With an unexpected visit

The echo of her decree still vibrated in the stagnant air of the apartment when the silence was shattered. Magi remained there, standing in the middle of the living room, completely naked, when a knocking at the door demanded her attention.

It sounded like echoes of a lost world. Cheerful, carefree. Magi knew who it was even before opening. Celia, her younger sister, was the only person capable of knocking with that contagious rhythm.

Panic jolted her out of her trance of acceptance. She couldn't answer the door like this. She couldn't let anyone, least of all Celia, see this new "armor" of exposed skin that no one outside the studio would understand. She lunged toward the pile of clothes she had left on the floor minutes before. With trembling hands, she rescued the baggy T-shirt and old pants, covering her body with clumsy, urgent movements, burying the truth once again under layers of worn cotton. She yanked up the pants, stumbling slightly, her heart hammering against her ribs, and smoothed the shirt just as the knocking resumed.

Upon opening the door, her breath still ragged from the rush, she was met with Celia’s radiant smile, her cheeks flushed by the night chill, a colorful backpack slung over her shoulder. She smelled of wind and the cheap cologne she always wore.

"Magi! I escaped!" she exclaimed, hugging her with a **** that knocked the little air Magi had recovered right out of her. "The girls and I have a free weekend, and I came straight to see you! You have to tell me everything! A photo studio! It sounds incredible!"

Magi went rigid, her body turning into a block of ice beneath the wrinkled clothes she had just thrown on.

"Celia... this isn't a good time," she managed to articulate, but her sister had already slipped inside, leaving a trail of youthful energy in her wake that stained the mournful stillness of the apartment.

"What? Of course it is!" Celia dropped her backpack onto the sofa and looked around with curiosity. "Wow, it's... small. But so tidy. Tell me! Are they famous models? Have you met anyone important?"

"It's... a very serious job," Magi stammered, closing the door as if she could contain the danger her sister represented. "Very boring, actually. Not glamorous at all."

"Liar!" Celia laughed, picking up an empty fruit bowl from the table. "You have that look... that look of someone living through something intense. And I want to know what! Besides," she added, with a mischievous glint in her eyes, "I'm staying with you tonight and tomorrow you're taking me to see the studio. I promised Mom I'd send her photos of you working!"

Photos. The word punched Magi in the stomach. She saw, with terrifying clarity, her mother's face gazing at one of the Collector's images. A cold sweat ran down her spine.

"No," she said, and her voice sounded strangely harsh. "You can't go. It's not allowed."

Celia's face darkened. "Why not? Is it a weird place? Magi, are you in some kind of trouble?" Her gaze turned inquisitive, worried. "Because I don't like how you look. You're pale. You seem... distant. And it took you a long time to open the door."

"I'm fine," Magi lied, averting her eyes. "I was just getting dressed... I was taking a nap. And tomorrow is a very important day. I can't have distractions."

"I won't be a distraction! I'll be your sister, coming to see your new job," Celia insisted, stepping closer and taking her hands. Her fingers were warm, full of life. "Please, Magi. Just a peek. I want to see where you spend your days. I want to make sure you're okay. If you don't let me go, I'm going to worry even more."

Magi looked at her sister's hands intertwined with hers. She felt the roughness of the sweatshirt under her own fingertips; those old clothes were the only thing separating her from the total nudity she had embraced minutes earlier. Celia wouldn't give up. Her insistence was born of affection, of a simple, direct love that no longer had a place in Magi's life. Fighting her would only fuel her suspicions. She would follow her, ask questions, dig until she found the rot.

And then, a terrible, cold idea was born in Magi's mind. If she couldn't prevent Celia from seeing hell, perhaps... perhaps that was the way to sever the final tie. For Celia to understand, once and for all, that her older sister no longer existed. To drive her away forever, protecting her through horror.

"Alright," Magi conceded, her voice sounding flat, resigned. "You can stay. And tomorrow... I'll take you to the studio."

Celia let out a squeal of joy and hugged her again.

"I knew you'd see reason eventually! It's going to be great!"

Magi accepted the embrace, but her body remained rigid. That night, while Celia chattered on about her university life, about friends and future plans, Magi prepared a simple dinner. She watched her sister eat, laugh, live. It was like watching a movie of a life that could have been hers.

It was her last dinner with the sister she knew. Tomorrow, after Celia saw Studio Lumière, after she saw Elara, after she grasped even a fraction of the truth... that bond would be broken forever.

Magi lay down that night next to Celia, who fell asleep quickly, trusting. Magi did not sleep. She listened to her sister's quiet breathing and knew that, the next day, she would be the accomplice to the destruction of her innocence, and of the last piece of heart she had left. She had invited her into the labyrinth, knowing there would be no way out for either of them.