A baby pressed his face against the wall every hour, always in the same place. His father thought it was just a phase. But when the child finally spoke, he uttered three words that shed light on everything. And the truth was absolutely terrifying.

“He spoke real words,” she said in a low voice.

David was confused.

“He scarcely speaks yet.”

“I know it,” she answered. But I’m absolutely certain he said, “I don’t want her back.”

David stopped moving completely.

“What did he say?”

“That’s exactly what I heard him say. I don’t want her to come back.

The room remained plunged into total silence. Ethan was sitting on the floor, still looking at the wall. David stared at his son, feeling a tight knot form in his chest. He knelt beside him, his hands trembling.

“Ethan,” he murmured in a scarcely steady voice. Who? Who do you not want her to come back?

The silence stretched interminably. The child turned so slowly that time seemed to stand still. His large, terrified, strangely serious blue eyes stared directly at his father’s. The tears began to shine there. David held his breath. The room seemed to become colder.

Then, in a voice so soft that it almost sounded like a phantom breath, Ethan uttered three words that would haunt David forever.

— The Lady of the Wall.