Everything is black around Bernadette; a strange odor permeates the room she stands in and yet she can’t identify it.

She tries to find her way out, but the floor seems uneven, as if covered in garden soil.

As Bernadette slowly makes her way forward, she steps on something sharp and reflexively lifts her foot to check.

«Ouch! What the hell is this? »

She can barely make anything out in the darkness, but then the lights come on slowly illuminating her computer room.

Everything is there: her office, her computer in front of the window, dozens of plants spread out in the small room.

«What’s going on here? »

Her eyes are drawn to sharp pieces of pottery sticking out of the garden soil-covered floor. Terrified, she realizes she almost cut herself on something sharp.

«Oh, come on, what’s this now? »

Discouraged, she tightens the belt of her bathrobe and wonders how she’ll clean this all up when a noise grabs her attention — a discrete crackling noise, followed by a another.

Bernadette looks around, then jumps and screams in terror at the sight of a humanoid shape under the desk, staring straight at her.

Bernadette pulls herself together and demands in a firm voice, «Who are you and what are you doing in my apartment? »

The shadow silently lifts a finger. Bernadette hesitates, then follows its gesture with her eyes.

Above the computer desk, a flowerpot suspended by the window is slowly cracking. Horrified, Bernadette watches as the crack widens. She wants to catch the pot but her body refuses to move, paralysed where she stands.

«Why can’t I move? ». She tries a bit harder, but her muscles won’t cooperate. Her eyes remain fixed on the flowerpot.

The crack spreads, and when it reaches the edge of the pottery it starts to tremble softly.

Powerless, she continues to struggle against the paralysis but to no avail.

The flowerpot breaks in half and falls directly on the desk, smashing on the computer keyboard. The impact pushes the keyboard to the side, where it gets stuck on the corner of the desk and flips violently, projecting the plant and half the pot directly towards the window.

The window shatters under under Bernadette's incredulous gaze. She can’t believe what just happened.

Disheartened she stops fighting the paralysis. She’s speechless as it all unfolds, then lets out a long string of curses.

Meanwhile, the light around her starts fading gradually «What the heck is going on NOW? ».

As everything goes black, she hears a familiar feminine voice she can’t quite place. It whispers in her ear, wake up.

Bernadette wakes with a start, sitting up in bed, sweaty and disoriented. She takes a deep breath and looks around.

In her bed, in the middle of the night, she realises it was the most terrifying nightmare of her life.

Though she knows it was a nightmare, Bernadette can’t help but worry about her plants. Determined, she grabs her bathrobe, puts her slippers on and leaves her room. She goes to the neighboring room and turns on the lights.

Seeing everything in perfect order, she breathes a sigh of relief. No garden soil on the floor, no shattered window, and most importantly, her plants are all intact.

Hand on her chest, she relaxes. As she leaves the room, she glances below the desk but sees nothing unusual, no shadows.

Bernadette goes back to her room. «2 a.m., ahh crap the night is almost over.»

She finds a comfortable position to go back to sleep, but for fifteen minutes, something keeps her awake. «If dreams have significance, what the hell does this one mean? ».

After breathing in deeply for awhile and reassuring herself, she finally drifts off to sleep again, this time to peaceful and tranquil dreams.

The sun starts to shine gently on the town of St-Basile. Bernadette wakes up to the first rays filtering through her bedroom curtains.

As per her faithful habit, she sits up, stretches her arms and yawns widely. She ends her morning routine by scrubbing her eyes awake. Heading straight to the coffee maker, she waits impatiently for her cup to fill and enjoys her first sip.

Armed with her cup in her right hand, she grabs a little watering can and goes around her three-bedroom apartment, carefully watering her plants. Each one receives a specific amount of water, never more and never less, along with its daily dose of praises.

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Once that’s over, Bernadette observes her plants with a feeling of satisfaction and accomplishment. However, her stomach brings her back to reality with a loud gurgle.

«You had water, now it’s my turn to eat! » she says with a smile.

She goes to the kitchen and sets the table meticulously, placing each item—placemat, utensils, covers—in its perfect spot. Everything must be perfect.

Coffee, toast, creton, cheese and grapes. Bernadette takes a few seconds to admire her feast salivating at the thought of eating it all. She’s still missing something, though. She turns on the TV to the news channel.

Sitting at her table, she quickly devours two grapes and a piece of cheese, washing it down with toast slathered in fatty creton. As her tongue touches the edge of the toast, her old phone rings with an irritating tone.

The interruption is maddening, «Fricking hell, will I be able to eat in peace or what? »

With a deep breath, she answers the phone, «Yes! What??»

Bernadette jumps and holds the phone away from her ear as she hears a woman crying and shouting incomprehensible words. The voice is interrupted by tears and wailing.

She listens for a few minutes trying to make sense of the chaos, but quickly loses her patience.

She interrupts the woman on the phone, «Hey, calm the hell down, Élise, I don’t understand anything you’re saying. Start from the beginning and stop bawling. »

Surprised, Élise pulls herself together, her breathing slows as the crying subsides. Once she gained control of her emotions, she starts over, «Good morning, Mom. »

«Alright, go ahead and tell me what’s going on, but don’t cry or I won’t understand anything. »

«Mom, I can’t anymore. I’ll go crazy, I can’t keep this up. You have to do something, or I won’t be responsible for the consequences. »

«Tell me what’s happened… again? » Bernadette eyes her breakfast, impatient to get back to it.

