The One Who Saw Them

He should never have survived the circle.

By the time Sânziana found him, the seven Iele had already closed around him.

They moved through the mist as if the forest itself had given them shape.

Seven figures.

Seven shadows turning beneath the moon.

And in the center stood the young man.

Motionless.

His eyes were open, but he no longer seemed to see the world around him.

He had heard their song.

He had followed it.

And now, whatever had drawn him into the circle was slowly taking him away.

Sânziana knew the warnings.

Everyone in the village did.

Do not answer when they call.
Do not follow the song.
And if you see them dancing, never step inside their circle.

But she stepped closer anyway.

The Iele stopped.

For one impossible moment, the forest became completely silent.

Seven pairs of eyes turned toward her.

They could have stopped her.

They didn’t.

Sânziana crossed the circle and reached the young man.

His body was cold.

His memories were already beginning to disappear, one after another, as though invisible hands were pulling them from him.

Soon, there would be nothing left to bring back.

She placed her hand against his chest.

At first, nothing happened.

Then a faint golden light appeared beneath her palm.

It grew brighter.

The young man’s body suddenly pulled in a breath.

The circle broke.

He collapsed.

Alive.

Sânziana had done what should have been impossible.

She had taken someone back from the Iele.

But when she looked at her hand, the golden light was still there.

Only for a moment.

Then it disappeared beneath her skin.

The seven Iele remained at the edge of the clearing.

Watching.

They did not seem angry.

They did not try to reclaim him.

And that frightened her more than their song ever could.

Because perhaps they had never been waiting for him.

Perhaps the circle had been meant to bring her there.

Sânziana had saved a life that night.

But she did not leave the forest unchanged.

Something had crossed the circle with her.

Something she could not yet see.

And somewhere beyond the trees, the seven Iele were still watching.

What had they left inside her?

Why had they allowed her to save him?

And had he ever truly been the one they wanted?