EPISODE TWO:HE KNOWS MY NAME
1300 Words
Aria couldn’t move.
It wasn’t fear exactly—at least not the kind she understood. It was something deeper, heavier, like her body had suddenly forgotten how to respond.
The hallway around her kept moving like normal.
Students laughed. Some pushed past each other. Someone dropped a book and cursed loudly. Life continued as if nothing strange was happening.
But for Aria, everything had stopped.
Because he was standing right in front of her.
The boy from her dreams.
The same eyes. The same presence. That same strange pull she couldn’t explain.
He wasn’t even trying to hide the fact that he was looking at her. His gaze was steady—too steady—like she was the only thing in the world that mattered at that moment.
Aria tightened her grip on her bag strap so hard her fingers hurt.
This is not real.
That thought repeated in her head like a broken record.
It had to be the lack of sleep. Stress. Maybe even imagination playing tricks on her again.
Because there was no way—no logical way—that the boy from her dreams was standing in her school hallway, looking at her like he knew her soul.
He took a step closer.
Aria instinctively stepped back.
That small movement made something flicker in his expression—something unreadable, like disappointment… or recognition.
“You’re real,” she whispered before she could stop herself.
The words slipped out without permission.
His lips curved slightly, not quite a smile.
“I’ve always been real,” he said.
Her stomach tightened.
“No,” she shook her head quickly. “This doesn’t make sense. I don’t know you. I’ve never seen you before. You can’t just appear in my dreams and now show up in my school like it’s normal.”
People brushed past them, unaware of the storm happening in the middle of the hallway.
The boy didn’t even glance at them.
His attention stayed locked on her.
“You’ve seen me more than you think,” he said quietly.
Aria frowned. “What does that even mean?”
Instead of answering, his gaze dropped briefly to her wrist again.
Like he was searching for something invisible.
Then he said something that made her chest tighten:
“You shouldn’t be here, Aria.”
Her name on his lips sounded wrong. Not unfamiliar—but too familiar. Like it had been spoken between them before, in a place she couldn’t remember.
“How do you know my name?” she asked again, more firmly this time.
Silence stretched between them.
For a second, she thought he might ignore her question.
But then he answered.
“Because I’ve been looking for you.”
That sentence hit harder than it should have.
Aria frowned, stepping back another half-step. “That’s not normal. People don’t just… look for someone they don’t know.”
His eyes darkened slightly.
“You don’t understand,” he said.
“Then explain it,” she snapped, surprising even herself.
The hallway noise faded in her ears again.
It always happened like that around him.
Like the world was… dimming.
He exhaled slowly, like he was deciding how much to say.
But before he could speak—
A sudden pressure hit Aria’s head.
It wasn’t pain exactly. More like something pressing behind her eyes.
She winced.
“What… is happening…” she whispered, gripping her head.
The hallway tilted slightly.
Just for a second.
And then—
Everything changed.
The bright school hallway wasn’t bright anymore.
The walls looked cracked, like reality itself had been scratched. Black markings crawled across the tiles like veins. The air felt heavy, almost alive.
Students were still walking—
But their faces were wrong.
Blurred. Empty. Like they weren’t fully there.
Aria’s breath caught in her throat.
She stumbled back.
“What… what is this?” she whispered.
Her heart started racing.
She blinked hard.
“No, no, no—this isn’t real.”
But it didn’t go away.
It only got worse.
Behind the boy, something shifted in the air.
A shadow that didn’t belong to anything human.
Tall. Thin. Watching.
Aria gasped loudly and took a sharp step back.
“What is THAT?!” she shouted, her voice breaking.
The boy didn’t even turn around.
He just watched her reaction.
And that’s when Aria noticed something terrifying.
He wasn’t surprised.
He was expecting it.
Her breathing became uneven.
“I need to sit down,” she whispered, shaking her head violently. “I need to—this is not real—this is not—”
She blinked again.
And suddenly—
Everything snapped back.
Normal hallway.
Normal students.
Normal noise.
No cracks. No shadows.
Just… normal life.
Aria stumbled slightly, grabbing the wall to steady herself.
Her heart was beating so fast she thought it might break through her chest.
“What… what just happened…” she whispered.
Her voice was barely audible.
The boy stepped closer again, slowly.
“You saw it,” he said calmly.
Aria shook her head immediately.
“No. I didn’t. I didn’t see anything. I’m just tired, okay? I’m just—”
“You saw the truth,” he interrupted.
That made her freeze.
The way he said it… so certain. So calm.
Like there was no argument.
Like he wasn’t guessing.
Like he knew.
Aria looked up at him again, fear and confusion mixing in her chest.
“Who are you?” she asked, her voice smaller now.
He paused.
And for the first time, something different crossed his face.
Not emotion.
Not softness.
Something… old.
Heavy.
Dangerous.
“My name is Kael,” he said finally.
The name felt strange in the air.
Like it didn’t belong in this world.
Aria repeated it silently in her mind.
Kael.
She stepped back again instinctively.
“What do you want from me?” she asked.
Kael studied her for a long moment.
Then he said something that made her entire world tilt again.
“I don’t want anything from you,” he said quietly.
A pause.
Then—
“I was sent to protect you.”
Aria stared at him.
“…Protect me?” she repeated slowly. “From what? You? Because this is already starting to feel like a threat.”
Something almost like pain flickered in his eyes—but it disappeared quickly.
“Not from me,” he said.
His gaze shifted slightly, scanning the hallway like he could see something she couldn’t.
“From what you are becoming.”
Aria’s throat tightened.
“What I’m… becoming?”
Kael stepped closer again, but this time she didn’t move.
She was too confused to move.
Too shaken.
“You’re waking up,” he said again, softer this time. “And when you fully do… they’ll find you.”
Aria frowned. “Who are ‘they’?”
But Kael didn’t answer.
Instead, he looked past her shoulder.
His expression changed instantly.
Cold. Sharp.
Alert.
Aria turned slightly—but saw nothing.
When she looked back—
He was gone.
Just like that.
No footsteps.
No warning.
Nothing.
Aria stood frozen in the hallway, breathing hard, her mind spinning.
“What… just happened…” she whispered again.
Students walked past her like nothing had changed.
Like she hadn’t just seen reality break in front of her eyes.
Like she hadn’t just spoken to someone who disappeared into thin air.
Aria slowly slid down against the wall, her hands shaking.
Her thoughts were loud.
Too loud.
Kael.
Waking up.
Protect you.
They will find you.
And worst of all—
The memory of that shadow behind him.
Real or not… she didn’t know anymore.
But one thing was clear:
Her normal life was already gone.
And something inside her… was starting to change.
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