Morning came slowly.
Not with sunlight ☀️
Not with birds 🐦
But with cold, grey silence ❄️
The fog still clung to the cliff like a living thing 🌫️
Heavy.
Unmoving.
Outside the cabin, the demon bear had not roared all night 🐻❄️
It hadn't scratched the walls.
Hadn't tested the doors.
It waited.
That was worse.
The Stillness Before Goodbye
Inside the cabin, Barfi lay on the wooden floor 🛌
Wrapped in blankets.
Breathing softly.
Too softly.
Like the world itself was afraid to disturb him 😶
Miko hadn't moved an inch since night 🌙
Her knees were numb.
Her back ached.
But she didn't care.
Her fingers were locked around Barfi's hand 🤍
Not holding.
Anchoring.
As if letting go would mean losing him forever.
Walter sat on the other side, knees pulled to his chest 🧎
His eyes were red and swollen.
He rocked slightly back and forth.
"No…" he whispered again and again.
"No. No. No."
Hawk stood near the door 🚪
Not guarding it.
Avoiding it.
He stared at the wooden floor like it had answers carved into it.
Dr. Putin stood by the wall ⏰
Watching the clock.
Counting seconds that felt like sins.
The worst part wasn't the demon outside.
The worst part was the choice.
The Argument 💥
"We're not leaving him."
Miko's voice cut through the silence like glass ✂️
Sharp.
Shaking.
Hawk looked up.
"I don't care what that ghost said," she continued, tears spilling freely 😭
"I don't care about rituals, curses, bears, or this stupid house!"
Walter shot to his feet.
"Yeah!" he snapped.
"We stay!
If the demon comes, we throw chairs!
Tables!
I'll hit it with a toaster if I have to!" 🔌💢
Hawk turned slowly.
His voice was calm.
Too calm.
"If we stay… the ritual won't start."
Miko stood up so fast her chair fell backward 🪑
"Then LET IT NOT START!" she screamed.
"I will not abandon him like this!"
Barfi stirred slightly.
Just a breath.
Just a twitch.
Miko froze.
"Barfi…?" she whispered desperately.
She leaned closer.
Held her breath.
Nothing.
Dr. Putin stepped forward, hands shaking slightly 🩺
"Miko… Walter… please."
They shook their heads violently.
"No," Walter snapped, pointing at him.
"You doctors always say 'please' and 'listen' and then people die!"
Dr. Putin flinched.
His voice cracked.
"If you stay…"
"…he suffers for nothing."
Silence.
That sentence didn't shout.
It cut 🔪
Miko's knees buckled slightly.
The Injection 💉
Miko tightened her grip on Barfi's hand.
"I'm staying."
Walter stepped protectively in front of Barfi.
"You'll have to drag me out."
Dr. Putin closed his eyes.
Tears escaped anyway 😢
"I'm sorry."
"What—" Miko began.
The needle slid in gently.
Too gently.
Miko gasped.
"Dr—?"
Her vision blurred.
Her legs gave out.
Walter turned just in time.
"What did you—"
Another injection.
His words died halfway.
He collapsed beside Barfi with a dull thud 💥
"No…" he whispered weakly before sleep claimed him.
Miko slumped forward, her head resting against Barfi's chest 😴
Her lips moved softly.
"Don't go… please…"
Hawk looked away.
His jaw clenched hard.
"I hate this," he whispered.
Dr. Putin knelt beside them, openly crying now 😭
"It's the only way."
With shaking hands, he gently lifted Miko's fingers from Barfi's hand 🤍
They resisted, even in sleep.
She murmured his name.
"Barfi…"
Hawk wrapped the blanket tighter around Barfi's shoulders 🧣
"Kid…" he muttered.
"You better survive this."
Leaving the House 🚗
They carried Miko and Walter outside carefully.
The cabin creaked behind them 🏚️
Not angrily.
Not threateningly.
Sadly.
As if it understood what was happening.
The fog swallowed them whole 🌫️
Cold fingers brushing their skin.
The red eyes watched from between the trees 👁️
Unblinking.
Silent.
But they did not move.
They did not need to.
The moment Hawk shut the cabin door—
CLICK.
The lock turned by itself 🔒
Symbols burned faintly along the wooden walls ✖️
Old.
Protective.
Final.
Inside the Cabin — The Ritual Begins 🔥
The house sealed itself.
Windows darkened.
Doors refused to open.
The air thickened.
Barfi's body lifted slowly from the floor 🌪️
Not violently.
Not suddenly.
Like the house itself was raising him.
Symbols ignited beneath him, glowing faint blue and red ✨
His eyes fluttered beneath closed lids.
A whisper filled the room.
Old.
Young.
Broken.
"I am alone now…"
The floor vibrated.
Outside—
The demon bear screamed 🐻❄️
Not in rage.
Not in hunger.
In pain.
The cliff trembled 🪨
The ground cracked slightly.
The incomplete ritual had restarted.
And Barfi—
Was now its center.
Driving Away 🛣️
The car moved slowly down the mountain road.
No one spoke.
Miko slept in the backseat, tears drying on her cheeks 😢
Walter stirred occasionally, whispering nonsense.
Hawk gripped the steering wheel too tightly.
Dr. Putin stared out the window, eyes empty.
None of them looked back.
Because if they did…
They wouldn't have been able to leave.
And somewhere behind them—
In a silent cabin on a cliff—
A boy floated between worlds 🌑✨
Holding pain that was never meant to be his.