First meet

I shivered as the doctor gave me an injection. Giving me a sidelong glance, he said, "This time you survived for a while. Please be careful next time."

I smiled gently at him and replied, "Yes, I'll be careful next time."

Suddenly, my father burst into the room and hugged me tightly. "What's wrong with my baby? Doctor, is he okay?"

"Dad, I'm absolutely fine," I said, trying to reassure him.

"Why do you go out alone, even though I forbid you so many times?" Dad's voice was angry, and I could feel the intensity of his concern.

This was normal for me now. I would soon be 19 years old, yet Dad still wouldn't let me go anywhere alone.

"Dad," I called him sweetly, trying to calm him down. "I'm sorry."

I had an accident a while ago due to my carelessness, and the memory of it still haunted him.

Dad sighed deeply, then turned to the doctor. "Doctor, can I take him home now?"

"Yes, Mr. Zoe, you can. He's absolutely fine," the doctor replied reassuringly.

Thankful to the doctor, this time he saved me from Dad. I looked at him gratefully and gave him a smile, even though he was our family doctor.

After signing all the documents, Dad took me with him. As I was driving, I looked at him and called, "Dad."

He didn't answer me. Ignoring my words had become his habit.

"Daddy, I'm sorry," I humbly apologized.

Dad didn't say a word as he drove. After arriving home, he went directly to his room.

Oh man, I'm doomed. He is very angry with me, and I know he won't eat tonight.

I took a deep breath and went to the kitchen to prepare his favorite meal. Dad, you can't change my destiny. It will happen, but your daughter has faith in God. He will always save me as before.

I cooked his favorite ramen and knocked on his door. As usual, there was no answer. I opened the door and sat next to him while he was working on his laptop.

"Dad, you have to accept my fate," I told him firmly. He stopped typing when he heard me.

"Did you see her again?" Dad asked me sadly.

"Dad, it's normal for me," I said, just wanting to comfort him.

He looked at me, his eyes filled with worry and love. "I just can't bear the thought of losing you."

"You won't lose me, Dad. I promise. I'm more careful now," I reassured him.

He sighed deeply and took the bowl of ramen from me.

"It was horrible?"

"Dad, I'm used to it. It's just a burned body."

Yes, it's normal for me. After the accident, I see a burned body that calls me to approach her. I placed my palm on the back of his hand.

"Girl, I'm sorry. I couldn't give you a beautiful childhood."

"Sometimes he chases me too."

"Dad, he's gone. She won't be back in our lifetime."

Dad forced a smile, but I said sweetly, "Can we eat now? I'm starving."

He laughed out loud and gave me the first spoonful of his ramen. After we finished our dinner, we played games and watched movies together.

As the movie played, I watched him. He fell asleep on the couch. Be dad, you care a lot about me. But your girl isn't afraid of that anymore. I put a blanket over Dad and lay down on the other couch.

My dad met my mom at 19 and married her at 20. Dad loved her madly. It's normal to love your own wife, right? But it becomes a problem when his own wife is the source of the apocalypse.

He loved her until the day she turned into a fiery specter, her very presence a harbinger of doom. The accident had changed everything. She burned, and in her agony, she cursed our family. Now, I see her in my visions, a charred ghost calling to me, warning me, chasing me.

I knew Dad blamed himself, but he couldn't protect me from my own mother's wrath. Every time I saw her, it reminded me of the danger we lived in. But fear no longer gripped me; I had faith that we would survive.

I was born after their eight years of marriage. Before me, they had two daughters, but neither survived. One of them drowned, and the other died in his sleep. At the time, everyone called it an accident, and Dad believed it too. But was it really an accident?

There were whispers, hushed conversations that stopped when my father entered a room. Few dared to say anything to his face, but rumors persisted. My sisters were said to have been murdered by a witch.

Unfortunately, the rumors were true. My sisters were killed by a witch who devoured them after killing them.

My mother was that witch.

55 years ago, when my father was 19 years old, he fell in love with his teacher, who was four years older than him. It would be surprising to know that the woman never looked old, but rather younger than others.

The story begins.

Zoe's POV

I've been waiting for you for so long. After a while, I became desperate to see her.

"Where are you, Arina? What's taking you so long?" I mumbled.

Our first meeting was very strange. It happened on the street. I was in my car when suddenly a beautiful girl approached and I stopped.

*****

[The scenario shifted to Zoe's memory]

"Hey, are you okay?" I asked.

But when she raised her head toward me, my heart stopped for a second. A pair of beautiful green eyes, a pronounced nose, grape-like lips, and thoroughly silky black hair—she was a bundle of beauty. Before I could think about anything, she got up and sat in my car. She gasped and said, "Could you take me to this university, please?" She gave me the location.

"Sure, no problem," I replied, still a bit stunned.

As I drove, I couldn't help but glance at her. There was something mesmerizing about her. She was unlike anyone I'd ever met.