Bound by Fate

Rain poured heavily across the narrow streets of the city. The kind of rain that didn’t feel like weather anymore—just noise falling from the sky, drowning everything it touched. Cars rushed past without slowing, throwing sheets of muddy water across cracked sidewalks while students hurried home under broken umbrellas that barely held themselves together. Among them was a girl. Eighteen years old. A wrinkled school uniform clung slightly to her frame, already soaked at the edges. A faded pink backpack hung from her shoulder, worn down by years of use, its color long stripped by sun and rain. That girl was Hannah Valdez. At eighteen, she still looked like someone the world hadn’t finished shaping yet—but life had already carved too much into her. She had been five years old when her father left. No explanation. No warning. Just absence. One day he was there, lifting her onto his shoulders, laughing as he bought her strawberry candies outside a small convenience store. And the next day… He was gone. As if he had never existed at all. For years after that, Hannah watched her mother try to hold their world together with tired hands. Elena Valdez worked endlessly in a small tailoring shop, stitching clothes for strangers while her own life slowly frayed at the edges. There were nights she came home too exhausted to speak, and mornings she pretended she wasn’t breaking. Sometimes she skipped meals. Sometimes she smiled through pain she never named. And Hannah… Hannah learned early that love doesn’t always protect you. Sometimes it just teaches you how to endure. At eighteen, she no longer dreamed like other girls her age. She didn’t dream about love. Or freedom. Or a future painted in bright colors. She only dreamed of getting through the next day. Of surviving whatever life decided to take next. But before everything became this heavy… There was once a time when she laughed without thinking. A time when trust came easily. A time before her world split into before and after. And before she lost her eye. — Twelve years ago. The sky that afternoon was painted in soft orange light as schoolchildren filled the streets, their voices echoing between small houses and fading storefronts. Hannah walked beside her best friend, Claire. Claire was the only person who stayed when others drifted away. They shared lunches under classroom desks, whispered secrets during lessons, and promised each other things children believe will never break. Forever. Best friends. Nothing could change that. Or so Hannah thought. That day felt ordinary at first. Until it didn’t. Hannah stopped walking in the middle of the street. Her small hands tightened at her sides. “I heard what you said about me.” Claire paused. “What are you talking about?” Hannah’s voice trembled, but it carried something sharp underneath. “You told everyone my dad left because my mom wasn’t enough for him.” Silence. For a moment, even the street felt like it had stopped moving. Claire looked away. “That’s not true…” But her voice lacked conviction. And that was enough. “You laughed,” Hannah said, her eyes filling. “You told them I was unwanted.” People began slowing down around them. Watching. Listening. Hannah felt it—the familiar weight of being looked at like something broken. For weeks, she had endured it. Whispers behind her back. Soft laughter she pretended not to hear. The pity that felt worse than insults. And now… It all had a name. Claire. Her best friend. Or what used to be. Hannah’s chest tightened painfully. “You ruined my family,” she whispered. Claire crossed her arms. “That’s not my fault.” Then she laughed. A small sound. Careless. But it shattered something inside Hannah that could never be repaired. Her hand moved before she fully understood what she was doing. A stone lay on the ground. She grabbed it. “I hate you!” She threw it. Not with intention to hurt. Not truly. Only to make it stop. To make everything stop. The stone missed Claire entirely, landing somewhere useless on the pavement. But Claire’s face changed instantly. Something colder replaced her expression. Without hesitation, she picked up another stone. And threw it back. Time didn’t slow. It didn’t warn her. It simply ended the moment it needed to. The stone struck Hannah’s right eye. A sharp, unbearable impact exploded through her skull. Everything went white. Then red. Then nothing made sense anymore. Hannah collapsed, screaming, hands flying to her face as warmth spilled between her fingers. The world around her tilted violently, sounds stretching and breaking apart like glass underwater. People gathered quickly. Voices overlapped. Someone shouted for help. A woman in a pink dress rushed forward and pulled her close, trembling. “Oh my God…” Hannah couldn’t breathe properly. “It hurts… it hurts—please…” Blood soaked into her sleeve. Her voice broke into something unrecognizable. The woman held her tighter. “Where’s your mother?” “She’s working…” Hannah sobbed. “I was just going home…” Sirens echoed in the distance, growing louder, closer, until everything dissolved into movement and panic. Then came the ambulance. Cold hands. Bright lights. Pain that refused to leave her body no matter how much she begged. — Four days later. Hannah woke up slowly. The hospital room smelled like antiseptic and silence. Machines beeped softly beside her bed, counting a life she no longer felt fully part of. A woman in white stood nearby. A doctor. “You’re awake,” she said gently. Hannah blinked. Everything felt heavy. Wrong. The doctor moved carefully, removing the bandages wrapped around her face. At first, Hannah didn’t understand what she was seeing. Only half the world responded. The ceiling. The lights. The sterile white walls. Then she tried to look through her right eye. Nothing. No shadow. No blur. No light. Just absence. A void where something had once lived. Hannah froze. “…Doctor?” The silence that followed was enough answer. The doctor’s eyes softened with pity. “I’m sorry, Hannah.” And in that moment… Something inside her didn’t just break. It disappeared completely. — Years passed. The girl who once laughed easily became quieter than her own shadow. Eighteen years old now, Hannah had learned how to exist without drawing attention. Her long black hair fell over the right side of her face, hiding what she no longer wanted the world to see. Thick glasses sat over her remaining eye, as if trying to protect what was left of her vision—and her pride. But people still looked. They always did. Some with pity. Some with curiosity. Some with cruelty they didn’t bother to hide. And over time… Hannah stopped reacting. Not because it stopped hurting. But because she no longer had the energy to carry every pain the world kept handing her. Life had already taken too much. And somehow… It still wasn’t finished.