“Umma…”

“Umma…”

That voice! It sounded familiar yet unfamiliar - misleading to be exact.

“Umma… Sooyeon-umma…” the voice called out again from the darkness. Jessica strained her eyes as she tried to find the source of the call.

“Who’s there? I – I don’t have a child…” Jessica said as she walked aimlessly through the dark void.

She searched frantically for any means of escape from this ebony nightmare that she had been trapped in. Being kept in the dark isn’t too much of a problem for her, but being alone is a different story. It scared the wits out of her.

Jessica tried to summon light as she chanted a spell but nothing came. In this void, she was nothing but a mere fragment. She felt human. Helpless. Scared. Fear clung unto her skin as if it was wrapping itself on her very being, a very cold embrace.

“Umma…” the voice of a child called again. A young girl’s voice sent chilling sensations down her spine. The fine hairs at the back of her neck stood as she cautiously backed away as if it would help if something sinister appeared.

Then, in the midst of the endless darkness that now began to blind her glowing crimson eyes, a small figure appeared. Jessica took a step back as the eerie figure stepped forth.

“Umma, don’t be scared…” the figure who revealed itself to be just a mere child, a young vampire to be exact, said as she strode closer to the cautious vampire.

“W-Who are you?” Jessica asked. She was still wary of the little girl before her. The child only smiled in response. Without a word, the young girl came closer and engulfed the chestnut-haired vampire in a comforting embrace.

Jessica was startled at first but she soon found the young girl’s hug a little too relaxing for her taste. The feeling felt familiar. It was as if this child was a part of the family she had always cherished.

Hesitatingly, she returned the kind gesture until the young girl pulled away. A small hand took Jessica’s own as the young girl faced her, the smile reminding the Jung of her twin sister.

“You’re my mother…” the child spoke tenderly. Her eyes filled with love as she gazed into Jessica’s crimson ones.

Again, the older vampire was taken aback. She couldn’t believe what she had just heard. She knelt down to face the girl at the young one’s eye level as she held the child’s delicate hands.

“There’s no way you’re my daughter…” Jessica’s denial of the young one’s answer was cut short when she noted the uncanny similarities of their features. The child had dark crimson eyes that were similar to Taeyeon’s mischievous ones. Her facial features had this distinction that made her look classy. Her rosy lips that hid those sharp fangs reminded Jessica of her own whenever she faced the mirror.

“W-Wait… You do look similar to my fiancée…and twin sister… What is your name?”

“Umma… My name is Seohyun… I am your future…”

“B-But… It’s impossible… We… We’re both girls… H-How can that be?”

“The future holds wonders, umma… And you’re both gifted in sorcery…”

“But still…”

The child only smiled. Her cheerful face looked like Taeyeon’s as Jessica continued to stare at the young one. Soft hands cupped the child’s face as Jessica tried to comprehend this unusual circumstance.

“If you’re my future, then why are you here in my present?”

“I’m here to help you, umma…”

“Where is here?”