THE GIRL WHO WASN'T SUPPOSED TO REMEMBER

Episode 1 — 3:17 A.M. Elara Vale woke up screaming. Her hands flew to her chest as she struggled to breathe. For several seconds, she couldn't remember where she was. Then the darkness of her bedroom slowly returned. The pale moonlight. The curtains moving gently in the cold night air. The ticking clock beside her bed. 3:17 A.M. Again. Elara stared at the glowing numbers. Her heart refused to slow down. She had been having the same nightmare for three months. Every night, it began in the same place. A dark room. A broken silver watch. Blood on the floor. And a man. She closed her eyes, trying to push the memory away. It didn't work. His face appeared again. Sharp features. Dark hair. Grey eyes that seemed to carry years of grief. She could still feel his hand around hers. She could still hear his voice. "Elara..." She opened her eyes. "Who are you?" she whispered. She had never seen him before. At least, she thought she hadn't. The strangest part wasn't that she dreamed about him. It was the feeling she had whenever she saw him. Recognition. Pain. Love. All at once. Elara climbed out of bed and walked toward the bathroom mirror. Her reflection looked exhausted. She touched the faint scar near her collarbone. The scar had been there for as long as she could remember. Her fingers stopped. Something was different. There was a faint red mark beneath the scar. A shape she had never noticed before. She leaned closer. It looked like a tiny letter. K. Elara stepped back. "No..." Her phone suddenly rang. She nearly dropped it. Nobody called her at this hour. She looked at the screen. Unknown Number. Her finger hovered over the answer button. Then she answered. "Hello?" Silence. "Who is this?" A man's breathing came through the speaker. Slow. Unsteady. Familiar. Elara's stomach tightened. Then the man spoke. "You're awake." She froze. The voice. It was the same voice from her dreams. Her hand began trembling. "Who are you?" Another silence. Then: "Don't go to work tomorrow." Elara frowned. "Why?" The caller breathed out slowly. "Because he's coming." "Who?" The line went dead. Elara stared at her phone. For several seconds, she didn't move. Then a notification appeared. Unknown Number: Look outside. Her blood ran cold. Slowly, she walked toward the window. She pulled the curtain aside. A black car was parked across the street. Its headlights were off. Someone was sitting inside. Watching her. Elara stepped away from the window. Her phone vibrated again. Unknown Number: Don't let him see you. She swallowed. "Who?" The answer arrived almost immediately. Unknown Number: Kael Arden. Elara stared at the name. She had never heard it before. Yet somehow... her heart recognized it. And from somewhere deep inside her forgotten memories, a man's voice whispered: "You promised you'd never forget me." The clock beside her bed changed. 3:18 A.M. Elara's breath caught. One minute later, the clock changed again. 3:17 A.M. She blinked. That was impossible. The time was moving backward. Then the bedroom door slowly opened behind her. Elara turned. A man stood in the doorway. Grey eyes. Dark hair. The exact face from her dreams. He looked at her as though he'd been searching for her for years. And when he finally spoke, his voice broke. "Elara." She couldn't move. The man took one step toward her. "You finally remembered me." End of Episode 1