CHAPTER 1
2525 Words
The city never looked beautiful when it rained.
It looked desheaved.
The endless storm that had poured through the night had transformed every street into a maze of muddy water and shimmering reflections. Narrow gutters, already choked with months of forgotten trash, overflowed with dirty water that carried away empty bottles, crumpled newspapers, torn plastic bags, and other abandoned wreckages no one had cared enough to reclaim. The city moved on with an idle look, just as it always did.
Streetlights reflected across the soaked pavement in shades of crimson and amber, making every puddle resemble pools of fresh blood. The towering buildings disappeared behind curtains of rain, their glowing windows looking like distant stars trapped inside concrete cages.
The city was alive.
Yet somehow...
It had never felt so empty.
Nia pulled the hood of her oversized black hoodie farther over her head as another cold gust of wind swept past. Tiny raindrops clung to her eyelashes while strands of dark hair escaped from beneath her hood, sticking to her cheeks.
She wrapped her arms around herself.
The temperature seemed to drop with every passing minute.
"I should've stayed home," she muttered beneath her breath.
Her voice disappeared into the storm.
She reached into her hoodie pocket and pulled out her phone.
Nothing.
The black screen stared back at her like an empty mirror.
Dead.
"Seriously?"
She pressed the power button again.
Nothing.
With a sigh, she shoved it back into her pocket.
Her apartment was still almost an hour away on foot.
Normally, she would've taken the last bus.
Tonight, she wasn't so lucky.
The buses had stopped running nearly thirty minutes ago, leaving only the sound of rain, distant thunder, and the occasional howl of the wind.
She wasn't afraid of walking alone.
At least...
She never used to be.
But tonight felt different.
The streets were unusually quiet.
Too quiet.
Even the stray cats that usually wandered around the alleyways were nowhere to be seen.
Nia slowed her pace.
A strange feeling settled in her chest.
Someone was watching her.
She couldn't explain why.
There was no evidence.
No movement.
No sound.
Just...
A feeling.
Goosebumps quickly scattered on her shivering body.
Her heartbeat quickened.
She glanced over her shoulder.
Nothing.
Only empty sidewalks stretching endlessly beneath flickering streetlights.
She forced herself to smile whiles fear and anxiety covered her.
"You're imagining things." . She mummered.
Her words sounded unconvincing, even to herself.
She continued walking.
Splash.
Splash.
Splash.
Her boots stepped through shallow puddles, each step echoed across the deserted street.
Then...
Another sound.
Splash.
Not hers.
She froze.
Silence.
The rain continued falling.
Drip.
Drip.
Drip.
Then—
Splash.
Another footstep.
Slow but heavy.
Behind her.
Her breathing caught in her throat.
She waited.
The footsteps stopped.
She slowly turned around.
Nothing.
Only darkness.
The wind merendered through the trees lining the sidewalk, making the branches sway like skeletal hands reaching toward the sky.
Dead leaves spun across the pavement before disappearing into the storm.
Nia frowned.
"I'm definitely losing it."
She turned back again.
Splash.
Another footstep.
Closer.
This time she heard it clearly.
Someone...
was following her.
Her pulse pounded in her ears.
She began walking faster.
The footsteps matched her pace.
She sped up.
So did it.
Her breathing became uneven.
The cold air burned her lungs.
She could feel it now.
Whatever it was , was close.
Very closer.
She stopped walking.
The footsteps stopped too.
Silence.
"...Who's there?"
Only the rain answered.
A violent gust of wind rushed past her, nearly knocking her off balance.
It carried with it a strange smell.
Smoke.
Not the comforting scent of a fireplace.
Not burning wood.
This smelled like sulphur which nearly caused her lungs to explode in her chest.
But she dared to cough.
It also seemed like something had burned long ago...
and never stopped.
Nia looked around desperately.
Every street was empty.
Every window was dark.
Every shadow seemed alive.
Then—
A voice.
Deep.
Calm.
Almost audibly gentle, came directly from behind .
"Run."
Nia's eyes widened.
Before she could turn—
Something grabbed her wrist.
She turned and looked.
—
Nia jolted upright with a sharp gasp.
Her chest rose and fell rapidly as she struggled to catch her breath.
Morning sunlight spilled through the thin curtains of her apartment, replacing the cold darkness of the nightmare with soft golden light.
Her heart still refused to slow down.
She instinctively grabbed her wrist.
Nothing.
No hand.
No bruises.
No marks.
Just warm skin.
"It was just a dream...", She whispered to herself several times, hoping repetition would somehow make them believable.
Eventually, her breathing steadied.
She leaned back against the wall behind her bed and stared at the ceiling.
Small cracks stretched across the white paint like tiny creek.
She had counted them enough times to know almost every pattern by heart.
"This dream again?..."
"Three weeks?".
For three weeks the same nightmare had returned almost every single night.
It always began with rain.
It always ended before she could see what happened next.
And every time...
There was him.
The mysterious man.
White-blond hair.
Golden eyes that seemed to glow even in darkness.
A calm voice that somehow made her feel both terrified and safe at the same time.
The strange thing was...
She never remembered his entire face after waking up.
Only fragments.
A lock of pale hair.
A pair of impossibly beautiful eyes.
The outline of a smile she could never quite recreate.
Every morning the details faded like footprints washed away by rain.
She hated that.
She wanted to remember.
Surely she needed to.
Without thinking, she reached over to the small wooden desk beside her bed.
Her sketchbook lay exactly where she left it the night before.
She opened it.
