The Day Everything Came Back
The sound of keys hitting the marble floor echoed through the huge house.
But no one heard it.
No one… except Victor Hale.
He stood still at the entrance to the dining room, unable to move. His chest felt tight. His head burned. What he was seeing didn’t make sense.
It had to be stress.
A trick of the mind.
Something impossible.
Victor had come home early that Tuesday to grab some papers. He planned to leave again right away. He didn’t expect anyone to be there. He didn’t expect warmth. And he definitely didn’t expect this.
At the long wooden table—unused since his wife’s funeral five years ago—sat Maya, the young housemaid.
She wasn’t cleaning.
She was sitting.
And she wasn’t alone.
Four little boys sat around her.
Four boys who looked exactly the same.
Victor blinked. The children were about four years old. They wore blue shirts that looked strangely familiar. Over them were thin aprons, like someone had tried to protect their clothes.
They had the same messy brown hair. The same eyes. All of them watched Maya closely.
“Open your mouths, my little birds,” Maya said softly.
Her voice hit Victor hard.