KeLani pov
I woke up slowly, drifting between dreams and reality, hearing Mama's voice soft and gentle nearby. When I finally opened my eyes, I saw her sitting next to me on a big, fancy bed with posts that reached up to the ceiling like trees. She was watching me with that special smile she saves just for me—the one that makes her eyes crinkle at the corners.
"Good morning, treasure," she whispered, brushing hair from my forehead.
I blinked, confused, looking around at the unfamiliar room. It wasn't our safe house, and it definitely wasn't Mama's darkness dimension. This place was pretty—with light pink and purple walls and white furniture, shelves filled with books, and a window with lacy curtains that let golden sunlight filter through.
"Where are we?" I asked, my voice still scratchy from sleep. The last thing I remembered was the scary purple stuff burning my hands, and then... nothing.
Mama's smile turned a little sad. "We're in my old bedroom, from when I was a little girl."
I sat up quickly, my eyes going wide. "Are we at your family's house? The big mansion?"
She nodded, checking my hands and arms carefully, like she was making sure the purple stuff was really gone. "How do you feel?" she asked, her eyes worried.
"I feel okay," I said, wiggling my fingers to show her. "Just hungry."
As if by magic, I smelled something delicious—sweet and warm and buttery. Mama reached over to a tray on the bedside table and pulled it closer, revealing a stack of fluffy waffles covered in strawberries and cream.
"These were my favorite when I was growing up," she said, cutting a small piece and offering it to me. "My mother would make them for me whenever I was sad or scared."
The waffle melted in my mouth, sweet and perfect. "Your mama made these?" I asked between bites.
Mama nodded, watching me eat with that look she gets sometimes—like she can't believe I'm real. "Yes. We're in my family's house now. But listen carefully, Lani," her voice got serious. "They don't know about you yet. I still don't know if I can trust them, even though they helped me find you."
I stopped chewing, looking up at her. "They don't know you have a daughter?"
"No, treasure. Not yet." She tucked a curl behind my ear. "They helped me find my darkness wolves, but they don't know you were inside them. I'm not ready for them to meet you."
This was all very confusing. Mama almost never talked about her family, except sometimes in her sleep when she had nightmares. "How many family members do you have?" I asked, curious about these people who were sort of my family too, I guess.
"Well," Mama said, taking a strawberry from my plate, "I have a twin sister"
"A twin sister?" My eyes got big. "Like a copy of you?"
Mama almost smiled. "Yes, we look exactly alike. Or we used to. Then I have two other sisters they're twins too. And I have two older brothers and my parents."
That was a lot of people. Way more than just me and Mama. "What are they like?"
Mama looked thoughtful, like she was trying to decide what to tell me. "They're not the same as they used to be when I was younger. My siblings are different now—more serious, more careful. My father is still... difficult. And my mother is kind and protective, but she's changed too. Everyone has."
She reached into the drawer of the bedside table and pulled out a small picture frame, handing it to me. It showed a little girl with dark curly hair and big brown eyes, wearing a purple dress and looking shyly at the camera.
"That's me when I was about your age," Mama said.
I stared at the picture in wonder. The little girl looked exactly like me—the same eyes, the same hair, even the same way of standing with her head tilted slightly to one side.
"I look like you!" I exclaimed, looking back and forth between the picture and Mama.
A soft smile touched her lips. "Yes, you do. you're my mirror image."
"Will your family like me?" I asked suddenly, a worry forming in my mind. What if they didn't want Mama to have a little girl? What if they tried to take her away from me? I never really had a family before not even in my past life.
Mama's face got serious again.But her eyes show that she was thinking the same thing."I'm sure they would love you, treasure. But that's why I need to keep you hidden for now. I need to make sure it's safe first." She brushed my cheek with her fingers. "So you have to stay in this room, okay? Don't leave, no matter what. It's for your own safety."
I nodded solemnly. I was good at hiding and staying quiet. I been doing that since my past life in the organization.
Just then, there was a knock at the door. Mama immediately went still, like a deer hearing a branch snap in the forest. She pressed her finger to her lips in our secret sign for putting the barrier of "absolute silence" around me so no one can hear me and quickly moved to the door.
"Just a moment," she called, her voice changing to sound more grown-up and formal than when she talked to me.
She slipped out of the room, closing the door firmly behind her.
I could still hear voices in the hallway. Lots of different voices, all talking to Mama, saying how they wanted to have a family dinner later tonight.
Most of the voices faded away after a while, but I could still hear Mama talking to one lady. The lady's voice sounded almost exactly like Mama's, but a little different—more louder, maybe.
"They're just trying to reconnect with you, Miri," the lady said. "After all these years. They want to make up for lost time."
Mama sighed, and I could picture her doing that thing where she rubs between her eyebrows when she's stressed. "I know,It's just... complicated."
So that was her twin sister! I wanted to peek through the door to see if she really looked just like Mama, but I stayed put, listening.
"Will you at least join us for dinner tonight?" Lenna asked. "Mother's been planning the menu all morning. All your favorites."
There was a long pause, and I held my breath, wondering what Mama would say. We'd never eaten dinner with other people before—it was always just us.
"Fine," Mama finally said, but she didn't sound happy about it. "I'll be there."
I heard footsteps walking away from the door, and then Mama came back inside, looking stressed and tired. She walked over to the bed where I was sitting with my breakfast tray, leaned down, and stole a piece of waffle right off my fork just as I was about to eat it!
"Hey!" I pouted, watching her pop my waffle in her mouth. "Mama, that's my waffle!"
A smile broke through her worried expression, and for a second, she looked younger, more like the mama who used to play chase with me around our old apartment.
"Is it?" she teased, swooping in to steal another piece. "I thought it was mine."
I giggled, pulling my plate away protectively. "No fair! You're bigger than me!"
Mama laughed then—a real laugh, not the quiet chuckle she usually allows herself. She sat beside me on the bed, wrapping an arm around my shoulders.
"I'm sorry I scared you yesterday," she said, suddenly serious again. "With the darkness wolves and everything."
I leaned against her, feeling safe and warm. "It's okay. The purple stuff was scary, but you made it go away." I looked up at her face. "Are you going to tell your family about me?"
Mama was quiet for a long time before answering. "Soon," she finally said. "But not yet. I need to see how dinner goes tonight, how they behave." She kissed the top of my head. "Until then, you're my special secret, okay?"
I nodded, though part of me was curious about all these people who were related to me—my grandmother who made waffles, my aunt who sounded like Mama, all the others. Would they like me? Would they be nice? Or would they be mean like the bad people who chased us?
"What will I do while you're at dinner?" I asked, taking another bite of waffle.
"You'll stay here, and I'll leave the darkness wolves to protect you," Mama said. "I won't be gone long, I promise."
I didn't like the idea of being left alone in this strange house, but I tried to be brave for Mama. She looked worried enough already. "Okay. But bring me back dessert?"
That made her smile again. "Deal." She stole one more piece of my pancake, laughing when I swatted at her hand.
For a little while, it felt like our old life again—just me and Mama, safe and happy together. But I couldn't forget that we were in her family's house now, and soon she would have to face them without me. I just hoped they wouldn't make her sad or scared again. Because if they did, they'd have to deal with me too, even if I was just a little girl.