Chapter One: The End of Peace

Years ago...

In 1914, the world first tasted the taste of war that would later be called World War I.

A war that was not supposed to last more than a few months...

But every day, it swallowed up more borders.

Cities were disappearing one after another in smoke.

Forests were burning.

Houses were destroyed.

And children whose laughter once echoed in the streets were now awakened by the sound of explosions.

In those days...

It seemed as if the sky itself had lost hope.

The rain washed away the ashes...

But it could not erase the memory of the war.

---

Somewhere in Britain...

A cold wind was blowing through the half-ruined streets.

The cracked window pane trembled with every gust of wind.

Inside the house, a heavy silence reigned.

Not one of those quiet silences...

One of those silences that makes you take a deep breath.

A sixteen-year-old girl stood by the window.

Her hands were clasped behind her back and her gray gaze was fixed on the street.

The first.

She pressed her lips together softly.

Her usual habit, whenever something occupied her mind.

In the distance, the sound of a military train was heard.

Then...

A loud whistle.

And silence again.

The door to the room opened softly.

A girl of her age, with slightly disheveled hair, poked her head in.

Her gaze still held the same warmth as always.

“Eli…”

Eli said without turning around:

“Are you awake?”

Ariel took a few steps forward.

“I wasn’t asleep at all.”

She stood next to her sister and looked out the window.

For a few seconds, neither of them spoke.

Then Ariel smiled faintly.

“Do you think… one day everything will be the same again?”

Eli didn’t answer.

She just looked away from the street.

It was as if she knew the answer to this question…

But she didn’t want to say it out loud.

At that moment…

There were three loud knocks on the door.

Knock.

Knock.

Knock.

Both sisters turned involuntarily toward the door.

No one was coming to see them.

And no one knocked on other people’s doors for no reason in these days of war.

“Stay behind me, yes,” Olin said quietly.

Ariel wanted to say something...

But this time, the fourth knock was louder than the previous three.

As if someone on the other side of the door... was in a hurry!

Olin took a few slow steps toward the door.

The wooden floor of the house groaned a little under her feet.

She put her hand on the handle, but didn’t pull it down.

She listened for a few seconds.

The sound of breathing...

Nothing.

The sound of footsteps...

Nothing.

Only the wind whistled through the crack in the window.

Ariel whispered softly:

“Maybe it’s the neighbors…”

Olin shook her head in disagreement.

“Neighbors don’t knock like that.”

There was another knock.

This time, more quietly.

Knock...

It seemed like no one had the energy to knock anymore.

Evelyn took a deep breath and opened the door a crack.

Outside...

There was no one.

The alley was empty.

The wind was rolling a crumpled newspaper across the cobblestones.

Ariel said in surprise:

"No one?"

Evelyn looked around without answering.

Her eyes suddenly fell on something by the first step.

A small, old leather envelope.

There was no stamp or sender's name on it.

Only one sentence was written in black ink:

"Only by Evelyn"!!

Her heart beat faster.

Ariel bent down to pick up the envelope.

But Evelyn grabbed her hand faster.

"Wait."

Ariel frowned.

"It's just a letter."

Evelyn didn't take her eyes off the envelope.

"No..."

His voice was quiet, but firm.

"No one knows my name."

The wind blew again.

The envelope shifted slightly on the steps.

At that moment...

A terrible explosion rang out from the distance in the city.

The windows of the house shook.

A flock of crows flew into the sky in terror through the smoke.

Ariel involuntarily moved closer to Evelyn.

"Evelyn..."

Evelyn bent down, picked up the envelope, and stared for a moment at the red seal on it.

A seal whose design was unfamiliar to her...

A circle with a sun in its center.

And right under the sun...

Three letters were engraved.

O.N.

The two of them still didn't know...

This small envelope was the last sign of their normal lives.

From tomorrow...

Nothing would be the same again.

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