Chapter1
881 Words
The sound of her alarm echoed through the quiet room.
Zhyrelle Vaen slowly opened her eyes, breathing heavily as the dream lingered in her mind.
Again.
The same field.
The same rain beneath the sunlight.
The same mysterious young man calling her name.
She pressed a hand against her chest, trying to steady her racing heartbeat.
"It was just a dream..."
She whispered the words to herself.
Yet somehow...
They felt like a lie.
A gentle knock came from outside her bedroom.
"Zhyrelle! You'll be late for school!"
Her mother's cheerful voice broke the silence.
"I'm coming!"
She forced herself to smile before getting out of bed.
As she walked toward the window, tiny raindrops slid down the glass.
The sky outside was bright.
Not a single cloud covered the morning sun.
She frowned.
Then where did the rain come from?
Confused, she unlocked the window and pushed it open.
Warm air brushed against her face.
There was no rain.
Only the scent of wet earth.
Her eyes wandered toward the old acacia tree standing at the edge of their backyard.
For a brief moment...
She thought someone was standing beneath it.
A tall young man.
Wearing a dark coat.
Watching her.
She blinked.
He was gone.
Her phone buzzed on the bedside table.
Meriza: Happy birthday again! Don't forget we're meeting before class!
Zhyrelle smiled faintly and typed a quick reply.
Zhyrelle: I'll be there.
She slipped her phone into her bag and headed downstairs.
Throughout breakfast, she remained unusually quiet.
"Didn't sleep well?" her father asked.
"I had a strange dream."
"What kind of dream?"
She hesitated.
"I met someone."
Her parents exchanged puzzled glances.
"Someone you know?" her mother asked.
Zhyrelle slowly shook her head.
"No..."
"But it felt like I've known him my whole life."
Silence filled the table.
Her mother laughed softly.
"Dreams can be very convincing."
"Maybe."
Zhyrelle smiled, though the uneasy feeling refused to leave.
Somewhere...
Deep inside her heart...
She knew it wasn't an ordinary dream.
She just didn't know why.
As she stepped outside to leave for school, a cool breeze swept across the road.
Almost instinctively...
She looked back toward the acacia tree.
No one was there.
Yet she could have sworn...
Someone had just whispered her name.
"Zhyrelle..."
She froze.
The street was empty.
Only the wind answered her.
Far away...
Beyond a world she could neither see nor understand...
A pair of silver-gray eyes slowly opened.
"I found you..."
The young man smiled.
"But this time...
I won't let you disappear again."
The whisper refused to leave her mind.
"Zhyrelle..."
It had sounded so close.
Too close.
She turned around one last time before walking away from the acacia tree, but the street remained empty. Only the rustling leaves answered her.
"Get a grip," she muttered to herself.
"It was just the wind."
Yet no matter how hard she tried to convince herself, her heart said otherwise.
---
The campus was unusually lively.
Students laughed as they hurried to their classrooms, while others gathered beneath the shade of old trees, chatting before the first bell rang.
"Happy birthday, birthday girl!"
Meriza suddenly wrapped an arm around Zhyrelle's shoulder.
"You look exhausted. Don't tell me you stayed up all night watching movies."
Zhyrelle forced a smile.
"I couldn't sleep."
Meriza tilted her head.
"Nightmare?"
"...Maybe."
"What happened?"
For a moment, Zhyrelle considered keeping it to herself.
Instead, she sighed.
"I dreamed about a place I've never seen before."
"A place?"
"There was a huge field... an acacia tree... and someone was waiting for me."
Meriza raised an eyebrow.
"A handsome guy?"
Zhyrelle laughed despite herself.
"I didn't notice."
"Oh, please."
"You noticed."
Her cheeks warmed.
"Maybe..."
Meriza grinned triumphantly.
"I knew it!"
"But that's not the strange part."
"The strange part is..."
"It felt real."
"So real that I can still remember his face."
Meriza's smile slowly faded.
"You've never met him?"
"No."
"Not that I know of."
Before Meriza could reply, the school bell rang.
"Come on," she said. "We'll be late."
---
The morning classes passed slowly.
No matter how hard Zhyrelle tried to focus, her thoughts always drifted back to the dream.
The young man's voice.
His silver-gray eyes.
The warmth of his hand.
"Find me..."
She blinked.
The words echoed so clearly inside her head that she almost looked around the classroom.
Her teacher called her name.
"Miss Vaen?"
She quickly stood.
"Y-Yes, Ma'am?"
"The answer?"
The classroom fell silent.
She hadn't heard the question.
A few students giggled.
Embarrassed, she lowered her head.
"I'm sorry."
"It's all right," her teacher said kindly.
"Please pay attention."
"Yes, Ma'am."
As she sat down, a cold breeze swept through the room.
The windows rattled.
Everyone looked outside.
Dark clouds had suddenly gathered over the campus.
Rain began to fall.
Softly.
Quietly.
Zhyrelle stared at the droplets sliding down the window.
For a split second...
She saw a familiar reflection.
A young man.
Standing in the rain.
Watching her.
Her breath caught.
She turned toward the window.
No one.
Only the empty school grounds.
When she looked back at the glass...
The reflection was gone.
Far beyond the reach of the rain...
Someone whispered once more-
"Remember me..."
And this time...
She answered without realizing it.
"...Who are you?"
- Writer
