intact. Until the twins turn twenty…then your time will end!.”

“" I live only until then" Thalia whispered

A single tear fell down her cheek. “Will they know the truth?”

“They will feel it.”

And somewhere, far away in the deep, ancient dark…

The Hollow shifted.

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