Inside her room, Ruth behaved like a madwoman talking to herself. She opened the window and stared outside. Her gaze drifted towards the tall mountain. Then, she had a conversation with something that could not be seen.
    "It's your chance to kill her," whispered the cold wind.
    Ruth thought that the woman had become merciless since she came back. Her once affectionate heart was filled with hatred. Hesitantly, Ruth went to the kitchen, where her mother was cooking something.
    Dorothy was chopping the vegetables when she saw her daughter walking towards her. "Hi darling," she greeted with a smile on her face. "Do you want anything?"
    "I want your life, Mom," Ruth replied in a serious tone of voice. "Your life for her life."
    "Ruth?" Dorothy asked. "What are you talking about?"
    "Stop pretending you don't know, Mom," Ruth replied.
    Ruth approached her mother and pushed her with her little arms. Dorothy bumped her back against the wall. She didn't know why her daughter was so strong, but she realized that it wasn't her real daughter, but the woman who came back to take revenge.
    "Stop!" Dorothy pleaded. "You have to stop this! Please… I never wronged you. It was you who took your own life… on my wedding day."
    Ruth was screaming the same thing in her head, but no one could hear her. Her feet and hands conspired to follow their master. She took a knife from the sink and slowly walked towards her mother.
    "Don't you really know why I killed myself?" Ruth played the dagger on her mother's face. Her eyes were round and emotionless.
    "Please." Dorothy's voice trembled in fear as the knife reached her neck. Tears rolled down her face, thinking that she must not die this way. She tried to run, but Ruth didn't let her go until she had her so-called revenge.
    "Where did that crazy girl go?" Callisto asked himself while walking down the road. He already searched for her everywhere, but he couldn't find her. "She might have gone to that place again where she always goes."
    Callisto continued walking until he reached the bench where he always found Stalin. He saw a girl sitting on the bench alone, so he immediately walked towards her and realized that it was Linley who was waiting for someone.
    "Hi, Linley," Callisto greeted. "Have you seen Stalin?"
    "Why would I know?" Linley asked. She stood up and distanced herself from Callisto as if she didn't know him. "We're not close, and I'm not her mother either."
    "I'm just asking, why are you so snobbish? Are you still mad at me?" Callisto asked, thinking that perhaps Linley didn't know what happened to Stalin's mother, and she didn't even show herself there.
    Linley rolled her eyes. "You’ve got some nerve to show that smug face of yours again." She turned to leave, but Callisto grabbed her arm.
    Callisto didn't give her the opportunity to speak. He claimed her lips and wouldn't let go of them as long as she didn't calm down. Linley was surprised by his actions, and she remembered her feelings for him.
    They were both speechless as they sat down on the bench. Linley couldn't directly look at Callisto's eyes, but Callisto could. He himself turned her face to face him.
    "I'm... um... I'm sorry for how I treated you recently," Linley apologized. "But you should know how hard it is for me to avoid you and forget everything that happened between us."
    Callisto was speechless as he could see the sincerity in Linley's eyes. He didn't know what he felt for her, but one thing was certain: he wanted her to be with him always. He wanted to kiss her lips, touch her face, and bolster her every day and every night. But he remembered that he was looking for Stalin, who might have put herself in danger again.
    "So, have you seen Stalin?" Callisto asked.
    "I'm sorry, Callisto, but I haven't seen her since that time we went to her house," Linley replied.
    "Well, it's fine. I can search for her." Callisto stood up and was about to leave, but Linley held his hand.
    "Please, would you let me help you look for her?" Linley asked, eager to help Callisto.
    "Yes, of course. That would be a big help," Callisto replied, and they immediately started looking for Stalin.
    Sebastian, on the other hand, was waiting for a call from an embalmer. He wondered if they could go there today because it was already dusk and they were not there yet. Suddenly, the telephone rang. Sebastian stood up from the rocking chair and immediately answered the call.
    "Hello? Who's this?" Sebastian asked.
    "Hello, Dad? It's Ruth. My mother... My mother was..." Ruth sobbed on the other line, making her words incomprehensible.
    "Why? What happened to your mother? Is she alright?" Sebastian asked in a confused and worried tone.
    "She's bleeding, ad, ad, need to go home aw," Ruth stuttered on the other line.
    "Ruth? Ruth? What did you say? Ruth?" Sebastian asked, but the telephone was dead. He couldn't understand his daughter's words, so he decided to go there to find out what really happened to his wife.
    Sebastian didn't waste his time; he immediately traveled back home. He met his son along the way, who was with another girl.
    "Hey, Dad. Where are you going?" Callisto asked.
    "Your sister called me. Something wrong must have happened to your mom. I'll go home for now to check," Sebastian replied.
    "Do you need help?" Callisto asked. "I can go with you."
    "No thanks. Just look for Stalin and go back once you find her," Sebastian replied. "I'll take care of everything."
    "Okay." Callisto and Linley continued their search for Stalin, while Sebastian went back home.
    "I think it's better if we go back to Stalin's house for now. It's getting dark already, and I'm sure she'll come back when she's hungry, and if she won't, she'll still be back no matter what," Callisto said.
    "What do you mean by she'll come back no matter what?" Linley asked, unaware of the curse.
    "So you don't know about the curse?" Callisto replied.
    "What curse?" Linley asked curiously.
    "It seems like you're not really close because you haven't noticed that Stalin was cursed," Callisto said.
    Linley sighed deeply and said, "I and Stalin were friends since young. Since she wasn't crazy like this—and then, as we both grew older, I don't know what happened to her, because she's always avoiding me now whenever I invite her for night outs. I don't really have any idea why she always stays at home, but I try my best to understand that perhaps her mother wouldn't allow her."
    "Isn't that because of me?" Callisto smirked.
    "Because of you?" Linley was confused. "Why would you be the reason for this?"
    "Yup, we don't know. I also didn't believe at first that she was crazy, but as time went by, there were many strange things about her that I came to know," Callisto said. "Let's get inside their house first, and I'm sure you'll be amazed by what I am going to show you."
    Callisto didn't let go of Linley's hand as he led her into Stalin's house. The smell was now worse than it was in the morning, but Linley wasn't really surprised to see the coffin where Stalin's mother was lying. She wasn't informed that her friend's mother died.
    It was already night when Sebastian arrived home. He was telling himself to calm down, but he also felt something was off because of the unsettling silence as if a group of terrifying monsters was waiting for him in the dark.
    The door thudded as Sebastian opened it. It was dim inside, so he turned on the lights and was surprised to see blood on the floor, which led him to the kitchen. As he entered the kitchen, Sebastian was shocked by what he saw.
    Dorothy was lying on the floor without life. Her body was covered in cuts as if someone who killed her had so much hatred. Seeing her, Sebastian burst into tears as he slowly walked towards her.
    Sebastian was shaking as he embraced his wife's body, which was not breathing anymore. For a while, his mind was processing everything, all those moments that had turned into memories. His face could not be painted as his heart was hammered a thousand times.
    "Who killed my wife!" Sebastian yelled.
    Ruth heard him, but she didn't say anything. Her mind was screaming that she didn't mean to kill her mother, but it was already done. She couldn't bring her mother back to life, and her conscience wouldn't give her peace.