From behind the counter, the librarian watched her.

She had come in quietly, like most students did, no sound except the faint creak of the door and her soft footsteps brushing against the old carpet. But there was something about her movement that caught his attention. It was not random. She wasn't browsing. She walked like someone who already knew exactly where she was going.

He adjusted his glasses and pretended to stack a few returned books, but his eyes stayed on her.

The girl - Una, that was her name, he remembered - stopped in front of the oldest section of the library. Hardly anyone ever went there. Most of the books in that corner hadn't been touched in decades. They were from another time - handwritten, strange, and whispered about by the few who still believed in things beyond the ordinary.

Yet, here she was, running her fingers along the dusty spines as though she could feel them humming beneath her touch. Her head tilted slightly, and then she reached for a thick, worn-out book, the one with the leather binding and the faint, carved sigil on its cover.

The librarian's heart skipped. Not that one...

He opened his mouth to call out, but she had already pulled it down. The old book groaned as it opened, its pages fluttering like wings as if it had been waiting for someone to touch it again.

She sat down at a nearby table, leaned forward, and started to read.

The librarian moved a little closer, pretending to dust one of the nearby shelves. His eyes narrowed as he saw her expression move from curiosity, confusion, and then to something like recognition. She was reading words written in a language long forgotten. He could see it from where he stood - looping symbols, flowing like river marks across the page.

But what startled him most was the way her lips moved. She wasn't just reading, she was understanding.

No one should have been able to read that book. Not unless they were one of them.

A chill crept down his spine. He glanced around, making sure no one else was there. The air around Una seemed to thicken, like the whole room had gone quiet just to listen to her breathe. The lamp above her table flickered.

She didn't notice. Her eyes were glued to the page, tracing the ancient markings.

Every now and then, her lips parted slightly, whispering words that had never been spoken aloud in centuries. Then her eyes darted to the bottom of the page, where the faint name of one of the authors was written. Her voice caught.

Nevera.

The librarian froze. The name sent a sharp sting through his chest. He hadn't heard it in years. Not since...

Suddenly, the room seemed to hum. The faint air shifted, and for a heartbeat, he could have sworn the lamps around them flickered in rhythm with her heartbeat.

He stepped closer, heart pounding. "Miss?" he said softly, trying not to startle her.

But she didn't hear. Her eyes were wide, shining faintly like candlelight catching in glass. The book pulsed faintly beneath her hand, almost alive.

"Miss," he tried again, a little louder, and placed a hand on her shoulder.

The instant his skin touched her, the air snapped.

Una gasped and jerked backwards, her chair scraping harshly against the floor. Her eyes glowed for a second, just a bright and unnatural flicker. The librarian stumbled back, catching his breath.

He knew that light. He had seen it once before - long ago, in the old forests of Carmenta, where witches hid from the world.

"I...I didn't mean to-" Una stammered, closing the book and holding it tightly to her chest.

Her hands were trembling. She didn't understand what had just happened, but something deep inside her told her she needed to leave.

She grabbed her bag, eyes darting to the exit. "I'm sorry," she muttered and hurried toward the door.

The librarian didn't move. He watched as she disappeared through the heavy doors, the sound echoing faintly in the silence that followed.

Only then did he exhale and press his shaking hand to his chest.

"She read it," he whispered, more to himself than anyone else. "After all these years... someone finally read it."

Una clutched the old, dusty book tightly against her chest as she hurried out of the library. Her heart was beating fast, and she could still feel the flicker in her eyes fading away. She didn't even know what had just happened. One moment, she was reading strange symbols she somehow understood, and the next, the librarian was looking at her like she had grown horns.

As she pushed open the library doors, she almost bumped into someone. The impact made the book slip a little from her hands. When she looked up, her stomach dropped. It was him-the guy from the party.

His eyes went wide like he'd seen a ghost. "Oh my God," he muttered, backing away. "It's you."

Before Una could say anything, he turned and ran off without another word.

Una stood there, frozen for a second, her mind spinning. Then she heard a familiar voice from behind.

"Una! Hey!"

