CHAPTER 1
602 Words
The rhythmic chirping of crickets echoed through the quiet mountain village as the last rays of sunlight disappeared behind the hills.
With a worn backpack slung over his shoulder and a sack of groceries hanging from one hand, Caspian Wade Hashiro walked along the familiar dirt road toward home. His steps were slow, not because he wanted to stop, but because exhaustion had settled into every part of his body.
His mornings belonged to college.
His afternoons belonged to the small convenience store.
His evenings belonged to the village café.
Three jobs.
One dream.
"Just a few more years..." he whispered to himself. "I'll become a doctor."
The thought alone was enough to keep him moving.
As he rounded a sharp curve near the old cliffside road, something caught his eye.
A pair of black shoes.
They were sticking out from the tall grass.
Wade frowned.
"...What?"
His heartbeat quickened.
Dropping the grocery bag, he rushed forward.
A young man lay motionless on the ground, his white clothes soaked in blood. Small cuts covered his face, and dried blood had matted his dark hair.
"Oh my God..."
Wade knelt beside him with trembling hands.
"Hey... can you hear me?"
No response.
He quickly placed two fingers on the stranger's neck.
A pulse.
Weak...
But there.
"Thank God."
Without wasting another second, Wade pulled out his old phone.
"Kuya Ben!" he shouted into the receiver. "Please bring the tricycle! Someone's badly hurt near the cliff road!"
Within minutes, a few villagers arrived.
Together, they carefully lifted the unconscious man into the tricycle before speeding toward the village clinic.
---
The clinic was small, barely enough to treat serious injuries.
The village doctor immediately examined the patient while Wade waited anxiously outside.
After what felt like forever, the doctor finally stepped out.
"He's stable."
Wade released a breath he hadn't realized he was holding.
"But..." the doctor continued, "he suffered a severe blow to the head. We won't know the full extent of the injury until he wakes up."
"Will he survive?"
"If nothing worsens... yes."
Relief washed over Wade.
Then another question entered his mind.
"Do you know who he is?"
The doctor shook his head.
"No identification. No phone. Nothing."
A stranger.
Completely alone.
Wade stared through the small glass window at the sleeping young man.
Who was he?
Where had he come from?
Was someone searching for him?
He didn't know.
Yet something inside him refused to walk away.
"I'll stay," Wade said quietly.
The doctor smiled.
"I had a feeling you'd say that."
---
Hours passed.
The moon now hung high above the village.
The clinic was silent except for the steady beeping of an old heart monitor.
Wade sat beside the bed, fighting the urge to fall asleep.
Suddenly—
The stranger's fingers twitched.
"..."
His eyelids slowly fluttered open.
Everything was blurry.
Bright.
Unfamiliar.
He looked around in confusion before his eyes settled on the young man sitting beside him.
"W-Where..."
His voice was barely a whisper.
"Easy," Wade said gently. "You're safe."
The stranger frowned.
"What... happened?"
"You were in an accident. I found you near the road."
Silence.
The stranger brought a hand to his head, wincing in pain.
"My... name..."
He tried to remember.
Faces.
Places.
Nothing.
Only darkness.
Then—
One word escaped his lips.
"...Theo."
Wade blinked.
"Theo?"
The young man slowly nodded.
"I... think..."
"It's the only thing... I remember."
Outside, the tide of fate had already begun to change.
And neither of them knew that this single encounter would alter the course of both their lives forever.
End of Chapter 1
- Writer
