SICK BONDS

“Sick Bonds” is a novel constructed on the ancient myth of the three Furies, dark, vengeful goddesses who govern human destiny. With spindles of yew wood, Clotho reels, Lachesis weaves, and Atropos, the “one of no return,” cuts the thread of life. Whether they enact justice, fulfill inevitability, or merely answer hatred with hatred remains an open question. Like the evergreen yew, blooming in winter, capable of healing yet deeply toxic, the novel explores the coexistence of good and evil.

At its core lies an existential drama: the life of Amalia Aludean, a woman in old age burdened by a fractured destiny, unfulfilled love, and betrayal. Her sister, Malvina Prudel, flees the country illegally with Dorian, Amalia’s fiancé, and settles in the United States. Amalia inherits a legacy of unhappiness passed down through generations, its imprint fossilized in her life like insects trapped in amber, a symbol embodied by her amber ring.

Her suffering deepens when Lili, the daughter she shares with Dorian, leaves for the USA. The tragedy reaches madness when Lili dies in a car accident. Unable to accept reality, Amalia clings to the illusion that her daughter is still alive, somewhere “across seas and lands.”

The return of Malvina during the COVID pandemic reignites old wounds. Amalia discovers that her sister was driving the car involved in Lili’s fatal accident, unleashing suppressed hatred. Though Amalia masks her psychological decay, yew flowers recur obsessively, reinforcing the novel’s symbolic tension.

Malvina dies under suspicious circumstances. The truth is uncovered by Marlene, the daughter of Malvina and Dorian, who realizes that Amalia mistaking her for Lili, has been consumed by grief and hatred. Marlene ultimately bears the responsibility of breaking the inherited cycle of tragedy through forgiveness and love.