Chapter 10
Ava's POV
The drive back to my own home felt endless. Even though I was leaving the heavy, dark feeling of Dave's parents' house, the words Mr. Theron had spoken echoed in my mind like a chilling whisper: "Black magic... control... draining their life force... chosen for a purpose." The ordinary world outside my car window – familiar streets, busy cars, people walking by with their everyday worries – seemed blind to the ancient, dark evil that was playing out in my sister's life. It felt unreal, like I was living in two different worlds at once. One where life went on as normal, and another where Avina was caught in a terrifying trap of unseen forces. The thought that she was being *used*, *chosen*, made a cold knot twist and tighten in my stomach. What kind of dark goal did Dave's family have? And why Avina?
My own house, small and cozy compared to the grand mansions of the Venter family, usually felt like a safe place. But as I pulled into the driveway, it felt different now. It was still comforting, with the familiar smells of my mother's cooking and my father's old books, a reminder of the normal life I desperately wanted to protect. Yet, it also felt strangely like a place where the full, terrifying truth couldn't quite exist.
I walked in, and my parents looked up from the living room, surprised but happy to see me.
"Ava, dear! Back so soon?" my mother asked, her face warm and welcoming. "How was your 'appointment'?" She didn't push for details, just casual curiosity.
I took a deep breath, trying to steady myself. This was it. I had to tell them. I sat down, facing them, trying to find the right words to explain something so unbelievable. "Mom, Dad," I started, my voice shaky, the words feeling too big for our small living room. "I didn't have an appointment. I went to see Mr. Theron."
My father's eyebrows went up, and a subtle warning flashed in his eyes. He slightly stiffened in his armchair. "Mr. Theron? Your old teacher? What on earth for, darling?"
"It's about Avina," I said, leaning forward, my urgency growing with every word. "She's in trouble. Real trouble. The dreams she's having, the way she's so tired and forgetful... it's not just stress, like Dave keeps saying. Mr. Theron thinks it's... it's *black magic*. He said it's about control, about draining her, that she was 'chosen' for some kind of 'process' by Dave's family."
The words hung heavy in the air. My mother's kind face slowly lost its color, and her lips pressed into a thin line. My father, who usually stood firm as a rock, shifted uncomfortably in his seat, avoiding my gaze.
"Black magic, Ava?" My mother's voice was thin, almost a whisper, filled with a disbelief that felt too strong, too practiced. "Don't be silly. Those are old stories. Avina is stressed, darling. A new house, a new husband, a different life. It's perfectly normal to be overwhelmed." She even managed a small, forced laugh, but it sounded brittle, like glass about to break.
*"A new husband?"* The words hit me like a small, sharp stone. I was too caught up in the main argument, too desperate for them to believe me, to fully process that strange phrase in the moment.
"Normal?" I pushed back, my voice rising, desperate for them to understand. "She's having nightmares about a locked room that feels like it's in their house and at Dave's parents' house! And his father talked about 'the process' and 'choosing' her, like she's a thing! Mr. Theron said this kind of darkness runs in families!"
My father cleared his throat loudly, a sound meant to silence me. "Ava, that's enough," he said, his voice unusually sharp. "You're getting carried away. Your imagination is running wild. These are serious accusations against a respectable family. You've always been... sensitive, with your 'feelings,' but this is too far."
"But I feel it, Dad! It's real! And Mr. Theron confirmed it!" I pleaded, my frustration boiling over.
My mother stood up and went to the window, her back to us, her shoulders tight. "Some things are best left alone, Ava," she said, her voice strangely tight and cold. "You shouldn't go digging into other people's lives. It only causes trouble."
My father put a hand on my arm, his grip firm, almost a warning. "Your mother is right. This is Avina's life now. She married into that family,you must respect that. Drop this, Ava. It's just a silly imagination. Focus on your own life." His eyes met my mother's over my shoulder for a brief, heavy moment. It was a look I couldn't quite read – fear? Warning? Shared knowledge? It was too quick, too knowing, for them to be truly dismissing my words as just "imagination." It was as if they were deliberately choosing to ignore something terrifying.
A cold dread washed over me, different from the supernatural fear. My own parents. They weren't just disbelieving me; they were actively trying to shut me down, to make me stop. And that look they shared, their strange fear, my mother's words about "leaving things alone"... it was like they knew something about the Venter family that they weren't telling me. A secret. A hidden past. Something that made them afraid to even speak of it, choosing to call my words "imagination" instead of facing whatever truth they knew.
"You don't understand," I whispered, pulling my arm away. But their faces were set, their eyes now carefully blank. They wouldn't listen. They couldn't listen, or maybe, they dared not listen.
I left them in the living room, the TV still murmuring in the background. My home, which had felt like a refuge, now felt like another prison, trapping me in silence and unanswered questions. If my own parents wouldn't believe me, wouldn't help, then I was truly alone in this. Alone, save for Mr. Theron.
I went to my room, the quiet pressing in around me. I slumped onto my bed, the feeling of isolation deeper than ever before. My parents' words started to ring in my mind, replaying like a broken record. *"A new house, a new husband."*
My breath hitched. *"A new husband."*
Now, with the argument fading, that phrase hit me with full force. What did she mean by "new"? Avina had never been married before Dave. I would know. We were sisters, close. She'd never even had a serious boyfriend for long, let alone a husband. My mind raced, trying to search through all my memories of Avina's past. Was there anyone? A hidden engagement? A secret elopement? No. Nothing. Not a single memory of Avina being married to anyone else.
The words echoed, chilling me to the bone. Were my parents lying to me? To themselves? Was this another "duplicate lie," like the dreams, like the houses? Was Avina's past being rewritten, twisted, even in my parents' minds? Or did they truly believe she had a previous husband, meaning their own memories were also being tampered with? The thought made my head spin with a dizzying new kind of fear.
Mr. Theron's words about prayer and meditation suddenly felt not just like advice, but like a desperate lifeline. I had to strengthen myself. For Avina. Because it was clear now: if I didn't fight this unseen battle, if I didn't uncover every single one of these lies, no one else would. My sister was caught in a dark, intricate web, and I was the only one who could see the threads. I had to learn how to cut them, before Avina, and perhaps even my parents, were lost forever.
End of chapter...
What do you think Ava's next steps will be, now that she's faced this unsettling dismissal and a new layer of possible deception from her parents?
Are they also hiding something?"
Tbc...