Menedelia closed her eyes. She finds it hard to look at the unbearable pain stered on Tony and Aron''s faces. She lowered herself on the couch beside Ang, busying herself by rubbing the girl''s back to console her.


    A few momentster.


    Zero and Nini descended hurriedly down the stairs.


    Nini''s face broke into a happy smile after she saw her sister in the living room. She flew into Ang''s arms. "I''m so happy to see you again, sis!"


    Yet...


    Ang''s response was a loud sobbing.


    Nini''s brows furrowed. "Why are you crying, sis?" she asked. Then she looked at her father and brother Aron. They wore the same miserable expression on their faces. "What''s going on!?"


    Ang looked at her sister sadly. "In order to save me, Mother offered herself to the guy who abducted me," she told her sister.


    "Whaaaaaat?" Nini''s eyes widened in shock. "I... I don''t understand... can somebody exin to me everything?" she said as her confusion deepen. She saw the stranger among them. "Who is this woman? Why''s she''s here with us?" she asked.


    "She''s Granny Menedelia without the curse," Ang replied quickly.


    "You got to be kidding me?" Nini said, staring at the woman in disbelief.


    Menedelia sighed. "It''s me, Nini, your Granny Menedelia. I was cursed by an old witch and turned into an old woman. As you can see, the curse was already lifted and what you see now is my original self," she exined.


    Nini and Zero looked at each other in shock. They settled on the couch, still reeling from the revtions that bombarded them.


    "Evelyn made letters for each of you so that you will have a better understanding of what''s going on. Please read the letters first, then afterward, you can ask me anything," Menedelia spoke. She stood up and distributed the letters to the rest of the family members.


    The living room was enveloped with silence while reading Evelyn''s letters.


    Half an hourter.


    After everyone has done reading the letters, they all looked at Menedelia.


    "And what is your role in all this? My wife didn''t mention anything about you in herter," Tony asked calmly.


    Menedelia cleared her throat. "Did she mention of a friend who showed her the abandoned manor where she met Rigor? If yes, then that girl is me. I was cursed and turned into an old woman by Rigor''s mother after I went there to find my missing grandmother. The witch told me that she will undo the curse as long I will bring Evelyn back to her son. I couldn''t bring myself to surrender my beloved friend to the witch. Through the years, I suffered silently with the curse and grieved for my grandmother who went missing after saving Evelyn. Until one day Zero, Nini and my path crossed unexpectedly, and that was the day the paste back to hunt us all that lead to the current tragedy."


    She paused for a moment, to avoid choking on her words.


    "Continue..." Tony said.


    "I have no ns to reveal myself to Evelyn. But she begged me to apany her to her hometown because she wants to confront Rigor and save Ang. I didn''t approved of her n but she insisted that if I wonte with her, she will go there on her own. So, we set put on a journey. Fast forward, after arriving to her parents house, we finally went to the abandoned manor in the middle of the forest. The old witch was the one who revealed my identity to Evelyn. Rigor''s father subdued me while the old witch took Evelyn away and delivered her to the room where Ang was imprisoned, watched by Rigor. My story ends here," Menedelia said. She looked at the girl beside her. "Ang can tell you the rest because I wasn''t there when Evelyn confront Rigor..." she added.


    Everyone looked at Ang.


    "Daughter tell us what happen to your mother?" Tony asked.


    Ang blinked twice. "Mother rushed to my side because both my hands and feet were tied by a rope to the chair and my body was weak. She hugged me and told me that she will save me. Then she went down on her knees in front of Rigor and beg him to set me free. To convince him, she told him that she''s willing to serve him and she will stay by his side from that moment on. Rigor looks happy and he embraced mother tightly. Mother looked at me and told me that she love me and she wants me to tell you, guys, that she love you all. Then she and Rigor vanished from the room. That''s thest time I saw Mother..." she concluded her narration.


    Tony stood up. "Then let''s go and attack that ce!" he said, nostrils ring in anger.


    "Father, the abandoned manor was already gone!" Ang said.


    "What do you mean?"


    "Yes. Beleive it or not, after Granny Menedelia arrived in the room, Rigor parents told us to leave the ce at once because it will crumble to the ground, then they disappeared after saying those things to us. Granny immediately teleported us back to her ce in the forest. But when Granny and I returned there, the abandoned manor was nowhere to be found. On the same ce, we found a ttened surface, no structures at all. The only person we found there is Granny''s missing grandmother. Even if we go there, there''s nothing to see there anymore," Ang exined.


