The house remained silent after the whisper.

Welcome home.

Nora stood frozen in the hallway.

Her hand was still wrapped around Julian’s.

The front door refused to open.

Julian tried the handle again.

Nothing.

He pulled harder.

Still nothing.

“Move away from the door,” he said.

Nora didn’t move.

“Julian…”

“Now.”

Something in his voice made her obey.

She stepped backward.

Julian reached into his pocket and pulled out a small brass key.

Nora stared at it.

“You have another key?”

“I have many.”

“To this house?”

“To the parts of it that want to stay closed.”

Before Nora could ask what that meant, a soft sound came from upstairs.

A child’s laughter.

Nora looked toward the staircase.

“Did you hear that?”

Julian nodded.

“Yes.”

“Who is here?”

“I don’t know.”

“You said you knew this house.”

“I know the house.”

“That’s not an answer.”

Julian looked at her.

“You want answers?”

“Yes.”

“Then we need to find the room.”

“What room?”

“The room your grandmother spent twenty years trying to hide.”

A cold feeling moved through Nora.

“What is inside it?”

Julian looked toward the ceiling.

“Your memories.”

Nora laughed nervously.

“That’s impossible.”

“Everything about this house is impossible.”

He walked toward the staircase.

Nora followed.

The hallway lights suddenly turned on.

Every bulb flickered at the same time.

Then a photograph fell from the wall.

Nora picked it up.

It was another picture of her.

But this time, she was younger.

Maybe six years old.

She stood beside a woman who looked like her grandmother.

And beside them stood Julian.

Nora stared at him.

“You were there.”

Julian said nothing.

“How old were you?”

“Twenty-four.”

“But this photograph is from twenty years ago.”

“Yes.”

“You haven’t aged.”

Julian looked away.

Nora felt a chill.

“What are you?”

He didn’t answer.

They reached the second floor.

Julian stopped beside a blank wall.

“There.”

Nora looked at it.

“There’s nothing there.”

“There used to be a door.”

“When?”

“Before you forgot.”

He placed his palm against the wall.

For several seconds, nothing happened.

Then the wall began to glow.

A thin blue line appeared.

It formed the shape of a door.

Nora stepped backward.

“What is happening?”

Julian took her hand.

“Don’t be afraid.”

The blue outline became brighter.

The wall slowly opened.

Behind it was a narrow room.

Nora stared.

Inside were dozens of mirrors.

Hundreds of them.

Small mirrors.

Tall mirrors.

Round mirrors.

Broken mirrors.

Every single one reflected Nora.

But each reflection was different.

In one, Nora was crying.

In another, she was laughing.

In another, she was wearing a white dress.

In another, she was standing beside Julian.

And in one mirror—

Nora saw herself as a little girl.

She was holding Julian’s hand.

Nora stepped closer.

The little girl smiled.

Then she spoke.

“Don’t trust him.”

Nora jumped backward.

Julian grabbed her shoulders.

“Don’t look into the mirrors.”

“Why?”

“They show things that aren’t supposed to be remembered.”

“But that was me.”

“Yes.”

“And you were there.”

“Yes.”

“Then tell me what happened.”

Julian looked at the mirror.

His expression changed.

“You loved me.”

Nora’s heart skipped.

“What?”

“You loved me.”

The room became completely silent.

Nora stared at him.

“I don’t remember.”

“I know.”

“Did I love you?”

Julian nodded.

“More than anything.”

Nora looked down.

“And what happened?”

Julian’s eyes became sad.

“Your grandmother believed our love would destroy you.”

“Why?”

“Because she knew what you were.”

Nora shook her head.

“I don’t understand.”

“You were born with something unusual.”

“What?”

Julian hesitated.

“You can remember dreams.”

Nora frowned.

“Everyone remembers dreams.”

“Not like you.”

He pointed toward the mirrors.

“You don’t dream about things that happened.”

“You dream about things that haven’t happened yet.”

Nora stared at him.

“That’s why my dreams feel real?”

“Yes.”

“Why did my grandmother erase my memories?”

“Because one of your dreams showed her something.”

“What?”

Julian didn’t answer.

“Julian.”

He finally looked at her.

“You dreamed about this house burning.”

Nora’s heart sank.

“When?”

“Seven years ago.”

“But I was here twenty years ago.”

“Exactly.”

Nora stared at him.

The numbers didn’t make sense.

Then she noticed something written on the wall.

She moved closer.

It was written in red.

THE FIRE HAS ALREADY BEGUN.

Nora turned toward Julian.

“What does that mean?”

A loud crack came from downstairs.

Then came the smell of smoke.

Julian’s eyes widened.

“We have to go.”

They ran toward the stairs.

Smoke was filling the hallway.

Flames appeared beneath the front door.

Nora coughed.

“The house is on fire!”

Julian pulled her toward the back corridor.

“We can’t use the front.”

They ran through a narrow passage.

Nora suddenly stopped.

“Wait.”

“What?”

She pointed toward the wall.

A photograph was hanging there.

It showed the house.

The same house.

Burning.

And standing in front of it were Nora and Julian.

Nora stared at the photograph.

The date beneath it was tomorrow.

Her voice trembled.

“Julian…”

He looked at the photograph.

For the first time since Nora had met him—

he looked terrified.

“It’s happening.”

“What?”

“The dream.”

The photograph suddenly changed.

The flames disappeared.

Now it showed Nora standing alone in the garden.

Behind her was a grave.

Julian walked closer.

His face went pale.

Nora looked at the name written on the grave.

She couldn’t breathe.

The name was:

JULIAN VALE

The date of death was tomorrow.

Nora turned slowly toward him.

“You’re going to die.”

Julian looked at her.

Then he whispered:

“That’s why I came back.”

Before Nora could respond, every mirror in the house shattered at once.

And from somewhere deep inside the burning house—

a woman’s voice screamed:

“You were never supposed to remember him!”