The night descending into the depths of the forest felt like a sacred veil. Every leaf, every branch, every stone had silently found its place, as if nature itself was preparing to witness an ancient secret. Alina was walking barefoot behind Rhea. With every step her feet took on the earth, it was as if she was touching her own past.
"You don't need to speak," Rhea had said from the silence. "Your body is already speaking."
Indeed, Alina's shoulders were slumped. She had clasped her hands in front of her, her head was bowed. But her eyes were open. Something inside her pierced through the darkness. It wasn't curiosity—it was a need. Perhaps for the first time, she truly wanted to see herself.
When they reached an opening, the sky was clearer above the forest. The stars were so bright it seemed as if each one was reaching out with its light to touch a wound on the earth. In the middle of the clearing was an ancient circle of stones, covered with moss but still vibrant with symbols. Rhea extended her hand.
"This circle," she said, "is a place where time does not exist. Here, it's only you and the child within you. Are you ready to face her?"
Alina didn't respond, but she stepped forward. This step was more powerful than words. She closed her eyes. Took a deep breath. At the end of the breath, a voice whispered from within:
"Where am I?"
An image appeared in her mind. An old house. A room with a closed door. Dim, cold. And there, curled up in a corner, was a little girl. Her curly hair was tangled, her lips cracked, her hands wrapped around her knees. Alina watched her. So familiar and yet so distant...
"Hello..." she whispered.
The little girl didn't even look at her. Her eyes were fixed on the wall. Alina took another step. It was as if each step was breaking down a wall inside her.
"I'm sorry," she said. "For leaving you alone in that room. I always tried to be strong. But I thought I grew stronger by silencing you."
The little girl slowly turned her head. There were no tears in her eyes, but there was emptiness. Alina knelt before her. She extended her hands, but didn't touch her.
"I thought I couldn't carry your pain. But living without you... that's even heavier."
A silence fell. But it wasn't a cold silence. It was a waiting, understanding, accepting silence. Eventually, the little girl slowly straightened. When she turned her face towards Alina, the emptiness in her eyes began to dissolve. Her lips moved:
"Can you hear me now?"
Alina's eyes filled with tears. She nodded. And opened her arms.
The little girl hesitated but then stepped forward. And as their bodies met, a door opened in Alina's heart. Tears fell, but this time, the tears weren't from weakness—they were from the healing of a reunion. The child inside her was no longer alone.
When she opened her eyes, a white light was filtering over the forest. This wasn't the moon. It was from another source. Thin, pure, familiar. The light she had seen in her dreams countless times.
Rhea was standing behind her, watching. She was smiling.
"This light…" Alina said, her voice trembling. "It was you, wasn't it?"
But Rhea shook her head. She slowly approached Alina and placed her hand on her heart.
"No. I only brought you back to yourself. This light does not belong to me. It belongs to someone waiting for you. It's a door between your dream and reality. It's another part of your soul."
Alina held her heart. The light drew closer, but not to her body—it touched her eyes. As if leaving a message, a reminder. A voice echoed within:
"Don't forget who you are. And the time when you will find me."
In that moment, Alina for the first time in years felt worthy of being loved. With the child inside her, with the light, and with Rhea's silent presence, she took the deepest step towards herself in the heart of the forest.
As time passed, the bond between Alina and Rhea grew stronger. Initially, Rhea had seemed just like a guide, a counselor—but now she had become a part of Alina. Rhea had descended to the deepest parts of Alina's wounds and pain, patiently, lovingly, without judgment. Alina was slowly opening, the doors of her fragile heart were creaking open. But this healing journey was one full of pain. With each step, each time, she was diving deeper, and the old wounds were beginning to bleed.
One day, Rhea decided to take Alina to see her family. For the first time, Alina had a glimmer of hope in her heart. With Rhea's power, she thought maybe she could see herself again, perhaps even repair the old bonds. It was, in a way, a courage to return to her former self. It was the belief, though faint, that she deserved love from them.
However, when they arrived at the house, the scene shattered all of Alina's dreams. Her mother, father, and siblings... they were all there. But nothing had changed. In their gazes, the emptiness reflecting in Alina's eyes had turned her into a stranger. Her family was looking at her as though they had never known her. Alina once again felt that she didn't belong. The smiles of her family seemed nothing more than masks. When one of them smiled more broadly, that smile pierced her heart like an arrow.
Her mother turned her head and noticed Alina. But something was missing in her eyes. Sometimes they would nod, trying to hide the coldness in their gaze. Words had lost their meaning.
"I used to be proud of you," her mother said, pointing to a distance that could never be bridged.
