Chapter 10: The Letter under the Rain
1541 Words
The next morning came slowly, crawling through the cracks of Said’s broken window. The rain hadn’t stopped since dawn. Each drop sounded like a secret falling from heaven — cold, heavy, full of meaning.
Said sat on the edge of his bed, the mysterious letter still in his hand, its paper wrinkled from the night’s dampness. The ink had slightly bled from the rain, but the words still burned clear in his mind:
> “Stay away from her. She belongs to someone else now.”
He read it again, and again, as if the repetition could dull the sting.
“Who would write this?” he muttered under his breath.
He thought of Stacy sleeping in the next room — her exhausted face, the way her hands trembled when she spoke about her struggles. Everything in him wanted to protect her, to believe her, to fight for her. But something inside whispered a warning — What if the letter was true?
He placed it under his pillow and rose. His mother’s voice echoed faintly in his head:
> “Never chase what runs, my son. Some things come back only to test you.”
He closed his eyes, whispering a small dua before stepping outside.
---
Scene 1 — The Stranger
By noon, Said was walking through the muddy streets toward the old market. His shoes were soaked, his hoodie pulled low.
He needed answers.
Ali, as usual, found him first.
> “Bro! You look like a man who just got dumped by the sky itself. What happened?”
> “Someone left a letter at my door last night.”
Ali raised an eyebrow.
> “A love letter or the other kind?”
> “The kind that smells like danger,” Said replied, handing him the folded note.
Ali read it slowly, whistled, and looked up with mock drama.
> “My brother, this is either a warning… or an invitation to war.”
Said sighed, shaking his head.
> “I just don’t know who’d do it. Stacy barely came back. She’s fragile, Ali. You saw how she looked. She doesn’t need more drama.”
> “Then maybe it’s someone else’s drama that followed her back,” Ali said thoughtfully, his tone turning serious.
They exchanged a long glance. Something in that silence spoke louder than words.
---
Scene 2 — Stacy’s Confession
When Said returned home, Stacy was sitting by the window, sketching something on a torn piece of paper. She looked peaceful, almost innocent, but her eyes betrayed exhaustion.
> “You’ve been out long,” she said softly without looking up.
> “I needed to clear my head,” he replied.
> “About?”
> “About this.”
He placed the letter on the table.
Her hands froze. For a moment, she didn’t speak — just stared at it like it was a ghost she hoped never to see again.
> “Where did you get that?”
> “Someone slid it under my door last night.”
She swallowed hard, her voice trembling.
> “Said… you have to believe me. I didn’t send it. But… I think I know who did.”
> “Who?”
She hesitated. Her breathing quickened.
> “His name is Mark. I— I used to work for him.”
Said’s heart dropped.
> “Work? Or something else?”
Tears welled up in her eyes.
> “It started as work… but he wanted more. I kept saying no. When I left, he swore he’d find me. He doesn’t like losing.”
The words cut through him like glass.
> “And you didn’t tell me because…?”
> “Because I didn’t want you to see me differently.”
Said took a step back, the walls closing in around him.
> “Stacy, I’ve loved you beyond reason. You should have trusted me.”
> “I was scared. You were all I had left.”
Silence filled the room — raw, heavy, almost painful.
Scene 3 — The Knock
Later that night, Said sat by the doorway, his phone in his hand, scrolling through old photos of him and Stacy from high school. Their smiles looked eternal back then — naïve, pure, untouchable.
A knock at the door startled him. Three sharp taps.
He opened it slowly.
A tall man in a dark raincoat stood outside, his face half-hidden by the shadow.
> “You Said?”
> “Yes.”
> “I have a message.”
He handed him a sealed envelope and walked away before Said could say anything.
Inside was a single photo — Stacy and another man, laughing in a restaurant. On the back of the photo, written in neat handwriting:
> “You don’t know everything about her.”
Said froze. The air felt heavy. He heard Stacy’s footsteps behind him.
> “What is that?” she whispered.
He turned the photo toward her. Her face went pale.
> “That was a long time ago,” she said weakly.
> “With Mark?”
She didn’t answer. Her silence said enough.
> “So it’s true…”
> “No! Said, please, it wasn’t like that! I was desperate, hungry, and alone! He offered help, and I—”
Said slammed his hand against the wall.
> “You lied to me, Stacy! I defended you, prayed for you, waited for you— and all this time…”
Her tears fell freely now.
> “You think I wanted any of it? You think I didn’t hate myself every single day?”
The words echoed. Rain crashed harder outside.
For a long moment, they both stood there — the sound of thunder filling what words couldn’t.
Scene 4 — The Betrayal
Days passed in silence. Said barely spoke. He worked small jobs, trying to distract his mind, but the letter, the photo, Stacy’s tears — they all looped in his head like a cruel film.
Ali tried cheering him up.
> “You know, bro, heartbreak is like malaria — it keeps coming back until you take the right medicine. And that medicine is called moving on.”
Said forced a smile.
> “If only it was that easy.”
But deep down, he wasn’t angry at Stacy — he was angry at himself. For believing love could survive every storm.
That night, as he walked home, he saw someone standing near his gate — a dark figure holding an umbrella.
> “You again,” Said muttered as the man in the raincoat turned.
> “I warned you, didn’t I? She doesn’t belong here.”
> “Who are you?” Said demanded.
The man stepped closer, smirking.
> “Let’s just say I’m someone who knows the truth.”
Said clenched his fists.
> “If you’re Mark—”
> “Oh, she told you my name,” he interrupted, amused. “Then you should know what happens to people who take what’s mine.”
Before Said could react, the man pushed him back against the wall, his umbrella clattering to the ground. A struggle broke out — rain splashing around them, thunder roaring above.
Said fought back, landing a punch on his jaw. The man staggered, then pulled a knife.
But before he could strike, Stacy appeared, screaming.
> “Stop! Please, stop!”
Mark turned, distracted — long enough for Said to grab a nearby stone and hurl it. It hit Mark’s shoulder, and he stumbled, cursing before running off into the rain.
Stacy ran to Said, trembling.
> “You could’ve died!”
> “He would’ve killed me anyway,” Said said, breathing heavily.
She pressed her forehead against his chest, sobbing.
> “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry…”
He held her close — rain soaking both of them, heartbeats wild, words drowned in the storm.
Scene 5 — The Fire Within
Later, as they sat by the small kerosene lamp, Said finally spoke.
> “You can’t stay here anymore. He knows where we live.”
> “Then I’ll leave,” she said quietly.
> “Where will you go?”
> “Anywhere but here. Maybe I deserve this, maybe not. But I can’t keep hurting you.”
He looked at her — the woman who once filled his world with light, now sitting in shadows.
> “You don’t deserve pain, Stacy. You deserve peace. But maybe peace doesn’t live near me anymore.”
She smiled sadly.
> “You’re still the man who wrote letters when no one cared. That Said never dies.”
She stood up, picked her small bag, and looked back one last time.
> “If fate ever gives us another chance… I’ll come back clean.”
The door closed behind her, softly — like the final note of a sad song.
Said sat there, staring at the lamp flame flicker low, whispering to himself:
> “Maybe love was never meant to stay. Maybe it was only meant to teach.”
Outside, the rain began to ease, but inside him, the storm raged on — quiet, invisible, eternal.
- Writer
