Viorica’s gaze was cold, unnatural, and her barely-there smile froze the air in the room. “You are safe, Elena,” she said in a calm, almost mechanical tone. “Everything was necessary.”
Elena took a step back, trembling. “Necessary? We were buried alive! My children almost died! What have you done?” But Viorica remained unmoved. She raised a hand, and as a silent signal, a man in black entered and handed her a glass of water.
“Drink. You need strength to understand what comes next.”
Elena threw the glass aside, the water splashing on the floor, but tears began to stream down her cheeks. “Where are Mihai and Matei?” she shouted.
“They are fine. They are sleeping. And they will be better than ever if you listen to me.”
Her mother’s calm tone was more frightening than any threat. Elena felt her world crumbling. “Why, mother? Why did you do this to us?”
Viorica sighed deeply and sat down. “Because I wanted to save you. You and them. You don’t know what was about to happen…”
“What could be worse than death?”
“A life under debt, under threats, under people who won’t let you breathe. They were going to come for you, Elena. To take your house, your children, everything. I just chose a different path. I made everyone believe you had died. Now you are free.”
Elena collapsed on the floor, trying to process what she was hearing. “You faked our deaths? You paid people to bury us alive? Mother… have you gone mad?”
Viorica stood up, her gaze hard. “Maybe. But I saved you. And now you must disappear with them. Forget who you were. It’s the only way.”
Elena felt her heart shatter. She thought of the friends who cried at the funeral, of the house that had once been filled with laughter. Of her husband, who might now be standing at the edge of the fresh grave, devastated.
“I can’t live a lie, mother,” she said through tears. “My children don’t deserve this.”
But Viorica approached, took her face in her hands, and whispered, “If you leave here, they will find you. And then you will truly die.”
Time seemed to stop. Elena didn’t know whether to run or to believe. In the next moment, the door swung open abruptly, and Mihai and Matei rushed in towards her. “Mom!” they both shouted.
Elena hugged them tightly, feeling their breath, their heartbeats, their scent. Everything was real. And then she knew: no matter what happened next, she would not let anyone touch them ever again.
She stood up determined. “If this is freedom, we will take it our way.”
Viorica stepped back, surprised by the strength in her daughter’s gaze. In a few seconds, Elena grabbed the children’s hands and ran towards the door. The men in black tried to stop her, but she grabbed a heavy bottle from the table and struck one of them.
They ran through the yard, barefoot, with the wet earth beneath their feet, until they reached the road. A passing truck stopped abruptly when it saw them. Elena climbed in with the children and said only this: “Take us as far away from here as possible.”
The driver, a simple man, looked at her in the mirror, saw the fear in her eyes, and asked no questions.
When dawn broke, Elena and the twins watched the sunrise from the truck cabin. The earth was left behind, but life… life was just beginning anew.
This time, they had nothing. But they had each other. And for Elena, that was all that mattered.
This work is inspired by real events and people, but has been fictionalized for creative purposes. Names, characters, and details have been changed to protect privacy and enhance the narrative. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.
The author and publisher do not assume responsibility for the accuracy of events or the portrayal of characters and are not liable for any misinterpretations. This story is provided “as is,” and any opinions expressed belong to the characters and do not reflect the views of the author or publisher.
