Unanswered...
764 Words
The book remained on the table.
It had not moved. Not an inch.
Maya stood near the window, arms folded, watching the street below. Cars passed. Neighbors laughed. Life continued with an ease that felt almost insulting.
"They didn't even say goodbye properly," Lionel muttered.
"They did," Maya replied quietly. "Just not the way you wanted."
Shawn said nothing. He was watching the book, the faint image of the locket etched into its cover catching the morning light. It looked old-older than time, older than intention. Like it had survived simply by refusing to explain itself.
School felt unavoidable after that.
---
The halls buzzed with familiar noise when they arrived. Lockers slammed, voices overlapped, shoes scuffed against tiled floors. Human normalcy pressed in from all sides.
Lionel adjusted the strap of his bag, shoulders tense. He still wasn't used to crowds. Too many emotions. Too many unnoticed thoughts brushing against his senses.
That was when he saw Matilda.
She stood near her locker, laughing softly at something her friend had said. Lionel's chest tightened in a way he still didn't understand. He hesitated, then walked toward them.
"Elara," Matilda said, nudging her friend. "You're not listening."
Elara leaned against the lockers beside her, dark hair loose, expression calm but distant. "I am. You're just repeating yourself."
Matilda rolled her eyes. "See? She does this."
Lionel smiled awkwardly. "Hi."
"You are Lionel.....your name's definitely typical." Elara said.
Lionel blinked. "How did you-"
"You don't move like everyone else," Elara replied simply.
Matilda laughed. "She means you look lost."
Lionel forced a laugh of his own.
But Elara was still watching him.
---
Shawn sat through his first class without hearing a word.
He felt it again-that subtle pressure, like something unseen leaning closer. Not hostile. Not yet. Just aware.
When the teacher called his name, he answered automatically, earning a few surprised glances. Humans never expected the quiet ones to pay attention.
Maya caught his eye from outside the room.
After school, she mouthed.
He nodded.
---
The book waited.
It always waited.
That afternoon, Shawn sat in front of it again, careful not to touch. Maya knelt beside him, her fingers tracing protective symbols in the air-not spells, just habits.
"It hasn't reacted since last night," she said.
"That doesn't mean it's dormant," Shawn replied.
Lionel hovered near the doorway, distracted. His thoughts kept drifting back to school. To Matilda's smile. To Elara's stare.
"She knows something," he said suddenly.
Maya looked up. "Who?"
"Elara. Matilda's friend."
Shawn frowned. "What kind of something?"
Lionel shook his head. "I don't know. But she watches like the book does."
Silence fell.
"That's not comforting," Maya said.
"No," Shawn agreed. "It's not."
---
Later that evening, Lionel found himself walking home with Matilda and Elara again.
The sky had dimmed into soft gray, the kind that made streetlights flicker on early. Their footsteps echoed along the pavement.
Matilda talked easily, filling the air with observations about teachers and assignments. Lionel listened, responding when needed, but his awareness stayed sharp.
Elara walked just behind them.
"You don't like crowds," she said suddenly.
Lionel startled. "I-"
"It's not a bad thing," she continued. "Just noticeable."
Matilda glanced between them. "You're both weird."
Elara smirked faintly. "Takes one to know one."
They stopped at the corner near Matilda's building.
"See you tomorrow," Matilda said, waving before disappearing inside.
Lionel and Elara stood beneath the streetlight.
The hum of electricity filled the silence.
"You're not from here," Elara said.
Lionel's heart skipped. "I am."
She tilted her head slightly. "Not originally."
Lionel hesitated. "Neither are you."
For a moment, something unreadable crossed her face.
"Be careful," she said quietly. "Some places remember who was exiled."
Before Lionel could ask what she meant, she turned and walked away.
He stayed where he was, heart pounding.
---
That night, the book shifted.
Not visibly. Not dramatically.
But Shawn felt it.
He sat up in bed, breath shallow, sensing the faintest tremor ripple through the apartment. Maya appeared in his doorway seconds later.
"You felt it too," she said.
"Yes."
Lionel emerged from his room, eyes wide. "It's awake."
They gathered in the living room, standing around the table.
The book remained closed.
Silent.
But the image of the locket seemed darker now, more pronounced, as if pressed deeper into the cover.
"It's responding to something," Maya whispered.
Shawn nodded slowly. "Or someone."
Outside, the city slept.
And far beyond it, in places Paran had tried to erase, old stories stirred-quietly, patiently, waiting for the moment when silence would no longer be enough.
- Writer
