The Weight Of Knowing
728 Words
That night, sleep refused to come.
She tossed and turned, her mind replaying everything. Lucas’ words, the strange sadness in his eyes, the way he had asked her about curses.
She found herself sitting up in bed, pulling her laptop onto her lap, searching before she even knew what she was looking for.
Greywick City… curse…
The results were meaningless at first. Old myths, urban legends, irrelevant news articles. But then something caught her eye. A local tale from decades ago, tucked away in an archived blog post.
Her breath caught as she read:
"There’s a story buried deep in Greywick’s past, one no one tells anymore. A tale of a man who walks the city under the moon, bound to the night, never truly belonging to the world around him. Some say he’s lost, searching for something. Others say he’s cursed to remain in the half-light, always slipping through time, never staying in one place too long. And if you meet him… you will never forget him."
Elysia’s pulse pounded.
This… this wasn’t just coincidence, was it?
Her fingers hovered over the trackpad. Her mind screamed for logic to brush this off as just an eerie tale.
But deep down, she already knew the truth.
She had met him.
And she would never forget him.
Elysia hadn’t spoken to Lucas in days. Not because she didn’t want to, but because he had disappeared again, just like before.
Yet, this time, she didn’t feel lost.
This time, she had a lead.
The story she had found wouldn’t leave her mind. It sat there, sinking deeper into her thoughts, settling like a weight on her chest. She had spent the past nights rereading it, tracing its words like a puzzle she was desperate to solve.
The man who walks under the moon… bound to the night… never truly belonging to the world around him…
The words felt like they were written about Lucas.
But that was impossible, right?
…Right?
A normal person would brush it off. A sane person wouldn’t let an old legend twist into reality.
But she wasn’t normal anymore, was she?
She had met him.
And he wasn’t normal either.
A Restless Heart
At work, she barely spoke. Lydia noticed, of course, but this time, she didn’t push. She only watched, waiting for Elysia to open up.
She didn’t.
Instead, she went to The Crescent Café every single evening, hoping he’d return.
The first night, he didn’t show. Neither did the second.
By the fourth, she began convincing herself that maybe, just maybe, he really was nothing more than a dream or that she was going crazy and had imagined it all.
That he was never real.
But just as she was about to give up, just as she told herself this is the last time, she saw him again.
Sitting in the exact same corner as before.
His eyes met hers the moment she walked in, as if he had been waiting for her.
But there was something different this time.
Something softer.
Something… almost regretful.
A Moment Suspended in Time
Elysia approached cautiously, her pulse quickening.
“You disappeared again,” she said quietly, stopping in front of him.
Lucas exhaled, running a hand through his hair. “I tend to do that.” He said with a sly smile.
There was a strange heaviness in his voice, a tiredness.
She wanted to ask why, but the words caught in her throat. Instead, she sat down across from him, mirroring their first meeting.
For a moment, neither of them spoke. The world outside the café felt distant, as if they were sitting in a moment, suspended in time.
Finally, she said, “I read something.”
Lucas didn’t move. Didn’t blink.
“What did you read?”
She hesitated, watching him carefully. “A story. An old one. About a man who never stays in one place. About how people never forget him.”
Silence.
His expression didn’t change, but she noticed the way his fingers curled slightly against the table.
She pressed on. “Do you believe in curses, Lucas?”
For the first time, something flickered in his eyes.
A flash of something she couldn’t name.
Then, barely above a whisper, he said,
"Belief isn’t always a choice, Elysia."
Her breath caught.
Because in that moment, she realized. He wasn’t denying it.
- Writer