Alina's heart was shaken by a pain that emptied her like a sail. Everything felt detached from her. She felt like she didn't exist among them. With every second spent there, the walls inside her grew thicker, higher.
Rhea silently watched Alina during this painful moment. The sorrow in her eyes was as deep as one could understand from a soul's family. Alina felt the emptiness inside her. With her family, the desire to belong to love became a mere illusion again. The security, the sense of belonging she had once felt, had now completely disappeared. Her family may have told her they loved her, but love was not something tangible. It felt like a debt, something imposed upon her.
Confronting the lost child inside her, the little girl who had always vanished during each encounter with her family, Alina knew she was not just that waiting child, but also now a woman. Yet, in the eyes of her family, there was no place for the woman she had become.
The tears falling from her eyes carried not only pain but also acceptance. She held Rhea's hand tightly. She was silent, but the scream that had once been silenced, now slowly rose from the depths of her heart.
"Why me? Why am I still a stranger in their eyes?" Alina whispered. The emptiness inside her was turning into a deep collapse. And Rhea, silently standing beside her, answered without expecting anything from her, simply by offering her presence.
"Because sometimes love doesn't come from the eyes of others. Love is what you first give to yourself, Alina."
But in that moment, Alina was not ready to believe it. Accepting the power of loving herself wasn't that easy. Everything still appeared foreign to her. The wounds inside her were deeper than those of the outer world and they still had not healed.
Before leaving the house, Alina slowly sat down beside Rhea. In the middle of the forest, they quietly drew near to each other. Alina's eyes were looking at the emptiness and the feeling of being lost within. But when Rhea looked into her eyes, all she saw was patience and love. The darkness inside her was still untouched. But Rhea knew something she would always remind Alina of.
"Sometimes pain is the beginning of healing," she said. "And your pain is shaping you. You may have once been lost, but the one closest to finding you is you. To find yourself is the highest way to love yourself."
Alina took a deep breath. But in her heart, a hope began to ignite, the rebirth of love.
As Alina walked back home, she slowed her steps. Outside her family's house, she had disappeared into the silence. Inside, an endless question lingered—did anything really have meaning? Returning to that old place, expecting everything to go back to the way it was, was truly an illusion. That little warmth she had once felt in that house was now nothing but a cold memory.
Holding Rhea's hand, Alina felt more foreign than ever. Even with her by her side, the lost little girl inside her had come to understand that the place she once thought was safe was nothing but a deception. Everything had changed, and that change left her with the feeling that she was someone unworthy of being loved.
Rhea silently accompanied her. But in her eyes, there was a look trying to understand her better, to feel what Alina was going through, what she was feeling. And Rhea always waited for the right time, observing Alina's internal struggle. She knew well that Alina needed to look inside, not just outside.
One day, as Alina ventured deeper into the forest, Rhea suggested a ritual. This was something that could help her face the cracks and voids within her.
Alina, walking through the forest, felt more and more like a stranger with every step. She kicked stones among the roots, the bark of trees left marks on her hands. But with every step, something was changing. The desire to harmonize with the spirit of nature, which Rhea had taught her, began to slowly clear the confusion in Alina's mind.
Rhea brought Alina to a tree. "This place will show you the power of your soul," she said. "You must face the lost pieces within you. Because the first step to truly being yourself is accepting them."
Alina took a deep breath. She slowly sat down. Facing the dark places inside her scared her. It was the first time she realized how deep her feelings were. Rhea's words held up a mirror to the wounds inside Alina. She was starting to accept how hard it was to love herself, to start by loving herself.
Rhea silently lit a candle and asked Alina to close her eyes. "Empty your mind," she said. "Feel yourself. Remember what your fears, your past have taught you."
Alina closed her eyes and took a deep breath. The sounds of the forest, the wind brushing the trees, everything became clearer. As she faced her fears and sadness, the shadows of her past reappeared. The betrayal she felt as a child, the lack of love from her family, the loneliness she once felt—all of these appeared before her like images, like ghosts.
Alina shivered for a moment, but then realized. Accepting them, facing them, making peace with the darkness inside her would bring her peace.
She met the child inside her, that lost and forgotten part. There was no escape now. Alina smiled at her. "I am worthy of you, little me. Because I love you," she said within. And those words echoed in her heart like a deep healing mantra.
When she opened her eyes, the forest had grown silent. The gentle light of the moon was shining down on her, and she realized it was the light of her own soul, guiding her back home. The darkness inside her had finally begun to dissolve. With Rhea's guidance, Alina had finally come to understand that love was not a simple gesture; it was the greatest strength of all.