All Are Welcome Here – Chapter 2
The Town That Asked Too Many Questions
The confusion lasted only a few seconds.
Then the older man in the brown coat smiled again like nothing strange had happened at all.
“Forgive me,” he said softly. “We don’t get many visitors this time of year.”
The people around the square slowly returned to whatever they had been doing before the bus arrived, though Elias still felt their attention lingering on him long after they looked away.
Like they were listening.
Waiting.
Elias Ward tightened his grip around his backpack strap while glancing around the town square carefully. Valemere looked peaceful on the surface. Small bakery near the corner. Old bookstore across the street. Warm light glowing from restaurant windows.
But the silence underneath everything felt unnatural.
No music.
No distant traffic.
No dogs barking.
Even the wind through the trees sounded strangely muted here.
The older man extended his hand politely.
“Welcome to Valemere. I’m Thomas.”
Elias shook it carefully.
“Elias.”
Thomas’s smile remained perfectly steady.
“You’ll be staying long?”
“I’m looking for someone.”
At that, several nearby townspeople subtly glanced toward him again.
Too quickly to be coincidence.
Thomas noticed too.
“Family?”
Elias nodded slowly. “My younger sister. She came here a few weeks ago researching local folklore.”
He pulled out his phone and opened a picture.
Dark-haired woman smiling beside university campus buildings.
“Her name’s—”
“Emily,” Thomas interrupted gently.
Elias froze.
Thomas’s expression never changed.
“Yes,” Elias said carefully. “You know her?”
“Of course.” Thomas glanced briefly toward the others nearby. “Everyone here knows Emily.”
Relief nearly hit Elias immediately.
Until he noticed something strange again.
Nobody else said her name.
Not one person.
Even now, several townspeople quietly watching nearby avoided eye contact the moment Emily was mentioned.
Thomas folded his hands calmly.
“She’s staying with the Bellamy family near the north woods.”
Elias exhaled slowly. “She’s okay?”
Another pause.
Tiny.
Almost invisible.
Then Thomas smiled wider.
“She’s happy here.”
The answer unsettled Elias instantly.
Not because of the words.
Because Thomas hadn’t actually answered the question.
Before Elias could push further, the old church bells somewhere deeper in town rang suddenly.
Three low metallic tones echoed across Valemere.
Every person in the square stopped moving immediately.
Completely still.
The silence afterward felt heavy enough to physically press against the air.
Then all at once—
the townspeople looked toward the distant forest surrounding the town.
Not toward the church.
Toward the trees.
Elias frowned.
“What was that?”
Thomas slowly turned back toward him.
“The first bell.”
The way he said it sent a cold uneasiness crawling beneath Elias’s skin.
“First bell for what?”
But Thomas only smiled again.
“You should get inside before dark.”
The conversation ended there.
Not naturally.
Intentionally.
Like Thomas had decided it was over.
Then, one by one, the townspeople quietly began leaving the square.
Walking home.
Closing shop doors.
Pulling curtains shut.
All strangely fast now.
Within less than two minutes, the entire center of Valemere looked nearly abandoned.
Elias stood alone beside the bus stop while evening shadows deepened across the streets.
Then the bus driver suddenly leaned out through the open bus window.
“You staying overnight?”
Elias turned toward him.
“Yeah.”
The driver hesitated strangely before speaking again.
“The roads close after the third bell.”
“What does that mean?”
But the driver only shook his head quickly.
“You’ll hear it.”
Then he shut the bus doors immediately.
The vehicle pulled away down the mountain road without another word.
Leaving Elias completely alone in Valemere.
Night settled quickly afterward.
The mountain fog thickened between buildings while warm lights disappeared behind shuttered windows throughout town one by one.
And somewhere far beyond the rooftops—
deep within the surrounding forest—
another bell rang.