THE SECRET BURIED ACROSS AN OCEAN
1152 Words
The blood on the apartment door had been washed away.
The message hadn't.
Because some stains refused to disappear.
"What do we do now?"
Luna's voice trembled.
Her mother didn't answer immediately.
She kept staring through the peephole as if expecting someone to return.
Finally...
She locked the door.
Then locked it again.
"Luna..."
"I need you to listen carefully."
Luna frowned.
"Mom... you're scaring me."
"I know."
Her mother took both of her hands.
"If anything ever happens to me..."
"No."
"M…mom…"
"Promise me."
"I said no!"
"Luna!"
The sharpness in her mother's voice silenced the room.
For several seconds...
Neither of them breathed.
Then her mother whispered,
"...There are people who have spent years looking for something they believe I still have."
Luna blinked.
"What?"
"I can't tell you."
"Why?"
"Because the less you know..."
"...the longer you'll live."
A knock echoed through the apartment.
Both women froze.
Three slow knocks.
Then silence.
Luna whispered,
"...Don't open it."
Her mother slowly approached the door.
She looked through the peephole.
No one.
When she opened it...
The hallway was empty.
Except for a single black feather lying on the floor.
*
Across campus...
Ryan couldn't sleep.
Every time he closed his eyes...
Golden eyes stared back at him.
He sat on the edge of his bed, replaying the attack.
"I know you saved me..."
"So why are you hiding?"
His phone buzzed.
Victoria Calling.
He sighed before answering.
"Hey."
"Where have you been?"
"My apartment."
"You ignored six of my messages."
"I was asleep."
"No."
"You weren't."
Ryan rubbed his forehead.
"Victoria..."
"What?"
"Nothing."
"You've changed."
"I got stabbed."
"You've changed because of her."
Ryan's expression hardened.
"There is no 'her.'"
Victoria laughed bitterly.
"You said her name in your sleep."
Ryan fell silent.
"Who told you that?"
"You did."
The line went quiet.
Then Victoria spoke again.
"Don't make me compete with a girl who doesn't even belong in our world."
She hung up.
Ryan stared at the dark screen.
"...Our world?"
The next monday morning.
Philosophy 301.
Professor Grant entered carrying a stack of essays.
"I have never given a perfect score..."
"...until now."
The class became quiet.
He raised one paper.
"Luna Brooks."
Students exchanged looks.
"But she's absent."
Professor smiled.
"Brilliance doesn't disappear because someone misses class."
Ryan couldn't stop looking at the empty chair.
No smile.
No notebook.
No quiet answers.
Nothing.
For the first time...
The room felt too loud.
Outside, immediately after the class...
Ryan made a silent decision.
"I'm finding her."
The address on her scholarship file wasn't difficult to obtain.
He stood across the street from the small apartment building.
Compared to the mansion he grew up in...
It looked painfully ordinary.
Children played soccer nearby.
An elderly woman watered flowers.
A stray cat slept beneath the staircase.
Ryan smiled faintly.
"This..."
"...is where she lives."
As he crossed the street...
The elderly woman called out.
"Young man."
Ryan turned.
"You looking for Luna?"
His heart skipped.
"Yes."
The woman smiled warmly.
"Sweetest girl I've ever met."
"Always helps everyone."
Ryan nodded.
"I've noticed."
The woman's smile slowly disappeared.
"But strange things happen around her."
Ryan frowned.
"What do you mean?"
She looked around before lowering her voice.
"Sometimes..."
"...late at night..."
"...I hear wolves."
Ryan forced a laugh.
"There aren't wolves around here."
She simply replied,
"I know."
The both slowly nodded at each other and Ryan climbed the stairs.
Before he could knock...
The apartment door opened.
Luna froze.
"...Ryan?"
He smiled awkwardly.
"Hi."
"What are you doing here?"
"I wanted to know if you were okay."
"I'm fine."
"You disappeared."
"I needed time."
Ryan noticed the exhaustion beneath her eyes.
"You don't look fine."
Silence.
She stepped outside, quietly closing the door behind her.
"You shouldn't be here."
"Why?"
"Because people around me..."
"...get hurt."
Ryan laughed softly.
"You sound like a curse."
"I am."
"No."
"You don't know me."
"I know you carried me."
Luna's eyes widened.
"I..."
"You saved my life."
She looked away.
"I don't remember."
"You don't?"
She shook her head slowly.
"I remember hearing someone scream."
"Then..."
"...nothing."
Ryan studied her face.
She wasn't lying.
Or... probably she truly couldn't remember.
"You like romance novels." Ryan said calmly
Luna blinked.
"What?"
"The librarian told me."
A tiny smile escaped her.
"You investigated me?"
"I was curious."
She laughed quietly.
"You should've asked."
"So..."
"You admit it?"
"I've read a few."
"A few?"
"Maybe...a hundred."
Ryan burst into laughter.
"I never would've guessed."
"What about you?"
He looked embarrassed.
"I've read them too."
Luna stared.
"No."
"Yes."
"The great Ryan Hayes?"
"I hide them behind basketball biographies."
She laughed harder than before.
A real laugh.
It was bright and warm. And indeed she had a really cute smile.
Ryan realized...
It was the most beautiful sound he'd heard in weeks.
For a brief moment...
Neither of them noticed how close they had become.
Inside the apartment...
Luna's mother watched through the curtain.
She smiled sadly.
"They look happy."
Then her smile vanished.
A black SUV had stopped across the street.
Two men remained inside.
Watching for some seconds.
Waiting.
One spoke into a phone.
"Target confirmed."
***
Meanwhile...
Victoria sat inside her father's office.
"You were right."
Her father looked up from a folder.
"About what?"
"Ryan."
"He's falling for someone else."
His expression darkened.
"No."
"He won't."
"He already is."
He closed the folder.
"Our partnership with the Hayes family cannot fail."
"What if he chooses her?"
The older man smiled coldly.
"Then..."
"...we make sure she disappears from his life."
Victoria looked down.
She didn't ask what he meant.
Because she already knew.
That same evening...
Luna sat alone at her desk.
Her laptop glowed softly, the cursor blinked.
And she began typing.
"Love is terrifying because it always arrives before disaster."
She paused.
Then continued.
"Some people believe heroes save lives."
"Mine almost died trying to save mine."
Hundreds...
Thousands...
Millions of readers would never know.
The anonymous author everyone adored...
Was writing those words with tears in her eyes.
She tried clicking on the mouse, buh her fingers were really shaking. But finally did click on Publish.
Within seconds...
The campus exploded with notifications.
Ryan's phone vibrated.
He smiled.
"The new chapter..."
As he began reading...
His smile slowly faded.
The chapter described… A wounded basketball player. A quiet girl.
A night beneath the moon.
Detail
s...
No one should know.
Ryan whispered to himself,
"...Luna."
At that exact moment...
Across the city...
Someone watched the same story appear online.
The man's scarred hand clenched into a fist.
"So..."
"...the little wolf is finally writing about him."
He reached into his coat.
Pulled out an old photograph.
Two young women stood smiling beneath an African sunset.
One was Luna's mother.
The other had been burned away with a lighter.
The man smiled.
"Twenty years..."
"...and your secret is finally coming home."
- Writer
