Guiding Light to Rebirth Chapter 07

Guiding Light to Rebirth Chapter 07

Ethan saw through her act right away but went along, letting her bury herself into his arms.

He patted her back and rang the bell to alarm the doctor.

This routine had played out too many times, and Ethan finally caught on.

Whenever he mentioned Debbie, Hanna would fake sickness to distract him.

He sensed her fear, but he didn’t get her nerves. After all, Debbie and he were just childhood friends.

His mind was in turmoil until a wild idea popped up. “If Debbie and I were in love, how could she stand me with Hanna?”

But he soon squashed the thought.

He silently brushed Hanna’s hair aside and looked at her fluttering lashes.

He knew she was faking sleep, but she was his chosen love. Even clearing things with Debbie wouldn’t change that.

That would only upset Hanna. It was not worth it.

…

With that in mind, he never mentioned Debbie again and stayed attentive to Hanna like before.

But the calmer his mind, the more thoughts wandered unchecked. “If Debbie were my old love, what does my falling for Hanna mean to her?”

Hanna bit her lip, her nails digging into her palms. She whined, “You’re spacing on me. Don’t you love me anymore?”

He snapped back, pressing his lips. “Sorry.”

“Did you hear what I said?” she asked.

He shook his head, and she sighed, “I’ve been having nightmares. Let’s go to Mount Hope Chapel. The rosary beads there are supposed to work wonders. It would make the dreams stop.”

Ethan paused, then nodded. “Sure.”

They went to Mount Hope, where he got her the rosary beads.

Prayers needed to hang the rosary beads on the cliff’s highest peak for full effect.

“I’ll be back safe.” He patted her shoulder, holding the rosary beads in his mouth.

He checked the safety rope around his waist and climbed up the slick cliff.

Ten meters up, he heard Hanna’s concerned voice. When he was 50 meters up, the wind drowned everything. 100 meters up, memory shards exploded in his head.

“Mr. Hayes always prepared these for Miss Whittaker—a full yard of wisteria and thousands of lanterns. Cleaning up wore us out,” chattered an old servant.

Those words he had ignored then were crystal clear now.

He reached the top, took a deep breath, and carefully tied the rosary beads to an ancient pine.

When he was ready to descend, the safety rope cracked. A sudden weightlessness gripped him.

Ethan didn’t even have time to cry out. He plummeted straight down like a kite with a cut string.

The deep green of the reservoir swallowed him in an instant. As suffocation wrapped around him, shadows of a few lanterns flickered across the chaotic water surface before his eyes.

The floodgates of memory burst open.

It was a hazy night. Sky lanterns lit up the girl’s tear-filled eyes.

Thousands of river lamps spread across the water like a flowing galaxy.