Selene stared at the envelope, her breath shallow and uneven. The faint smell of lavender clung to it, just like the others. But this time, it was different. The way it had appeared—out of thin air—felt impossible to deny.

Her fingers trembled as she reached for it. She hesitated, glancing at the clock. Its hands were frozen at 11:47, as if time itself had held its breath.

Finally, she opened the envelope. Inside was the same thick paper, the handwriting as deliberate and precise as ever:

"The thread has frayed, but it is not broken.

The answers lie in what was left behind.

Do not fear the unraveling, Selene.

The truth has waited long enough.

Yours,

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E."

Selene’s heart pounded as she read and reread the message. The words carried weight, as though they were meant to push her toward something inevitable.

"What was left behind…"

Her gaze shifted to the diary. Lydia’s entries had been cryptic, but maybe there was something she’d overlooked. Something hidden between the lines.

Pulling the diary closer, Selene flipped through the pages, her eyes scanning every detail. That’s when she noticed it—tiny indents on the blank back cover, as though someone had pressed a pen hard against the page.

She grabbed a pencil, shading lightly over the indents. Slowly, words began to emerge, faint but legible:

"The hollow tree bears witness.

The path to understanding is marked in its roots.

Selene froze, her mind racing. The hollow tree… Lydia had mentioned it in one of her entries:

"There is a tree in the woods, old and hollow.

Its roots twist like the spirals of a clock,

Reaching toward answers buried deep."

The diary, the letters, the tree—it was all connected.