Skip to content 
That morning seemed completely ordinary. My parents had gone to work, leaving my sister and me with our grandmother, who lived in a small house near the edge of a quiet forest. It was the kind of place where the trees felt endless, where the wind whispered through the branches like a secret.
But that day, I woke up feeling very sick.
I had a fever and could barely keep my eyes open. My grandmother put me in bed and stayed beside me, gently pressing a cool cloth against my forehead until I eventually drifted into sleep.
Ella, on the other hand, had energy that never seemed to run out.
She hated staying inside. While I slept, she went outside to play with her favorite red ball.
That was the last time anyone saw her.
The Silence Outside
Later that afternoon, my grandmother stepped outside to call Ella back into the house.
“Ella, it’s time to come in!” she shouted.