It was Lana, walking out from one of the halls. She was waving at her, smiling, completely unaware of the tension that had just passed.

Una forced a shaky smile. "Hey, Lana. I...I'll call you later, okay?"

"What? Why-"

But Una was already moving fast toward the parking lot. She didn't want to talk. Not now. Not when everything felt so wrong.

She got into her car, threw the book on the passenger seat, and drove off. The whole ride home, her mind kept replaying the images, the glowing symbols, her flickering eyes, the way the librarian stared, and the guy's terrified face. It all felt unreal. Like she was walking through someone else's nightmare.

When she got home, she slammed the car door shut, grabbed the book, and went straight inside. The house was quiet except for the sound of the clock ticking in the living room. She dropped the book on the dining table and stood staring at it. It felt... alive somehow. Like it was calling to her.

She ran a hand through her hair and groaned. "What the hell is happening to me?" she whispered.

A few minutes later, the front door opened. "Una? You're home early," Aunt Reina said, walking in with a grocery bag in each hand. She was smiling at first-until she saw the book.

Everything about her changed. The smile dropped. The bags slipped from her hands and hit the floor with a dull thud.

"Where did you get that?" she asked, her voice trembling slightly.

Una frowned. "What? The book? I got it from the library."

She moved closer, eyes locked on the book like it was poison.

"Why are you acting weird?" Una tried to laugh it off, but it came out shaky.

Reina shook her head, her voice rising. "You shouldn't be reading things like that. Those are dark, dangerous writings. They're not meant for children, certainly not for us. We're Christians, Una. You can't fill your mind with these things. Take it out!"

Una blinked, confused. "It's just a book, Aunt Reina. Relax."

"I said I don't want it in this house!" Reina snapped suddenly. The sharpness in her tone made Una's chest tighten. "Throw it out. Now, Una. I'm serious."

​

Una stared at her aunt, shocked. The frantic fear in Reina's eyes didn't look like worry over sin; it looked like terror over exposure. Aunt Reina knew what this book was.

​

"What the hell, Aunt Reina? It's just a book!"

​

But Reina's eyes were cold now, desperate almost. "Please, Una," she whispered, voice trembling. "Get rid of it. Before it's too late."

​Una didn't know what that meant, but the fear in Reina's voice and the sudden, crushing sense of betrayal scared her. Her hands shook as she picked up the book.

​"Fine," she muttered, her voice breaking slightly.

"I'll take it where it can't hurt you."

​She turned and walked straight toward the front door, the book pressed tight against her chest once again. She wasn't throwing it away. She was leaving.

​

​Una didn't look back at Reina. She didn't need to. In that moment, she knew she wasn't sure if she was taking the book away... or if it was finally leading her exactly where she was meant to go.

She turned and walked out the door, the book pressed tight against her chest once again-only this time, she wasn't sure if she was taking it away... or if it was leading her somewhere.

Una didn't stop running until the house was far behind her and the trees swallowed her whole. The book was still clutched tightly to her chest, like it might burn her if she let go. Her breath came in ragged bursts, the argument with Aunt Reina still echoing in her ears.

When she finally slowed down, she found herself at the lake, the small one tucked just beyond the woods behind their house. It was quiet there, almost too quiet, and for a long moment, she just stood there, trying to catch her breath. Then she walked to the edge and sank onto the grass.

The book sat beside her, untouched. She didn't want to open it. Not yet.

Her mind was a storm - confusion, fear, and that strange heaviness in her chest. Aunt Reina's voice still rang sharp in her head: "I don't want that book around here, Una. Throw it out immediately."

Una scoffed softly. "It's just a book," she muttered to no one, hugging her knees.

That's when she noticed it.

The water. It was moving.

At first, it was just a faint ripple, so small she thought she'd imagined it. But then it kept going, circling, shifting almost as if it was alive.

She frowned and glanced around. There was no wind. No stones. Nothing.

"Okay..." she murmured, "that's weird."

She raised her hand slowly, just testing a thought and the water moved again.

Una froze. "Wait. No way."

