Iris and Damien had been married for two years. It was a love marriage. They had loved each other since school.
One day, Damien’s grandmother passed away. She died quietly, in her sleep, in the countryside house where she had lived for almost sixty years. After her death, the house stood empty. Nobody went there, because it was far from the city, and no neighbors lived nearby. So Iris and Damien decided to sell the house. They needed pictures of it for an online listing, so they planned to go there for the weekend.
On a Friday evening in late autumn, they packed an overnight bag and a few empty boxes into the car. They drove out to spend the weekend there, taking pictures and clearing out what was left of grandma’s life.
The last few miles of the road passed through a tall, dark, old forest. Damien knew this road well. He had driven it many times as a boy, visiting his grandmother in the summers.
While they were driving through the forest, something ran out from the trees. They did not know what it was. It happened too fast, and the road was too dark to see clearly. Damien turned the wheel hard to miss it. He pressed the brake. Both of them were frightened. It was a close call.
They reached Grandma’s house at midnight. They were both tired, and they went to sleep early.
The next morning, they woke up, happy. They spent the day together, laughing, exploring nearby. It was a great day.
But that night, a snake bit Damien while he was sleeping.
They could not do anything. It was the middle of the night. There was no neighbor close by. The nearest town was twelve kilometers away, and there was no network to call for help. Damien passed away after sometime. Iris sat beside his body all night, crying, not knowing what else to do. Eventually, she fell asleep beside him.
When she woke up the next morning, Damien was alive, smiling at her, as if nothing had happened.
But Iris remembered nothing. Only Damien remembered. He remembered dying the night before.
The next day, they lived the exact same day as before. They were happy. They spent the day together, laughing and exploring the nearby town. Then Damien died in the exact same way. Iris cried until she fell asleep beside his body. The next morning, the same day began again… but she didn’t remember any of it.
And this happened again. And again. Every night, Damien died. Every morning, he woke up, and it was the same day again. Iris never remembered any of it. Only Damien carried the memory, day after day, death after death.
This went on for twelve years.
One afternoon, while walking near the edge of the forest, Iris noticed Damien speaking to an old woman. She was about to call his name when a few words stopped her.
“The accident…”
“…the loop…”
“…twelve years…”
She stayed hidden behind the trees, listening as every word reached her. They spoke about death, about the endless repeating day, and about the twelve years Damien had spent trapped inside it.
Damien had only wanted to thank the old woman. He had never been given the chance before, and after everything she had done for him, he couldn’t leave without saying it.
When he finally turned around, his heart nearly stopped.
Iris was standing a few feet away.
Her face had gone pale.
She had heard everything.
“Tell me the truth,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper.
“What were you talking about with her?”
Damien remained silent.
“Tell me.”
There was no point in lying anymore.
After so many requests.
Damien told her the truth.
He told her about the accident.
Damien took a deep breath before he began.
“The first day we arrived at my grandmother’s house… we never made it.”
He looked at Iris, then continued.
“We were driving through the forest when something suddenly ran across the road. I swerved to avoid it. The car hit a tree so hard that it spun off the road.”
His voice trembled.
“When I opened my eyes, everything was silent.”
“I called your name.”
“Again.”
“And again.”
“But you never answered.”
He lowered his head.
“You were dead.”
For a long moment, neither of them spoke.
“I held you in my arms and cried. I didn’t know what to do. There was no phone signal in the forest. No houses nearby. No one to ask for help. It was just me… sitting in the darkness… holding the body.”
He swallowed hard.
“Then I heard footsteps.”
“An old woman stepped out of the trees.”
“She looked… strange. Almost like a witch from an old folktale.”
“She stood there for a long time, listening to me cry.”
“Why are you crying?” she asked.
“I couldn’t answer. I just kept crying.”
“She asked me again… and again… until I finally told her what had happened.”
The old woman stood silently for a moment.
Then she looked at your body and said,
“I can bring her back.”
“I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.”
“But then she continued.”
“Listen carefully. Death cannot simply disappear. Every life has a price. If I take death away from this place tonight… another death must take its place. Someone must die here… tonight… in her place.”
“It was the middle of the night.”
“We were alone in the forest.”
“There was nobody else. No passing cars. No houses. No one for miles.”
“I only had a few minutes to decide.”
“So I told her…”
“Take me.”
“Let me die instead of her.”
“But then…”
“I imagined your life without me.”
“I imagined you waking up beside my body.”
“I imagined you spending the rest of your life blaming yourself.”
“My mind was breaking.”
“I wanted to save you…”
“But I couldn’t bear the thought of leaving you alone.”
“I was terrified.”
“I didn’t know what to do.”
The old woman said,
“There is another way.”
“I can let both of you live.”
“But nothing in nature comes without a price.”
“You will live the same day… over and over again.”
“Every night, death will come for you, so the balance is maintained.”
“Every morning, you will wake again.”
“But it will never be a new day.”
“It will always be this one.”
“I didn’t fully understand what she meant.”
“I didn’t have time to understand.”
“I only knew one thing.”
“I couldn’t lose you.”
“So…”
“I agreed.”
“The old woman kept her promise.”
“You opened your eyes.”
“You were alive.”
“You smiled at me…”
“…as if nothing had happened.”
“You didn’t remember the accident.”
“You didn’t remember dying.”
“But I remembered.”
“I remembered everything.”
Iris broke down crying. She could not believe that he had given up twelve years of his life, dying every single night, only so she could keep living.
She went to the old lady and begged. “Stop this. Take it back.”
“No!” Damien shouted. “You can’t do this!”
The old woman’s face did not soften.
“It can only end one way,” she said. “The balance must be restored. Someone must remain dead. Truly dead. Not for one night. Forever.”
Iris wiped her tears and whispered,
“Then let it be me.”
Damien’s eyes widened.
“No.”
“I already died once,” Iris said. “You gave me twelve years I was never meant to have. It’s time I gave you one real tomorrow.”
Damien grabbed her hand.
“Please… don’t.”
But Iris gently pulled away.
“I love you,” she whispered.
The old woman began the ritual.
“Stop!” Damien screamed.
Tears streamed down his face.
“I’d do it again. Another twelve years. Another hundred. Forever, if I had to. Just don’t leave me. Please…”
Iris cupped his face with trembling hands, as if trying to memorize every part of him.
“You already gave me forever,” she whispered. “Now let me give you tomorrow.”
She kissed him one last time, slow and filled with every word she could never say.
Then her body began to fade.
She turned into soft, golden light, drifting into the night like ash carried by the wind, until there was nothing left but silence.
Damien fell to his knees.
He stayed there all night, crying into the silence.
With trembling hands, he gathered the last traces of Iris’s, holding them as gently as if he were still holding her.
The forest was quiet.
The old woman was gone.
There was no loop anymore.
No second chance.
Just Damien, completely alone, clutching the foot soil of the woman he loved until the first light of morning broke through the trees.
