Since that morning, David had begun watching the participants differently. Before, they had been nothing more than a group of strangers who happened to come to the same place in search of something they couldn't find in their respective lives. Now, after Lena had said she was investigating Sanctuary and David himself had found Elena's name inside the stone bowl, the faces that had always seemed ordinary began to feel as though they were hiding something. Everyone there seemed to carry a locked door inside themselves, and David had begun wondering what lay behind those doors. He saw Samuel sitting alone in the backyard after breakfast, staring at the forest while squeezing a small photograph he always carried with him. Nora barely ever spoke except when a session began, while Julian always laughed far too loudly at things that weren't actually funny. There was also a woman named Clara who had only been at Sanctuary for a few days but already spoke about the place as though she had lived there for years. Everyone was different, but there was one thing David was beginning to notice they had in common: no one ever really talked about their lives after going home. They always talked about what they wanted to leave behind, what they wanted to let go of, and whom they wanted to forget. Never about what they would do after they were healed. The question suddenly felt important to David. If Sanctuary really was a place meant to help people return to normal life, why did no one talk about life after leaving this place?
That afternoon, the rain came down hard enough that all outdoor activities were canceled. The participants gathered in the recreation room behind the dining hall. The room had a large fireplace, several old sofas, bookshelves, and wide windows overlooking the mountain slope. A fire burned in the fireplace, even though no one appeared to have lit it. David sat on a sofa near the window with a book he'd picked at random from the shelf, though he hadn't truly read a single page. His thoughts kept returning to his conversation with Lena. Don't tell them everything. The sentence made David uneasy. He wanted to ask more, but every time he looked at Lena's face, he felt that she was genuinely afraid. Not afraid of Adrian. Not of the staff, either. She was afraid of something that might be harder to see. When Lena finally sat on the sofa across from him, David closed his book. “Are you going to explain now?” he asked. Lena raised an eyebrow. “About what?” “Your sister.” Lena's smile disappeared. “You don't give up easily.” “I didn't come here on vacation.” Lena looked at the fire. “Her name was Maya.” “What happened to her?” Lena was silent for a long time before answering. “She killed herself.” David said nothing. “I know everyone will assume that's why I came here,” Lena continued. “But it isn't.” “Then why did you come?” Lena looked at David. “Because three months before Maya died, she sent me an address.” Something tightened in David's chest. “Sanctuary's address?” Lena nodded. “I thought she was joking. I never even replied to her message.” “Do you still have the message?” “Maya's phone was buried with her.” “Then how do you know the address?” Lena pulled a small piece of paper from her pocket. It had been folded over and over, and its edges were beginning to wrinkle. She handed it to David. Written on it was the exact same address as the place where they were now. Beneath the address was a single sentence: If I come back, don't let them take me inside. David read the sentence twice. “What does it mean?” “I don't know.” “And you came here to find out?” Lena nodded. “But ever since I arrived, I've started to think that maybe Maya never left this place.”
David stared at the woman without saying a word. Laughter came from the other side of the room. Julian was talking with Samuel. For a moment, the atmosphere returned to normal, almost like a hotel waiting room. But David knew that the conversation they'd just had was anything but normal. He handed the paper back to Lena. “Have you told Adrian?” Lena immediately shook her head. “No.” “Mara?” “No.” “Why not?” Lena leaned toward him. “Because two days ago, I asked a staff member about Maya.” “And?” “He knew her name right away.” David frowned. “What did he say?” Lena glanced around before answering. “He said, ‘Maya completed her process.’” The hair on the back of David's neck stood up. “What process?” “I don't know. When I asked again, he walked away.” Lena looked at the fire. “I haven't asked again since.” David was about to say something when Samuel's voice suddenly came from behind them. “Are you talking about someone who's gone?” They both turned. Samuel stood several steps from the sofa, holding a cup. His face looked paler than usual. “A little,” David replied. Samuel sat in the chair across from them. “Don't ask too many questions about people who've gone away.” “Why not?” Samuel looked from one of them to the other. “Because sometimes the answers you get are worse than the questions.”
