CHAPTER 13

“What room was it again? You're not hypnotizing me again, are you?” he asked anxiously as he was afraid of going through that once more.

“Why should I be cruel to just one person in a single day? If you want the answers to your questions, just do as I say or I'll send you back home and be warned: no matter how hard you look for her, you'll never find her. I'm your only option, so take it!”

The prospect of not receiving answers after coming this far was terrifying and he didn’t want to experience it.

“I'll accompany her.”

“You should have said it earlier. Now, obey Anne and follow her.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

He got to his feet and followed Anne out of the office. They did not return the way they came but instead went in a different direction. They passed through so many rooms, and his mind kept wandering to what he would find in the room he was supposed to enter. Anne finally came to a halt in front of a door that appeared to be very old and unrelated to the mansion.

“Enter, your answers are here,” she said as she motioned for him to go through it

“Alone?” he anxiously asked.

“Why? Are you afraid?”

“I'll be honest, I am,” he didn’t bother to hide his true feelings towards the whole situation.

“This is what you have to go through; it's you who need the answers. I already have my answers. Now, hurry up before she changes her mind.”

He mustered all his courage and pushed open the massive door. It kept creaking as if it was haunted, but he still opened it and entered the room.

He couldn't see anything because it was so dark and mysterious, but then a light appeared, and he followed it. If you can't see, just follow the light, as his mother used to say, and he did just that. He was walking, stumbling, and falling, but he kept going until it suddenly became bright.

The scene in front of him was stunning, like something out of a fantasy film. The air was clean and cool, with no odors of smoke. The flowers were swaying freely, and birds were chirping all around. Everything appeared to be happy and carefree. What was the point of it all?

“Dylan!!!” yelled a familiar voice, and his heart skipped a beat.

“Mother!” he exclaimed, turning his head towards the voice.

He couldn't believe it when she appeared right in front of him, as if she were a ghost. He understood this was one of Violet's ruses.

“Is that you, mother?” he asked as he approached her with caution, afraid that this may be an illusion and he will be yanked away from it.

She was more beautiful and happier than she had been before, this dream was seriously too much for him.

“Could it be anyone else, Dee?” the woman asked in a teasing tone.

She was the only one who addressed him in that manner, and this proved that he was dreaming, and everything was real.

“Didn't you leave me?” he asked in a choking tone, looking at the woman he thought was long dead and gone after seeing that the other time.

"I will never abandon you, my love," the woman, his mother shook her head as she looked at her son with teary eyes.

“Where have you gone and where are you?”

“I'm right here with you.”

“I'm not saying that I need to know where you are!”

“I understand what you're saying. Mother will come to see you when the time comes, but I have a debt to repay,” she shook her head, refusing to divulge the place where she was currently at.

“I can pay for it if you come back to me.”

“Some debts cannot be repaid by another person. There is always a cost to everything, and this cost must be borne solely by me.”

“What happened to you exactly?” Dylan was now dying to know the truth and just wanted to save his mother and be with her once more.

“I'm glad to see you son; obey your father and don't make me or your family look bad; instead, learn to share your thoughts. Keep them out of the house.”

He could tell she was about to leave, but there was nothing he could do about it; he couldn't even touch her; she was as if she were a fog.

“I never got the chance to say it, but I'm sorry mother, and I love you.”

“I know Dee, I understand. Mother has a lot on her plate; I'll see you soon.”

“When can I come to see you?”

“Ask her; she might know a way, but there's always a cost. Keep that in mind.”

“I am willing to do anything.”

“Don't make hasty decisions and take care of yourself. “Goodbye, son, I love you,” she said as she vanished into thin air.

Before he could comprehend what had just occurred, he found himself at the door's threshold, as if he had never entered. He tried to open it, but it didn't even budge.

“She wants to see you,” said a familiar voice, causing him to stop what he was doing. When he turned around, he noticed Anne staring at him.

“Its purpose has already been served; now follow me.”

He followed her but this time they didn't go to the office but instead went outside to the gazebo where he first noticed her in the morning. She was seated there, sipping juice, and snacking while a maid massaged her shoulders.

“The child has returned. Did you have a good conversation with your mother, Dee?”

“How did you do it?”

“I know what I want, and that's how I got to where I am now,” she lazily responded.

“What is it that my mother owes you?” he asked with vigilance as he wanted to know more about this debt thing that was bugging him.

“That's a secret between the two of us, and I'm not going to tell you anything.”

“I'd like to see her.”

“She won't see you until she repays her debt, but if you want to see her, you must sign a contract; only then will you be able to see her.”

“I'll do anything if you tell me how,” he begged her seeing that she wasn’t saying anything.

“Go home for the time being, and I'll think about it. I'll tell you in three days if you find me.”

“Don't break your word.”

“I'm not going to.”

“I'm going to leave; I have a lot to do.”

“I suppose you do, but don't forget to talk to Rita before it's too late. You wouldn't
want to upset your mother.”

He couldn't respond because he had completely forgotten about Rita, especially after his strange encounter with his mother and Violet. He simply walked away and went straight to his car. He exited the mansion through a completely different gate and was surprised to see it join the road that one takes after passing through the wisdom gate.

This was one of the strangest, scariest days he'd had since his birth. Experiencing something like this again would cause him to have a stroke or contract a strange disease that would kill him.

Violet was a witch, and he had witnessed it. It was the first time he saw and witnessed something like that. He never thought that the world he lives in was full of so many strange things and seeing this today, he didn’t know how to view the world again.

The debt owed by his mother was all that was on his mind right now. When he
signed the contract, he wondered what his own would be. He felt like he was about to sell his soul to the devil, but he would do anything to see his mother again.