The mountain wouldn’t answer.
But the following day, something finally did.
The third day proved pivotal. Far above the cave, in a steep vertical passage, searchers found faint footprints—recent ones. Too recent to belong to anyone from five years earlier. And too light to be an adult’s.
A few hours later, buried under loose stones, they uncovered a small star-shaped pendant. Clara’s favorite. The one she never took off.
Then came the discovery that silenced the entire ridge.