She looked at her hand, then back at the lake. It was ridiculous. Impossible. She gave a nervous laugh. "Alright. If I'm moving water right now, then I might as well be Katara."

Grinning half in disbelief, she waved her hand dramatically, pretending to bend like in Avatar: The Last Airbender. The lake responded, the water gliding up like a silk ribbon following her command.

Her jaw dropped.

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me," she breathed, half laughing, half terrified.

So she tried again, this time imagining one of Katara's early training scenes. She swirled her wrist, and the water twisted; she lifted her hand, and it rose, shimmering under the afternoon light. It was clumsy and uneven, but it worked.

The absurdity of it made her giggle. She felt like she was dreaming, like she'd slipped into some strange world where her imagination had come alive.

On impulse, she focused on a leaf lying near her foot. "Alright, let's see," she whispered, flicking her fingers. The leaf trembled, lifted, and floated straight into the water.

She gasped, then laughed - an honest, giddy sound.

"Okay, Katara," she whispered to herself, "looks like we've got competition."

Feeling bolder, she shaped her hands, drawing the water into a small, glimmering sphere. It hovered for a second - just long enough for her to think she'd done it - before wobbling and smacking her right in the forehead.

Cold water splashed down her face.

Una yelped and fell backwards into the grass, laughing so hard her stomach hurt. "Alright," she said between giggles, "maybe not a master yet."

The lake quieted again, but it almost felt like it was smiling back at her.

Una couldn't stop laughing as she ran. The air was cold against her wet face, and her hair stuck to her skin, but she didn't care. She had just-what, moved water? Controlled it? Made it dance?

Every few steps she found herself giggling again, half from excitement, half from disbelief. She didn't even think about where she was going until she was standing outside Lana's house, clutching the still-damp book against her chest.

She burst through the door without knocking.

"Lana!"

Her voice rang through the living room, right over the sound of soft music and, well... other noises.

Lana froze on the couch, half-straddling a guy from school, Marco, or maybe Milo, Una wasn't sure. They both turned at once.

"Una?" Lana blinked, her lipstick smudged. "What the hell are you doing here?"

Una stood there, breathing hard, dripping lake water onto the carpet.

Lana squinted. "Wait-are you wet?"

Una didn't answer. She just pointed at the guy. "You. Out."

The guy blinked. "Uh-"

"Now," she said, still catching her breath.

Lana rolled her eyes, waving her hand. "You heard the witch, Marco. Go before she turns you into a frog."

He muttered something and scurried off, adjusting his shirt as he left. The door slammed.

Lana sighed, flopping back on the couch. "Seriously, Una, you have amazing timing. What's next, you gonna crash my shower too?"

But when she finally looked at Una properly, her teasing tone softened. "Hey... what's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost. And what's that?" She nodded at the book in Una's hand. "That creepy thing you were running out of the library with?"

Una just shook her head, pacing. "Lana, you won't believe me. You literally won't."

"Try me."

Una stopped, staring at her friend with wide, bright eyes. Her voice came out breathless. "I moved water."

Lana snorted. "You what?"

"I...moved...it!" Una said, throwing her arms around for emphasis. "At the lake. It moved, Lana! Like, it listened to me! I didn't even mean to...okay, maybe I did...but it just...happened!"

Lana blinked once. Then twice. Then she burst out laughing.

"God, you're serious!" she said between laughs. "You're serious! Oh my God, Una, this is the best thing I've heard all week."

Una frowned. "I'm not joking!"

"I know you're not," Lana said, still laughing, "and that's what makes it even crazier! Can't believe you're letting Katara get into your head."

She got up and grabbed a towel from the kitchen, tossing it at her. "Here. Dry off before you start floating my furniture."

Una caught it, glaring but then she smiled too. "I mean it, Lana. It's real. The water moved. And I think it was because of this." She lifted the old book slightly, almost reverently.

Lana's laughter quieted a bit. "The creepy witch diary?"

"It's not a diary," Una said, hugging it again. "It's... something else. I don't even know how to explain it. But when I read it, it felt like I knew what it was saying. Like the words were talking to me."

