At the edge of an unknown island, there is an old village hidden in fog every morning and wrapped in silence every night. That's where Rani lives—a ten-year-old girl with long hair that is always neatly combed by her mother every morning. Her bangs are arranged straight covering her forehead, like a smooth frame for her innocent little face.
That afternoon, like the days before, Rani ran around the stilt house left by her grandmother. The afternoon wind blew softly, carrying the scent of wet wood and dry leaves. But for some reason, this time something was different. Her chest felt heavy, her mind restless. She stared at the old house across the garden—a house that had long been abandoned and was known by the villagers as a place that "should not be visited."
But Rani's curiosity was greater than her fear. Her footsteps slowly approached. The door of the house was slightly open, and the afternoon wind made it creak like a whisper. She entered with careful steps.
"Mother...? Mother!" she called. She knew her mother couldn't be there, but for some reason her heart pushed her to look for her. One by one she explored the rooms. The dusty bedroom, the walls full of cracks, the windows rattling. Everything was silent. But the feeling of loss in her heart could not be silenced.
Her tears fell, wetting her cheeks. She sat kneeling on the floor, holding the edge of her own clothes. "Mother... don't leave me..."
When night began to fall and the light began to disappear from the sky, Rani finally got up. She stepped out of the old house and walked through the village that now looked... strange. All the houses were dark. There was no sound of chickens, no one calling. Even the sound of crickets could not be heard. As if the village had died.
She looked up at the sky. The full moon shone brightly. But just as she began to feel a little calm, a chill crept up her spine. Someone was watching her.
A shadow appeared. Before she could turn around, something hit her head.
Dark.
She woke up in a strange place. A narrow room, stone walls, humid air. A man stood there, his face hard and expressionless.
"You finally woke up," he said.
"Where am I...? Who are you...? Where is my mother?" Rani's voice was hoarse, but her eyes were filled with anger and fear.
"Your mother is gone. There's no one else you can look for."
But Rani didn't believe it. She bit her lip, holding back her tears. "You're lying. Mother is still out there. I'll find her!"
She ran, pushing the door, kicking anything in the way. And somehow, the door opened. She ran out, back into the center of the village.
The night air was sharp. The full moon still hung in the sky. But now Rani stood with her chest straight. "I'm not afraid!" she said loudly.
She called out to her mother once more, and the wind carried her voice across the village. This time, she felt something change. The village was coming back to life... and Rani's journey had only just begun.
Rani walked slowly in the darkness of the quiet village, accompanied by the sound of the howling wind and the shadows of old trees that looked like black creatures stretching their hands towards her. That night, it was as if the entire village was shrouded in the mist of time, as if trapped between two worlds. The houses that used to be bright were now dark, devoid of life, as if abandoned years ago, even though she had just passed the village this afternoon.
She continued walking until she arrived at the old well in the middle of the village—a place that in her memory often witnessed her childhood laughter with Irana and Airi. But tonight, the well felt strange. Like a hole leading to another world, gaping with a cold aura that sucked. As she approached, faint shadows began to appear in it.
"Rani... Rani…" Soft voices were heard, like echoes from the past.
"Who are you?" she asked in a trembling voice.
"We... are part of you. The ones left behind. The ones you forgot..." the voices answered, now sounding like familiar but distorted children's voices, blurring between reality and dreams.
As the moonlight hit Rani's face, the shadow of an old man with a cane appeared on the surface of the well, standing on the edge of the village. Rani recognized the silhouette… vague, but familiar. She didn't know where it came from, but her heart immediately trembled.
Meanwhile, in a hidden place that didn't seem to be part of the ordinary world, Airi and Irana were trapped in a dark room with a group of other children. The room was not only closed, but it also felt alive—the walls seemed to breathe, pulsate. They were half-conscious, stuck between reality and the fractured world.
Two adults watched over them: a man with a scar on his cheek, and a large woman with a hoarse voice. They were not ordinary humans—their gazes were blank, but full of evil intentions.
"Prepare them. Tonight, the gate will open," the man said.
The large woman lifted one of the children, but before she could go any further, the sound of an old door creaking thundered through the room. An old man in a gray robe and a glowing cane stood in the doorway. The light from his cane broke the darkness and chased away the shadows.
"That's enough," he said calmly but it shook the air. "These children belong to a world bigger than this."
The black shadow of his staff spread out, binding the two creepy guards. Airi and Irana, snapping out of their stupor, immediately ran out, through the strange, ever-changing corridors.
Not long after, they met Rani who was still standing by the well. Their gazes met. Without much word, as if they already knew, they clasped each other's hands and started running—leaving the decaying village and the broken time behind.
As they entered the forest, strange sounds echoed behind them—cries, laughter, and whispers from the creatures left behind in the village. But ahead, the mist began to part, revealing a tall gate that emitted a soft light. The gate was not made of ordinary stone, but of a material that shimmered like fragments of memory.
As they stepped inside, a strange feeling came over them—as if a lost part of themselves was slowly returning. The world beyond the gate is not only a new place, but also a mirror of their souls, where they will discover the truth: about who they really are, what is hidden from them, and why their memories have been obscured.
In the shadows, the old man watches them from afar. He nods slowly, before disappearing in a flash of light, leaving only one word etched in the air:
"Remember."