Chapter 4: The Sketchbook’s Secrets

Elena sat at the small wooden table in her cabin, the sketchbook open in front of her. The rain had started again, tapping softly against the windows, but she barely noticed. Her fingers traced the edges of the pages, feeling the texture of Mara's drawings beneath her fingertips. Each sketch was a piece of her sister's mind, a fragment of the world as Mara had seen it.

The early pages were filled with light—quick, playful sketches of the town, the cliffs, the sea. But as Elena turned the pages, the tone shifted. The drawings became darker, more chaotic. Shadows loomed in the corners of the paper, and the faces of the townspeople were distorted, their expressions twisted with fear or anger. One drawing stood out: a figure standing at the edge of the cliffs, their back to the viewer, arms outstretched as if embracing the void. Elena's stomach tightened. It was Mara, but not as she remembered her. This Mara looked fragile, almost broken.

And then there were the symbols. Scattered throughout the later pages were strange, intricate designs—circles within circles, jagged lines intersecting at odd angles, and shapes that seemed to pulse with a life of their own. Elena didn't recognize them, but they felt ominous, as if they carried a weight she couldn't yet understand.

She flipped to the last page, where Mara's final message was written: *"I'm sorry, Elena. I had to go. But I'll come back for you. I promise."* The words were faint, as if Mara had hesitated while writing them. Elena's chest ached. She wanted to believe the promise, but the sketchbook told a different story—one of fear, of secrets, of something lurking beneath the surface of their quiet town.

A knock at the door pulled her from her thoughts. She hesitated, then closed the sketchbook and stood. When she opened the door, Daniel was there, his coat damp from the rain. He looked at her with those piercing eyes, and for a moment, neither of them spoke.

"Did you find anything?" he asked finally, nodding toward the sketchbook in her hands.

Elena stepped aside to let him in. "Maybe," she said. "But I don't understand it. These symbols… do you know what they mean?"

Daniel took the sketchbook and flipped through the pages, his brow furrowing as he studied the drawings. "I've seen these before," he said quietly. "In the old records at the town hall. They're part of something… bigger. Something the town has tried to forget."

Elena's heart raced. "What do you mean? What are they?"

Daniel looked up, his expression grim. "They're warnings," he said. "And if Mara was drawing them, it means she knew. She knew what was coming."

---