Lana stared at her for a long moment, half skeptical, half curious. Then she sighed and flopped onto the couch again.

"Okay," she said, patting the spot beside her. "Sit. Start from the top. And don't leave anything out. I want the full freaky details."

Una sat, still clutching the book.

As she began to tell Lana everything, the pull to the library, the flickering eyes, the symbols and Aunt Reina's reaction. As Lana listened, her usual humour dimmed little by little.

And by the time Una was done, the laughter had faded from her face completely.

"Okay," Lana said slowly, glancing at the book. "You're right. That's... not normal."

Una exhaled shakily, sinking deeper into the couch. "Yeah. Welcome to my new normal."

Lana sat there for a while, just watching Una's face. The book was still on Una's lap, heavy and old, its edges slightly wet from the lake water. For a moment, neither of them spoke. The air between them felt tight.

Finally, Lana cleared her throat. "Okay... so what now?"

Una blinked. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, what are you going to do about all this?" Lana asked, leaning forward, her elbows on her knees. "You said your aunt freaked out the second she saw that book, right? Like, that wasn't normal. That wasn't oh-my-niece-is-reading-weird-books freaking out. That was something else."

Una nodded slowly, her fingers tracing the edges of the cover. "Yeah. It was like she recognized it. The look in her eyes..." She shook her head. "It scared me. I've never seen her look that way before. Not at me, not at anything."

"Exactly," Lana said, sitting back. "So what if she actually knows something? Like, really knows? Maybe this whole thing isn't random. Maybe she's been hiding something from you."

Una frowned. "You think Aunt Reina's hiding something? Like what, Lana? You think she's secretly part of some underground magic club?"

Lana gave her a look. "Well, you're the one moving water and glowing in libraries. I'm just trying to keep up."

Una rolled her eyes but smiled faintly. "Fair point."

Lana sighed and looked at her again. "But seriously, Una. You can't just pretend none of this is happening. You said it yourself you've been feeling weird for weeks, animals reacting to you, trees moving, that cup thing at the café. Something's going on, and your aunt's reaction... that can't be a coincidence."

Una looked down, her thumb brushing a damp corner of the book. The old pages seemed to hum faintly under her hand, like they were alive and listening.

"I don't know," she said softly. "Part of me wants to just forget it, act like it never happened. But another part..." She paused. "Another part of me wants to know the truth. Like, what if I'm not just imagining things? What if there's something about me I don't know?"

Lana tilted her head. "So, you're gonna talk to her?"

Una hesitated, then nodded. "Yeah. I think I will. I mean, I can't just sit around pretending I'm normal if I'm not, right?"

Lana smirked. "You were never that normal anyway."

Una chuckled, shaking her head. "Thanks."

"So what are you gonna ask her?"

Una thought for a second. "I don't know... I guess I'll just start with the truth. I'll ask her what she knows. Maybe she's just trying to protect me or something. Maybe there's a reason she's been acting strange. But I'm done pretending I don't notice it."

Lana nodded slowly, her playful expression softening. "You're serious about this."

"I am," Una said, her voice steady now. "If there's something she's hiding... I want to know. I deserve to know."

Lana reached out and squeezed her hand gently. "Then I guess we're doing this together."

Una looked at her. "We?"

Lana shrugged. "Of course. You think I'm letting my best friend go all witchy and dramatic alone? Nah, I'm in this mess too now."

That made Una smile, a real one this time. "You sure you're ready for that?"

Lana grinned. "As long as it doesn't involve glowing eyes or haunted books trying to eat me, I'm good."

They both laughed, but the laughter faded quickly, leaving only the sound of the clock ticking softly on the wall. Una's gaze drifted to the book again.

She didn't say it out loud, but deep down she already knew, whatever answers Aunt Reina had been hiding wouldn't stay buried much longer.

The drive home was quiet. The sun was dipping low behind the trees, painting everything in shades of gold and orange. Lana kept glancing at Una from the passenger seat. Neither of them really said much. They both knew what they were about to do and maybe neither of them felt completely ready for it.

