I am not her - She was literally swallowed up by the black earth (25.)

"I'll go collect the money, that lady over there wants to pay," said a deep voice, slightly tinged with tenderness. One would not have guessed that a man as slow as a mountain could also be so sensitive. Unfortunately, neither did Anna, who turned her head toward him and nodded weakly.

 

*

 

"Take that over there and eat there.

I'll take this and then we'll swap," Anna decided firmly after the delivery man brought them the pizza they had ordered.

"Aren't you going to eat with us?" Julie asked sadly.

"Come on," Anna stroked her cheek with her palm.

The little girl didn't want to leave her side, even when she had to go to the toilet, she had to go with her. Michael wanted to go, but the girl said she would rather stay with Aunt Anna, which slightly upset the woman, but that was that.

 

 

"No, sweetie, I won't," Anna continued, exchanging a glance with Michael that conveyed their concern for the little girl next to them.

They were both worried about the same thing: how Julie was behaving and, more importantly, why.

"But if you want, the three of us can read a fairy tale together and have a cup of hot chocolate, okay?" she said to Julie, but she kept looking at Michael, who nodded slightly. It was clear that he understood what she was planning.

"Sure, let's have a nice, relaxing afternoon," he said in a cheerful voice. Meanwhile, he picked up the pizza box that had been sitting on the counter away from them.

"Really?" came a child's whisper after a moment, causing Anna to look at her. The girl had her head bowed again and her chin was trembling slightly, and it looked as if she was on the verge of tears.

 

 

Oh no! I've really messed up here! Anna thought to herself in panic. In the next second, she took a breath to correct her mistake, but before she could open her mouth, the girl quickly leaned forward and pressed herself tightly against her again.

That was the last thing Anna saw, did, or felt before everything started spinning and suddenly it was dark all around her, she was literally engulfed by black earth.

Where...