Episode 3: The First Encounter
280 Words
It started with a storm.
Anita had gone into town for groceries — her fridge was nearly empty, just like the rest of her life. The sky had been clear that morning, but by afternoon, clouds gathered like soldiers, dark and heavy.
She ducked into a small, quiet bookstore to escape the rain.
The bell above the door jingled softly. The smell of old paper, ink, and something musky greeted her like a whisper. She didn’t plan to stay long — but something pulled her deeper into the shelves.
And that’s when she felt it.
A shift in the air.
Like gravity had tilted… just slightly.
She turned around — and froze.
He stood at the end of the aisle. Tall, broad-shouldered, dressed in black from coat to boots. His beard framed a strong jaw, and his eyes — dark, intense, almost inhuman — locked onto hers like he’d been waiting his whole life to find her.
She couldn't breathe.
The room felt smaller.
“You…” he murmured, taking a single step closer. “You’re real.”
Anita’s heart pounded so loud she could hear it. “Do I… know you?”
“No.” His voice was deep, velvet over steel. “But I know *you*, Luna.”
Her stomach twisted. That word again.
“Luna?” she echoed. “Why do you keep—”
“You belong to me,” he said, voice low, like a promise and a threat. “Even if you don’t remember yet.”
And then, without another word, he turned and walked out — disappearing into the rain as quickly as he came.
Leaving her shaken.
And something inside her… awakened.
- Writer