When they finally pulled up in front of the house, the lights inside were already on. The windows glowed softly against the dim evening, and a faint smell of herbs drifted out through the slightly open kitchen window.

Una frowned. "She's been cooking."

"Guess she knew we were coming," Lana said, forcing a small laugh.

Una tried to smile back but couldn't. Her hands were cold, and she didn't know why. Maybe it was nerves. Maybe it was something else.

They stepped into the house, and the warmth of it hit them. It smelled like home, but also different. Something earthy and sweet, mixed with a strange sharp scent that almost made the back of her throat burn.

"Una, you're home," Aunt Reina's voice came from the kitchen, calm and welcoming as always. "And Lana too. You should join us for dinner, dear."

Lana blinked, surprised. "Uh, sure. That sounds great."

Reina smiled at them as she stirred something in the pot. "You girls must be tired. Sit down. I made stew."

Una exchanged a quick glance with Lana. The table was already set, and there were two bowls waiting. Everything looked so normal - too normal.

They sat, and Reina served them with her usual gentle hands. But something about her eyes made Una's stomach twist. There was kindness there, but also... something else. Something hidden.

While the two girls ate, upstairs, a faint humming began to rise. The kind that wasn't meant for human ears. The room above them - Aunt Reina's room, was filled with candles. The flames flickered in rhythm with her low, melodic chant. The air shimmered faintly, the scent of burning sage and sea salt mixing with the night breeze.

Her voice was soft but powerful, weaving through the smoke like it carried weight. It wasn't just words, it was old magic. The kind that came from deep places.

She had already laid out what she needed: the herbs, the small bowl of saltwater, and the silver charm she always wore when she performed spells. Her hands moved slowly as she whispered, her eyes closed.

"Sleep the spark, calm the storm.

Quiet the power that wakes with dawn.

Let her heart forget, let her soul be still.

For truth brings death, and silence is will."

Una smiled faintly, though she couldn't help but feel something stir inside her. The melody wasn't just pleasant, it was thick, almost heavy. Her chest grew warm, her thoughts drifting like mist.

She blinked a few times, trying to stay focused, but the song was like a slow tide pulling her mind under. And soon enough, she joined the humming but stopped a few seconds later.

They ate quietly after that, and even Lana who never ran out of words had settled into the rhythm of it. By the time they were done, the house felt... different. Brighter. Too bright.

Lana stretched, licking her spoon.

"Okay, we've eaten, we've rested, now," She turned to Una with that look that always meant "Let's do this. "It's time we talk to your aunt. About everything. About the magic, the book, the lake..."

Una frowned.

"What?"

Lana laughed, thinking she misheard. "The book, Una. The weird glowing thing you found at the library? The one that made water dance? You said we were coming here to..."

"What are you talking about?" Una interrupted softly.

Her voice wasn't angry, just distant. As if the words themselves didn't make sense. She looked at Lana, searching her face for meaning. But all she found there was shock.

"Una," Lana said slowly, setting her spoon down. "You said... you moved water. You said you were scared, that Aunt Reina was acting strange. You...you really don't remember?"

Una stared down at her hands. Her fingers trembled slightly. There was a faint smell of herbs clinging to her skin and something else, something like burnt wax.

She tried to remember the lake, the laughter, the way her heart raced, but all she could see was a blur of water and light. Nothing clear. Nothing solid.

"I don't..." She swallowed. "I don't remember saying that."

Lana blinked, her face growing serious. "That's... that's really creepy, Una."

Across the table, Aunt Reina appeared at the doorway, her hands folded neatly in front of her.

"Everything alright, girls?" she asked, her tone calm, too calm.

Lana looked from her to Una. "Yeah, fine," she said slowly.

Una nodded, but her eyes stayed fixed on her aunt. For a moment, just a moment - she could've sworn she saw the faintest flicker of blue light pass across Reina's pupils, like a reflection of something unseen.

She blinked and it was gone.

The air suddenly felt colder.

And deep inside, beneath the fading hum of her aunt's song, Una could feel it - something had been taken.

She just didn't know what, or how much but Lana knew what...