Isabella P.O.V.
The rain dropped bit by bit. I glanced at everyone wearing black and holding a black umbrella. The day I never thought will ever come, something I could have never imagined, the funeral I never thought I will attend: Lara’s funeral.

The text I got this morning was about her. She was found dead in her house, in her room. I wasn’t sure if I should be happy or sad, no matter how terrible she was I still couldn’t bring myself to be happy about her death. Her death was all over the news. It says that the agency came to check up on her to see whether her foster parents were taking good care of her. They found her dead when they got there, and her foster parents were missing. I stood in front of her coffin, staring at her lifeless body, she looked pale, her hair was packed beautifully, she was dressed in a black gown and black shoes.
My dad was conducting her funeral; no one attended apart from my family and the police. It was time to bury her, time for her to be my past. They dug the hole and put the coffin into the hole.
“Bye, Lara,” I said while they closed the grave.
We stood quietly while dad said the final prayers. Once we were done, the police took their leave. I took a last look at her grave. We were about to leave when something strange happened. The coffin was on top of the sand.
“Mom, look,” I said.
My mom gasped. “How did that happen? How can the sand reject her?”
“This only happens when the sins committed are numerous,” Dad said.
“But what has she done? Poor child,” Mom said.
I knew what she has done, but no one would believe me if I say anything. “What do we do?”
“There’s only one way.” Dad opened the coffin, took Lara’s corpse, and lay her on the floor. “Get me the necklace.”
Mom brought out a golden necklace and handed it over to Dad. He wrapped it around Lara’s hands.
“This is to protect her spirit from entering the human world,” Dad said. I wanted to ask him where we are keeping her, but I was scared. He scooped the corpse in his arms. “Let’s go.”
We walked for almost an hour in a thick jungle until we approached a river. The river was in the middle of the jungle, it was large, there was trees and grass all around, it was quite, no one was there except us.
“We’ll keep her here. Since no one lives here, there’s no chance of the necklace separating from her.” Dad gently placed her in the water.
“If that necklace separates from Lara, will she come back?” I asked.
“Yes, her spirit will,” Mom said.
One week later.
Rain poured as flashes of lightning danced across the cloud-blanketed sky. I remained near a tree, folding my hands into my sweater. The strong winds hit me as lightning streaks, followed by booms of thunder. Today was already hectic enough as it is.
“Come on, Mona, just forget it. Let’s go,” I said. My pleas fell on deaf ears as Mona was busy adorning herself in her swimsuit. “Mona, trust me, there isn’t gold in that water. The people said the water is sacred? Ain’t you scared something bad will happen, or we could get cursed?”
“Come on, Sammy, we could get rich, and there is nothing like sacred or curse. Now, keep watch. I’m going in the water,” she said.
My heart pounded in my chest, and my breathing picked up speed. Here we were, in a thick jungle, with the wind whistling through the trees, and animal sounds echoing around us.
“Be fast, Mona, it’s about to rain,” I said. She remained there for almost half an hour. “Mona? Mona?” I received no response. “Mona, are you okay?”
Still no response. A hefty weight pressed deep into my stomach. What if something happened to Mona? Was it the curse? I kneeled down near the river, catching any glimpses of her, but nothing. Just before I could break down, laughter caught my attention. Trembling, I didn’t want to face the source. As the laughter continued, I put my hands close to my ears when something tapped my shoulder.
With my heartbeat still racing, I turned my head slowly. Mona was behind me, laughing.
“Sammy, look at you. It’s like you saw a ghost,” she said.
“Stop, man, that wasn’t funny. I thought something bad happened to you.”
“Aw, you can’t live without me.”
I rubbed my hands on my chin when I spotted something shiny on her hand. “Wow, what’s that?”
“It’s a golden necklace I found,” Mona said. “I found this human skeleton holding it, so I took it.” She puts it around her neck. “Doesn’t it look nice on me?”
Mona was crazy. She cared about nothing, nor was she scared of anything. She always lived life to the fullest.
I rolled my eyes. “Mona, who steals from a dead person? Return it back.”
“No, I will not.”
Before I could say anything, the wind grew stronger. The clouds darkened with lighting still dancing, followed by booming drums of thunder.
“Mona, the weather is bad. Let’s leave. You’ll return it tomorrow,” I said. I grasped Mona’s hand and headed back home. We just got out of the jungle when I freed Mona’s hand.
“What's wrong with you?” Mona asked, but I wasn’t paying attention to her. Someone was behind her.
“Who’s that?” I pointed at a little girl who stared at us. Her black hair covered her face, matching the black gown she wore. I sensed a strange aura from her.
“What?” Mona turned around, startled from what she saw. “Why is she looking at us?”
“I don’t know, but let’s go.” I grabbed Mona’s hand, but it was too late for us.
They freed Lara.
Meanwhile, at Isabella’s House
We kept things to ourselves, such as not revealing the location to where we kept Lara, no one knew she wasn’t buried. The past few days were surprising. A lot happened; some that I wished I didn’t witness, and others that I couldn’t believe. I was not paying attention when I bumped into mom.
“Sorry I didn’t see you there,” I said.
“Oh, it’s okay. Now that you’re here, can you take this book back at the attic?” my mother said while handing the book over to me.
“Sure.”
Mom and I remained close since the incident with the ritual. I walked upstairs to the attic. Unlike the last time, the place was neat; mom and I cleaned it last night. I placed the book where I found it last. I was about to leave when I saw a paper by the door. It looked like the missing page of the book.
There is something written on the paper, along with weird pictures. It says, “The shadow can’t be killed. If killed, it will open the gates of Hell.”
I dropped the paper after reading it. Does that mean we opened Hell? I have to show mom. I sprinted downstairs when the floor trembled, and the walls crumbled. Weird noises reached me, and before I could reach her darkness consumed me.