    "I don''t care! Bring us there right now!" Tony insisted.


    Ang sighed. "Okay..."


    They all gathered in the center and grasped each other''s hands.


    A few minutester, everyone vanished from the ce, Menedelia was the only one left.


    She released a deep sigh. She has no choice but to go back there!


    She initiated the teleportation process in her mind and vanished from the living room.


    They arrived in the ce where the abandoned manor was used to be.


    Ang pointed to the t surface in front of them. "This area in front of us is where Rigor and his men imprisoned me inside one of the rooms of the manor. But as you can see, only t surface remained and nothing worth seeing here. Rigor must have hide Mother somewhere and I have no idea where..." she said sadly.


    They all looked at the vacant space in front of them, trying to analyze Rigor and Evelyn''s whereabout.


    Tony addressed his family. "Let''s find Evelyn around this area!" he said.


    The family members nodded their heads.


    Zero and Nini levitated in the air and rose higher, looking everywhere.


    The rest of the family scattered around the area and began their tedious search.


    Menedelia stayed where she is. She just stared at the vacant area, wondering how can Evelyn ditch their n so quickly without even trying?


    If only Evelyn stick to their original n, she doesn''t have to go with Rigor!


    Tears of frustration shimmered in her eyes.


    A few hourster.


    Tony''s family gathered in the same ce where theynded earlier.


    Based on the sad expression on their faces, Menedelia knew that their search ended in vain.


    Silence engulfed them for a few minutes.


    They failed with their first attempt to find Evelyn.


    Tony watched everyone''s faces. He addressed Nini. "Daughter, can you remember that ce where you were imprisoned for many years?" he asked.


    Nini shook her head and sighed. "They never bring me outside. The only thing I can remember clearly is the room, other than that everything is a blur..." she replied gloomily.


    Tony looked at his son-inw. "Zero, what did you remember of that ce where they imprisoned you? They brought Nini inside the cage, right?"


    Zero nodded his head. "Yeah. The whole ce looks like it''s based underground," he said and looked at Menedelia for confirmation. "More like a cave, right, Granny?" he said.


    Menedelia nodded her head. "Yeah. But it could be in another ce, not necessarily a cave," she suggested.


    "What could it be if not a cave?" Tony asked.


    Menedelia shook her head. "I have no idea..." she replied.


    Tony released a defeated sigh. "Alright, let''s go home and n our next move!" he said.


    Menedelia looked at Tony. "I''ll go home to my ce. I''ll just visit the manor some other day. Rest assured that if I can think of something that can speed up the process of finding Evelyn, I''ll tell you guys. I still have to take care of my grandmother who lost her mind after years of captivity," she said.


    Tony nodded her head. "If you need help, you know where to find me."


    "Thank you, my lord!" Menedelia replied.


    Tony addressed his family. "Let''s go home!"


    A few momentster, they vanished from the ce.


    Menedelianded on the ground outside the hut.


    Reba was sweeping dry leaves on the ground. Sitas, on the other hand, was sitting on the wooden bench, admiring the blooming flowers in front of her.


    Menedelia went to Reba''s side. "How is Grandma?" she asked.


    "She''s doing fine," Reba replied. "How''s it going there? How''s Evelyn''s family after they know everything?" she inquired.


    Menedelia heaved a sigh. "They''re feeling miserable after reading Evelyn''s letters," she replied sadly.


    "And how about you?" Reba asked.


    "I''m obviously not feeling good right now. I''m physically, emotionally tired, and exhausted. I want to have a good sleep and a long rest," Menedelia responded with a heavy sigh.


    "Go now to your room, Granny, and take a rest. I''ll take care of Grandma Sitas for you," Reba said.


    "Thanks a lot, child. I''m going to my room now and close my eyes for a few hours. Wake me up right away if somethinges up," Menedelia said and nced at her grandmother before she entered the house.


    Inside her room.


    Menedeliay her body down on the bed. She stared at the ceiling for a few minutes.


    One of these days she will bring her grandmother to Ebony''s ce.


    Her sister will be overjoyed once she sees their missing grandmother again after a long time of separation.


    She smiled a bit.


    Despite Evelyn''s disappearance.


    Finding her grandmother and her looks restored are the highlights of her day.


    It''s all because of Evelyn''s sacrifice.


    She sighed deeply and shut her eyes to sleep.