Kirana was still holding the letter, her hands trembling nonstop. The short sentence inside felt like it was opening a door to something her family had deliberately kept tightly sealed all this time.
"Kirana, if you've found this, then the time has come for you to learn the real reason I left."
She read the sentence over and over.
"Why would Nara hide this letter somewhere secret?" Raka asked.
Kirana slowly shook her head.
"I don't know."
They were both still standing in front of the wardrobe. The room, which usually felt comfortable, now seemed filled with questions.
Raka took a deep breath.
"Should we read it now?"
Kirana looked toward the bedroom door.
"I'm not sure."
"Are you scared?"
Kirana was silent for a moment.
"Yeah."
Raka looked at his sister.
"I've never seen you afraid of anything your whole life."
Kirana gave a faint smile.
"Because usually, all I have to deal with are ordinary problems."
"What about this?"
Kirana looked at the letter in her hands.
"This is about my family."
Raka said nothing. He knew this was something they couldn't take lightly.
At last, Kirana sat on the bed. Raka sat down beside her.
Slowly, Kirana unfolded the letter.
Nara's handwriting appeared again.
"Kirana, I don't know when you'll find this letter. It could be years from now, or maybe sooner than I expect."
Kirana paused for a moment.
"I'm writing this because there's something you need to know."
She continued reading.
"I know many people will say that I left because I wanted to. But that isn't the truth."
Kirana fell silent at once.
"So what have people been saying all this time?" she whispered.
Raka looked at her.
"Sis, does that mean Nara didn't leave because she wanted to?"
Kirana continued.
"Circumstances forced me to leave this house. I wanted to stay with all of you, especially you, Kirana."
Her eyes began to brim with tears.
"Nara really did love me."
Raka said nothing.
The letter felt heavier and heavier as she read it.
"There is one thing that frightens me. It isn't what happened to me, but what might happen to Kirana."
Kirana stopped.
Her heart began beating faster.
"What does that mean?"
She read the next part.
"Ever since she was little, Kirana has always been able to sense things other people can't. I don't know why, but this room has always made her feel calm."
Kirana looked around the room.
She remembered all the strange things that had happened to her.
The voice.
The messages.
The changing book.
It was all beginning to feel like part of something much bigger.
"This doesn't make any sense," Raka said quietly.
"But it happened."
Raka looked at his sister.
"You believe it?"
Kirana didn't answer right away.
"I don't know."
She went back to reading.
"I hid several things in this room. Not because I wanted to frighten Kirana, but because I knew that one day she would look for answers."
At the end of the letter, it said:
"Don't look for me until you understand everything."
Kirana furrowed her brow.
"That's it?"
Raka took the letter.
"Looks like it."
"But she said there was a real reason."
"Yeah, but she didn't explain it."
Kirana felt frustrated.
"Why does everyone love keeping half the story to themselves?"
Raka chuckled.
"Maybe our family just likes keeping people guessing."
Kirana looked at him.
"This isn't the time to joke."
"Yeah, sorry."
They looked around the room again.
Now the room felt different.
Every object seemed to hold a story.
The desk.
The wardrobe.
The bed.
Even the walls that had always looked ordinary.
The next morning, Kirana came downstairs to the dining room, her expression still serious.
Her mother was preparing breakfast while her father read the newspaper.
"Did you two sleep well?" her mother asked.
Kirana sat down immediately.
"Mom."
The tone of her voice made both her parents stop.
"I found Nara's letter."
The spoon in her mother's hand stopped moving.
Her father immediately looked at Kirana.
"A letter?"
"Yeah. Behind the wardrobe."
The room fell silent.
"Did you know about the letter?"
There was no answer.
And once again, their silence made Kirana even more certain.
"You knew."
Her mother slowly sat down.
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Kirana..."
"Why was all of this hidden from me?"
Her father set down the newspaper.
"Because we wanted to protect you."
"But I don't feel protected. I feel lied to."
Her words made her mother look sad.
"We're sorry."
Kirana lowered her head.
She didn't want to be angry with them.
But the disappointment was still there.
"I just want to know the truth."
Her father nodded.
"Maybe it's time."
Kirana looked straight at him.
"What do you mean?"
Her father took a breath.
"I'll tell you what happened that night."
"Nara left that night?"
Her father nodded.
"Yes."
Kirana waited.
But before her father could begin, they suddenly heard something fall from upstairs.
They all turned toward the sound.
"That came from Kirana's room," her mother said.
Kirana immediately stood up.
She ran upstairs.
Raka followed behind her.
When they opened the bedroom door, they saw that the old book they had put on the desk was now open on the floor.
Its last page was visible.
There was new writing on it.
Kirana approached.
This time, there was only one sentence.
"Don't listen to everything they tell you."
Kirana froze.
Raka read the writing.
"Sis..."
Kirana stared at the page.
Her chest felt tight.
Because now she didn't know whom to trust.
Her family was hiding secrets.
Nara had left a message.
And this room seemed to keep giving her clues.
But the more answers she found, the more new questions appeared.