Chapter 3
443 Words
Sleep refused to come.
Zhyrelle lay awake, staring at the ceiling as the sound of rain echoed outside her window.
The name still lingered in her mind.
Kaelith Orvin.
How could a name appear in her notebook on its own?
How could someone who didn't seem to exist know hers?
She turned toward the drawer where she had hidden the notebook.
A strange feeling pulled at her.
Almost as if something inside was calling her.
Slowly, she opened the drawer and took it out.
The page where the name had appeared was still there.
But beneath it...
Another sentence had appeared.
The truth begins beneath the ancient acacia.
Zhyrelle's breath caught.
"I didn't write this..."
She touched the page.
The ink was still wet.
---
The next morning, she arrived at school earlier than usual.
Meriza immediately noticed the dark circles under her eyes.
"You didn't sleep again, did you?"
Zhyrelle silently handed her the notebook.
Meriza read the page once.
Then again.
Her face slowly turned pale.
"Did you really not write this?"
"I swear."
Meriza looked around before lowering her voice.
"Maybe someone's playing a prank on you."
"Inside my locked room?"
Meriza had no answer.
---
Classes ended earlier than expected because of the heavy rain.
Instead of going straight home, Zhyrelle found herself walking toward the oldest part of town.
She didn't know why.
It was as if her feet already knew where to go.
After several minutes, she stopped.
Before her stood a massive acacia tree.
Its branches stretched across the gray sky.
The sight sent chills down her spine.
It looked exactly like the one from her dream.
"This can't be..."
A cold wind swept through the empty park.
The leaves rustled softly.
Then...
She heard footsteps behind her.
She turned around.
No one.
When she faced the tree again...
A young man stood beneath it.
Dark hair.
Silver-gray eyes.
The same face she had seen in every dream.
Kaelith.
He looked at her with the same gentle, sorrowful smile.
"You came."
Zhyrelle couldn't move.
Her heartbeat thundered in her ears.
She forced herself to speak.
"...Who are you?"
Kaelith took one slow step forward.
"I've been waiting for you."
Before she could ask another question...
A loud clap of thunder shook the sky.
She blinked.
And he was gone.
Only the rain remained.
Along with a single silver feather lying on the ground where he had been standing.
With trembling hands, she picked it up.
It was warm.
Just like his touch in the dream.
Far away...
Hidden beyond the veil between two worlds...
Kaelith closed his eyes.
"You're getting closer, Zhyrelle."
"But so are they..."
- Writer