The words left David silent. Samuel then took a photograph from his wallet and placed it on the table. It showed a boy of about ten smiling in front of a car. David recognized him from Samuel's story during the first session. “My son,” Samuel said. “His name is Daniel.” He stared at the photograph for a long time. “I always carry this with me.” David saw Samuel's hand trembling. “Why are you showing this to us?” “Because tomorrow I'm undergoing the second ritual.” Lena immediately looked at him. “You?” Samuel nodded. “Adrian says I'm ready.” David frowned. “What happens during the second ritual?” Samuel didn't answer. He only stared at the photograph of his son. “Maybe after tomorrow, I won't need this anymore.” Something about the sentence felt wrong to David. “What do you mean?” Samuel slipped the photograph back into his wallet. “Nothing.” He stood. “Enjoy your evening.” After Samuel left, David looked at Lena. “Do you know what he meant?” Lena shook her head. “But I do know one thing.” “What?” “People who've undergone the second ritual start to change.” David turned to her quickly. “How?” Lena drew a breath. “They stop talking about the people they've lost.” “Isn't that a good thing?” “Not if that person is the reason they came here.” David fell silent. Lena continued in a low voice, “There was a woman named Rina. She came because her husband died. She cried every day. She couldn't even sleep without medication. After the second ritual, she woke up the next morning and said she'd never been married.” David frowned. “Maybe she had amnesia.” “I thought so too.” “Then?” “She didn't just forget her husband. She forgot her marriage. Her house. Even what it felt like to love someone.” David didn't know what to say. Lena looked at him. “That's not healing.”
It was late at night when the rain finally began to stop. The participants left the recreation room one by one. David remained there with Lena. They didn't say much after that. Something made them both feel safer in silence. For the first time since coming to Sanctuary, David felt that he had someone he could trust, even if that trust was still incredibly fragile. When he finally rose to return to his room, Lena stopped him. “David.” He turned. “Don't undergo the second ritual.” David looked at her. “I don't even know when it is.” “I do.” “How?” Lena hesitated. “Your name is on the schedule board.” David frowned. “Which schedule board?” “In the back hallway.” “Why have I never seen it?” “Because participants aren't supposed to see it.” David stared at Lena. “When am I scheduled?” Lena swallowed. “It hasn't been decided yet.” David felt slightly relieved. “Good.” “But there's something strange.” “What?” Lena moved closer. “There's already a mark next to your name.” “What kind of mark?” “The same symbol that's on the gate.” David felt his stomach tighten. “What does it mean?” Lena shook her head. “I don't know yet.”
They parted at the end of the hallway. David walked toward his room, thinking about everything he'd just heard. As he passed the stairs, he saw several staff members carrying wooden boxes toward the back of the building. David stopped behind a wall and watched them. One of the boxes opened slightly when a staff member nearly dropped it. Through the gap, he saw several small objects. Photographs. Watches. Necklaces. Rings. Personal belongings. Things that should have belonged to other people. David immediately remembered Adrian's box in his office. He wanted to follow them, but footsteps approaching from behind made him leave at once. He entered his room and closed the door. After locking it, David sat on the edge of the bed. He took Elena's ring from his pocket. For several seconds, he only stared at it. Then he picked up his phone and tried to turn it on. There was no signal. He tried to photograph the ring as evidence. The camera opened. But before David could press the button, his phone screen suddenly flickered. A photo appeared in the gallery—one he had never taken.
David froze.
The photo showed Elena.
Not the old photograph he knew.
Elena was standing in the courtyard at Sanctuary.
She was wearing white.
Adrian stood behind her.
The photo appeared to have been taken at night.
David enlarged the image.
Elena's face was clearly visible.
But what stopped David's breath wasn't the sight of his wife there.
It was the small writing at the bottom of the photo.
NINTH RETREAT — FINAL DAY.
David stared at the screen without blinking.
Elena had been to Sanctuary.
That was no longer a suspicion.
But there was one question far more horrifying.
If this was Elena's final day at Sanctuary, why was she still wearing their wedding ring?
David stared at Elena's hand in the photo.
The ring was clearly visible.
Then he looked at his own hand.
The same ring was there.
In his pocket.
And for the first time, David realized that the object Sanctuary had given him might not simply be a keepsake belonging to Elena.
Maybe someone had deliberately returned it to him.
So David would find the way to something that had been hidden from him all this time.