“It’s Lea and Dylan, I can’t tolerate it anymore. They’re always quarreling, always something going on. It’s like they’re possessed!” Élise starts wailing again, her words becoming unintelligible.

Bernadette reaches for the cheese on the table but can’t quite get to it, frustrating her. “Stop crying for heaven’s sake. I’m getting tired just hearing you. I’ll hang up if you keep that up.”

Élise sniffles, dries her tears, and starts again. “Mom, help me, please just do something. I’m begging you.”

Still eyeing her breakfast, she searches for a solution to her daughter’s problem but can barely concentrate. A brilliant idea comes to mind. “Bring them here. I’ll babysit for the day. How’s that?”.

In a fraction of a second, Élise’s voice goes from desperate to overjoyed. “Seriously?! Yes, it’s a great idea! THANK YOU, MOM! You’re the best.”

When the conversation runs dry, Bernadette concludes with a brief “I’ll wait for you” and hurriedly hangs up the phone.

Determined, she returns to the table, thinking to herself, "Always something to spoil my mornings, it seems."

Bernadette’s mood changes instantly when she realises her toasts are cold and the perfection of her breakfast is forever ruined. This doesn’t prevent her from gobbling down everything until the last crumbs, however.

Something bothers her constantly though: wondering how the two angels, Lea and Dylan, could have put Élise in such a state. Have they changed that much since last year?

Despite not having an answer, she prepares mentally to keep a close eye on them, just in case. She’s ready to be strict, if necessary. “I educated one daughter; I can do the same for two,” she thinks.

Standing in front of her kitchen sink, full of soapy water, she scrupulously cleans up the small number of dishes she used.

Bernadette thinks of her daughter, a strange thought floating in her mind. “Did Élise exaggerate all that just to have me babysit her kids?”.

Suddenly, something catches her attention through the window. She peeks through the vines of a hanging plant and observes attentively. A yellow sports car speeds up her driveway, not slowing down at all. She can’t help but criticize her daughter. “How reckless!”

In the middle of the driveway, the car drifts and ends its course a few meters from the wooden steps of the apartment. Hastily, a young woman gets out and opens the back door, repeating to her kids, “Come on, come on, hurry up.” She rushes them up the stairs and towards the apartment.

The little girl proudly boasts about her mother’s driving technique and how she can drift easily. Élise doesn’t seem to care, however.

Lea is the first to arrive, followed by her brother Dylan. She opens the door without knocking and shouts happily, “Grandma!”

The sight of her grandkids makes Bernadette happy. She ignores Élise, who enters last. Struggling to put a knee down, she opens her arms wide for Lea. The little girl throws herself in Bernadette’s arms and they hug her affectionately.

After exchanging some words, Bernadette compliments Lea’s pretty blonde hair and how fast she’s growing. Lea moves aside, and Bernadette shifts her attention to Dylan, who stands timidly by the kitchen window with his hands in his pocket.

The sun’s rays hit the vines in front of the window, casting a green glow on Dylan’s face, giving him a mischievous look when coupled with his smirk.

Bernadette can’t help but laugh at the light’s reflection on him. She opens her arms for her grandson, and Dylan jumps in her embrace.

Some time later, Bernadette supports herself up, struggling due to her corpulence.

“Thank you, Mom! It’s really kind of you to take them. I really needed it!”

“Yeah, yeah, still driving recklessly, though!”

Élise rolls her eyes as she turns to leave. Just before closing the door, she says, “Ok, gotta go. Thanks again. I’ll pick them up tomorrow morning. Bye!”

Bernadette barely has the time to register what she said before exclaiming, “What?!” But Élise has already shut the door and goes down the stairs two at a time. Without turning back, she gets in the car, revs the engine a couple times, and leaves at full throttle.

Shaking her head helplessly, Bernadette turns to Dylan and Lea, quickly getting distracted.

Dylan sticks closely to her side, following her everywhere while she talks with Lea. The plants filling the apartment become a lively topic of discussion as she gives them a plant tour of the home.

Lea listens attentively, participating with her meagre knowledge of herbalism. Bernadette is surprised to see how curious Lea has become, unlike her mother.

They complete the tour after half an hour and run out of conversation topics. A brief awkward silence ensues.

To break the awkwardness, Bernadette offers them something to drink. Dylan, suddenly full of life and excitement, interrupts Lea. “Apple juice, Grandma! We want apple juice!”

Lea appears a bit embarrassed but prefers not to contradict her little brother.

Grabbing glasses for them, Bernadette asks what activities they’d like to do.

Dylan runs and grabs a bag; opening it to reveal a collection of toys and miniature cars. Meanwhile, Lea looks at Bernadette with a hopeful expression. "Grandma, can I use your computer to chat with my friends?"

She leaves them to their activities, seeing no immediate problems. In her mind though, she remains cautious. The memory of Élise’s frantic phone call lingers in her mind, casting a shadow over the peaceful scene.

“Did she just want to get rid of them or was really serious?” Bernadette wonders, her brow furrowing slightly. She decides it's best not to take any risks and to stay alert.