Page after page filled with unfinished drawings.
Eyes.
Hair.
Hands.
Shadows.
The silhouette of a tall man standing in the rain.
Dozens of attempts.
None of them felt right.
She sighed before flipping to a fresh page.
Holding her pencil lightly, she closed her eyes.
Golden eyes...
White-blond hair...
High cheekbones...
A gentle expression...
She began sketching.
The pencil moved almost on its own.
Soft lines slowly formed the outline of a face.
For nearly twenty minutes she worked in complete silence.
When she finally opened her eyes...
She frowned.
Again.
It wasn't him.
She could feel it.
Something was missing.
No matter how many times she drew him, the finished picture never resembled the man from her dreams.
Almost as if...
Something refused to let her remember.
Nia dropped the pencil onto the desk.
"I'm going crazy!"
She rubbed her face before standing.
Her tiny apartment wasn't much to look at.
A single bedroom connected to a small kitchen and living area.
Books were stacked in neat piles beside the couch.
Art supplies occupied nearly every free corner.
Paintbrushes stood inside old coffee mugs.
Half-finished canvases leaned against the walls.
Sticky notes covered one side of her refrigerator, reminding her of assignments, grocery lists, and deadlines she constantly forgot.
The apartment wasn't luxurious.
But it was manageable.
And somehow...
That made it feel like home.
After taking a quick shower, Nia tied her damp hair into a loose ponytail and stood in front of the tiny mirror hanging above the sink.
Dark brown eyes.
Soft features.
A few stubborn strands of hair had already escaped the ponytail.
She yawned.
"You look exhausted."
The reflection didn't disagree.
She threw on an oversized cream-colored sweater beneath her favorite black hoodie, paired it with blue jeans and white sneakers, then grabbed her backpack from beside the couch.
Before leaving, her gaze drifted back toward the sketchbook.
For a brief second...
She could've sworn the unfinished drawing looked different.
Almost...
Alive.
She blinked.
The illusion disappeared.
"...Definitely need more sleep."
Locking the apartment behind her, Nia stepped into the cool morning air.
The storm had finally passed.
Fresh rainwater glistened beneath the rising sun while birds cautiously returned to the trees, singing as if nothing unusual had happened during the night.
Life continues.
People hurried to work.
Children laughed as they splashed through puddles on their way to school.
Street vendors reopened their stalls, filling the air with the mouthwatering aroma of fried pastries, roasted corn, and freshly brewed coffee.
For everyone else...
It was just another ordinary morning.
For Nia...
The nightmare still lingered.
And for reasons she couldn't explain...
She had a feeling that this day was going to change everything.
By the time Nia reached Regan University, the campus had returned to its usual rhythm.
Students wandered across the wide stone walkways with backpacks slung over one shoulder, laughing loudly as they recounted the previous night's adventures. Others hurried toward their lecture halls with coffee cups in hand, praying they wouldn't be late for class.
Regan University was one of the most prestigious universities in the country. It was known for its beautiful architecture, demanding professors, and competitive students. Towering brick buildings stood proudly around the campus, connected by gardens, fountains, and long pathways lined with blooming flowers.
Most students admired the university for its reputation.
Nia admired it because it was one of the few places where she could disappear into a crowd.
She climbed the familiar stone stairs leading toward the Fine Arts building, smiling politely at a few classmates who greeted her before continuing on her way.
"Morning, Nia!"
"Morning."
"You finished the design assignment?"
"Almost."
"You always say that."
She chuckled softly.
"I know."
Unlike many students around her, Nia wasn't particularly outgoing. She wasn't shy either. She simply preferred listening over talking. While everyone else enjoyed being the center of attention, she found comfort in observing people.
Perhaps that was why drawing had always come so naturally to her.
She loved capturing emotions that people didn't realize they were showing.
The nervous tapping of someone's foot.
The warmth in a grandmother's smile.
The loneliness hidden behind a stranger's laugh.
Every face told a story.
Every sketch preserved one.
After dropping off a few books in her locker, she checked the time on her phone.
11:47 a.m.
Her afternoon lecture wouldn't begin for another forty-five minutes.
Perfect.
Lunch first.
The university cafeteria buzzed with life.
Conversations overlapped from every direction while trays clattered against tables and chairs scraped across the polished floor. The delicious smell of grilled meat, fresh bread, fries, and spicy noodles drifted through the air, making it nearly impossible to walk in without feeling hungry.
Nia joined the line, ordered an iced burger, fries, and a bottle of orange juice before making her way toward her favorite table near the large windows.
Rain droplets still clung to the glass outside, sparkling beneath the afternoon sunlight.
She liked sitting there.
It was peaceful.
Setting her tray down, she reached into her backpack and pulled out the one thing that accompanied her almost everywhere.
Her sketchbook.
Without wasting a second, she flipped to a clean page.
The cafeteria around her slowly disappeared.
Students became shapes.
Voices faded into distant noise.
Only the blank page remained.
Her pencil began moving.
First came a pair of eyes.
Then strands of pale hair.
A sharp jawline.
Broad shoulders.
She paused.
"No..."
She erased the face.
Started again.
Golden eyes.
Erase.
A different hairstyle.
Erase.
A faint smile.
Erase.
No matter how many times she tried, the picture never looked right.
She sighed in frustration.
"Why can't I remember you?"
"Because your prince charming enjoys playing hide and seek."
Nia jumped so hard she nearly dropped her pencil.
"Oh my goodness!"
A familiar laugh rang through the cafeteria.
......
- Writer
