Dead And Alive With Him

Just before midnight, the rain started. As water slid down the glass in long, trembling lines, Nadia stood by the window. The usual sounds of the outside city had been reduced to the occasional passing car and the faraway scream of a night watchman as it had vanished beneath a veil of rain and darkness. She ought to have fallen asleep. She was instead gazing at the picture on her bedside table. A photograph of Daniel. She clenched her fingers around the curtain's edge. Thirty years The accident that separated them had occurred three years earlier. Three years since she had watched his coffin disappear beneath the earth. Three years since she had promised herself she would never love another man and tonight, for reasons she could not explain, she felt as though someone was watching her. Nadia slowly turned away from the window. Nothing. Her bedroom was exactly as she had left it. Her closet was against a far wall. The chair held her handbag. The room was illuminated in a warm circle by the small lamp by her bed. Three knocks came after that. knock,knock,knock. Her heart stopped. The front door had been the source of the noise. She viewed the clock. 11:47 p.m. Nobody visited her this late. Nadia remained frozen for a few seconds. Then the knocking came again. Knock. Knock. Knock. She reached for her phone and walked carefully toward the door. "Who is it?" Silence. She took a breath. "Who are they?" Nothing. Nadia looked through the peephole. Outside stood a man. He was soaked from head to toe, his dark shirt clinging to his body. She was unable to clearly see his face because his head was lowered. She frowned. There was something familiar about him. Something painfully resembling the past. The individual slowly raised his head. Nadia took a step backwards. Her phone slipped from her hand and hit the floor. "No." The man gave the door his full attention. Her breathing became shallow. He couldn't have it. It was impractical. Nadia knew what Daniel looked like. She knew every part of his face, from the way his lips curved to the small scar above his eyebrow to the way his dark eyes softened when he looked at her. She had memorized all of it. The man outside had all of it. Every detail. Every feature. every well-known expression. Her mind screamed that it was impossible. Something else was whispering in her heart. "Daniel?" The man moved his lips. "Nadia." She covered her mouth. Since he passed away, no one had ever addressed her that way. She stumbled backward. "This is not true." The lights went out suddenly. Nadia screamed. The room was illuminated by lightning. Through the glass panel near the door, she caught a fleeting glimpse of the person outside. Then darkness swallowed everything again. She reached for her phone haphazardly. The lights returned. The hallway outside was empty Nadia raced to the door and once more peered through the window. Nobody. She opened it. The corridor was empty except for rainwater dripping from the roof outside. As she entered the hallway, "Daniel?" No answer. Then she saw something on the floor. A small silver chain Her chain. the one she gave to Daniel three years earlier. Her knees nearly gave way. She picked it up with shaking fingers. It was without a doubt his. In it, she had witnessed them bury him. Nadia hurried back inside and locked the door. Her hands would not stop shaking. The chain caught her attention. A terrible thought entered her mind. What if Daniel had never died? She turned it down right away. No. She was present at his funeral. She had seen the photographs from the accident she had cried beside his grave.He was dead he had been dead for three years. However, his chain had somehow ended up in her hallway. Additionally, she had been referred to by a person who resembled him in every way. Her phone suddenly rang. She jumped. An unidentified number was shown on the screen. Before responding, she gave it several seconds of focused attention. "Hello?" At first, there was only static. She then detected breathing. Slow,heavy,familiar Her blood ran cold. "Who are you?" The voice of a man came through. "Don't trust him." Nadia looked down. "Who?" The line was cut off. She immediately called back. The number did not exist. She stood motionless in the middle of the room. Then she heard a floorboard creaking behind her. Nadia turned slowly. Her bedroom's doorway contained a man. Her scream died in her throat. It was him,daniel. He looked exactly as he had three years,ago,not older,not changed,not even slightly different. Now that his clothes were dry and he was focused on hers, Nadia couldn't move. "Nadia," Daniel said with a slow step toward her. She stepped back. "Stay away from me." His expression broke I'm not going to hurt you. "You're dead." He lowered his eyes. "I know." Nadia stared at him. "What does that mean?" Daniel looked back at her. "It means you need to listen to me before they find me." "Who?" He stepped closer. people who ensured my death. She gave a head shake. This is a prank of some kind. I'd like it to be. She wanted to flee, scream, and touch his face once, if only to demonstrate that she was dreaming. Instead, she whispered, "I watched them bury you." "I know." "I cried over your grave." "I know." "Then how are you standing here?" Daniel's eyes filled with sadness. "Because I didn't pass away." He was the focus of Nadia's attention. The room appeared to be spinning. "What?" "They wanted everyone to believe I was dead." "Who wanted that?" Daniel looked toward the window. His expression changed fear appeared in his eyes "Nadia, you have to leave this house." "Why?" "Because they know I came back to you." Outside, a car slowed down. Daniel immediately turned toward the window,its headlights flooded the room his face went pale. "They are present." Nadia's heart raced. "Who?" His genuine, warm grasp on her hand was Daniel's. "Run." The front door slammed open suddenly. Nadia yelled. Men rushed into the house. She was dragged by Daniel toward the bedroom window. "I trust you." She gave him a look. She had been under the impression that she had lost the only man she had ever loved for three years. Now he was standing in front of her alive,terrified and asking her to run. Nadia clung more tightly to his hand. "Where are we going?" Daniel looked into her eyes. Wherever we are, they will never find us. A gunshot shattered the night. Daniel pulled her down just as the bullet struck the wall above them. Nadia screamed. Daniel wrapped his arms around her. She also realized that she had never stopped loving him, something that terrified her more than death itself. In addition, whoever had swindled them of three years of their lives was prepared to kill them both in order to conceal the truth.