Anna was a single mom with her daughter Evie. They weren't rich but also not poor.
One day, Anna came across a beautiful house that was for sale. They already had a decent apartment but something inside her told her to buy it. The house was priced pretty low for such a big house, so Anna bought it. The next day, Anna picked up Evie who was 7 years old and brought her to their old apartment. Evie and Anna started packing their stuff. Evie was sad but still packed everything in her little box.
A few hours later, Anna went to meet the old owners of the house. When she came to the coffee shop where they were supposed to meet, she saw a couple and their 8-year old son. Anna sat across the table and just waited for them to say something. They slid the key of the house across the table, but something felt off. They were all shaking like they were scared of something.
"Are you okay?" Anna asked.
The mom just nodded. Then, Anna glanced at their son. He looked traumatised, he was staring at the floor with his hands on his mouth.
"Is everything good?"Anna asked again.
The family packed up and left. Anna was confused and scared but still happy because she got the house. Anna took the key and left, too. She drove to her mom's house to pick up Evie. She didn't stay long, she just took Evie and drove to their old apartment.
When they entered, she went to her bedroom and then yelled "Evie go to sleep its late!". Evie went to sleep and fell asleep pretty fast.
Anna couldn't sleep. "What if something is wrong about the house?" she thought but soon fell asleep, too.
The morning came and she already drove all their stuff to the new house.
"Finally!" Evie yelled.
"I was so excited for this!", she said.
Anna didn't say anything just stood there staring at the white walls around her.
They unpacked after several hours. Evie was already excited and playing in her new room while Anna was sitting on the sofa.
It was night, Evie was already sleeping but Anna was just laying in her bed when she heard a loud scream. She rushed to Evie's room
"Mommy, a man was standing here!" Evie mumbled while crying.
Anna comforted her saying it was just a nightmare. At that moment, she turned the TV on.They were reporting about the missing boy. Anna recognized that kid from somewhere but couldn't remember exactly where she saw him. Then she remembered. It was the son of the couple who were the old owners of the house . Anna couldn't believe it, she saw him just two days ago. She was shocked but then remembered that Evie was still crying so she gave her some snacks and laid next to her. Anna was horrified again. How could that have happened? But soon, Anna and Evie fell asleep.
The next morning nothing happened, police didn't search for the boy and it was like no one remembered he went missing. Evie was at school and Anna worked from home. Anna was curious about the boy so she did some research. After a while, she came across a girl named Maya who was also reported missing 10 years ago. Anna decided to dug deeper into Maya's past and her disappearance. Maya's body wasn't found and nobody knew where she went. Anna slammed the computer down really fast, took a few deep breaths and leaned in the chair. Afterwards, Anna picked up Evie from school.The night was coming, Evie was already sleeping and Anna was eating cereals. Then, Anna's phone buzzed. An unknown number. Anna picked up.
"Hello?" Anna said and Evie screamed again.
The phone call ended. Anna rushed to Evie's room.
"Mommy, he was closer!" Evie cried while pointing to her closet.
"What?" Anna asked.
"The man, he was here!" Evie mumbled.
"What did he look like?" Anna asked more firmly.
"I don't know. I could only feel him staring at me." Evie said.
Anna held her closer than ever.
"It's okay" Anna said knowing it wasn't.
Every night, Evie would scream and each time she felt the man closer. That went on for weeks. Anna didn't know what to do, and one night Evie didn't scream. Anna thought the nightmares were finally over. When the morning came, Evie was acting different. She didn't laugh, she didn't smile or play as she usually did. She just stared. Anna noticed but didn't think much of it. I mean, kids change...right? The day went on smoothly and in the evening, Evie rushed to her room. Anna followed her but didn't find her.
She checked every room but nothing. Just the sound of the rain and cold wind. Then she found the note "I'm fine." on the white wall. Anna called the police.
"911, what's your emergency?" the dispatcher asked.
"My daughter is missing!", Anna yelled .
The police came to her house immediately and started questioning Anna. She told them about the nightmares and the mysterious man. She was crying hysterically but the police just stood there without even listening. Anna was confused and angry at the same time.
"Why aren't you listening, my daughter is missing!" she yelled at them.
They just left. Anna was chasing the police cars yelling and crying but the police cars drove off. Anna was devastated but managed to come up with an idea. Anna called the previous owners of the house telling them about the situation. She entered her car and went to their new house. When she got there, the couple invited her in. Anna was crying and so where they.The police didn't want to help them for unknown reasons, so they decided to do it by themselves.The next morning they got up early and started searching but couldn't find anything.
An unknown number phoned Anna.
"Your kid is in the forest", the call ended.
Anna and the couple rushed to the nearby forest but still, no children. Anna went home to find new clues and suddenly, another message appeared on Evie's desk.
"The forest, lake, underground, secret." Anna couldn't believe this. She rushed to the forest alone searching for the lake and after two hours she found one. Anna didn't hesitate, she jumped in the lake and swam all the way down where she found Evie's body. Anna grabbed her and put her down gently and rushed to the hospital with her Evie.
The doctors did everything they could but Evie didn't wake up. Anna decided to stay with Evie all night and when she thought she had lost her forever, Evie woke up in the morning. No one knew how to explain it, but it was clear it was a miracle.
At home, Evie didn't behave as she usually did. The changes could be seen in the way she looked and talked. Evie's eyes weren't as bright, her mouth were bigger and her nose looked smaller.
"Are you okay sweetie?" Anna asked.
"Yeah mommy I'm fine" answered Evie but in a much different tone of voice. Anna turned around but Evie was standing like she was frozen. Her face was slowly turning red. "Evie," her mum said, "Evie, are you ok?"
Evie turned to her and replied, "Who is Evie?"
Anna couldn't move. She called the doctors but there was no explanation for her state of mind. Evie sat next to her and asked her name. Anna sighed and replied, "Anna. I'm Anna. Your mum."
"My last mum was Hannah. That's funny," said Evie.
At that moment, Anna realized she would be figuring out what had been happening during the time she had been missing for the rest of her life. Anna turned to her Evie and looked at her eyes and her smile. She started remembering the day she found her... the happiest day of her life and also the day that changed everything.