The soft crackle of fire was the first thing he heard.
Slowly, the man opened his eyes. His gorgeous blue eyes began to take in the view around him.
A wooden ceiling greeted his gaze. Low, warm, glowing with flickers of amber light reflected from the fire. The simple cream-colored walls embraced the small room in a silence that felt almost sacred.
He blinked, confused.
Slowly, he sat up.
His body felt heavy, weak. But not in pain. Not injured. He looked down, and froze.
He was wearing a pink coat. Too small. The sleeves dangled in the air, and the zipper stopped halfway across his chest, unable to close around his broad torso. Beneath it, a pair of bunny-print pajama pants looked far too short, leaving his ankles exposed. Everything felt... wrong. Ridiculous. As if the world had shifted shapes without his permission.
He touched the collar of the coat, confused. It was warm. Soft. Carried a faint scent, like flowers on the verge of wilting.
Suddenly, the door creaked open.
He turned quickly.
A girl walked in, her long black hair tousled by the wind. She carried several pieces of firewood in her arms. Her breath came out in visible puffs, her cheeks red from the cold. Her shoes thudded gently against the wooden floor.
The moment their eyes met, her steps halted.
"You're awake," Athena said, surprised but relieved.
She quickly walked to the fireplace, placing the wood down carefully. The fire responded with a soft crackle. Then she stood up and turned to him.
For a moment, she looked eager, maybe about to ask a question or explain something. But the words caught in her throat. Her smile was nervous, her movements awkward.
The man stared at her, silent.
"Hey…"
"Where… am I?"
Athena swallowed, then answered softly, "You're in my house."
She walked slowly, clutching her beige coat tighter around herself, and sat on a small chair not far from the couch where the man had been lying.
"I found you last night," she continued. "You were lying in the street. No shirt, no shoes. In the middle of the snow. I thought you were dead."
She shrugged, trying to smile, though she still looked uneasy.
"I panicked. So I asked a garbage collector who happened to be passing by to help. We… carried you here."
The man glanced down again at the pink coat wrapped around his body. His brow lifted slightly.
Athena quickly flustered. "Oh, that… that's the only big coat I have! I live alone, so I don't have any men's clothes at all. I just… I didn't know what to do. I didn't want you to freeze to death, so I gave you that one."
She looked at him hopefully, as if apologizing for a world that didn't provide a size XL black jacket at the exact moment it was needed.
The man stayed silent.
No anger. No laughter. Just... confusion. Like someone waking from a dream and still unsure of what's real.
Athena looked away.
The room felt too small for a silence this heavy. Until she glanced back at him again.
"What's your name? How did you end up on the street, without even clothes?" she asked.
"Me?" The man looked even more confused.
"Yes… Where have you been? You're not from around here, right? I've never seen you before."
He swallowed, then slowly shook his head.
Athena frowned, noting again the strangeness about him, how he'd been wearing nothing but leather pants, like something out of ancient history.
Was he a madman?
Someone obsessed with classical worlds? With the past?
"I don't know anything," the man said blankly. "And I don't know why I was there."
"What…" Athena scooted closer and sat near his outstretched legs, looking at him up close. "Don't tell me… you've got amnesia!"
"Amnesia?"
"Yeah. You've lost your memory!"
"I… I don't know…"
"Oh shit!" Athena jumped up, pacing around. "What am I supposed to do? What do I even do with you?" She stopped and looked at him again, hands on her hips.
His innocent gaze and that ridiculously handsome face full of confusion made it hard for her to even think of abandoning him.
"You…" She sat down again. "Are you really saying you remember nothing? Your name? Your city? Maybe… maybe I can help you find your home."
The man just shook his head.
"Oh my god!" Athena groaned, biting her bottom lip. "What am I supposed to do with him?"
"Just wait!" She suddenly rushed over to the wall, unplugged her charging phone, and quickly searched her contacts.
She tapped on Lucy.
The phone rang three times before a cheerful voice answered.
"Yoo, Queen of Cake! How's the shop today? Sold out again?"
"Lucy," Athena spoke fast, nearly panicking. "I need help. Like, serious help."
"What? Help with what? You need me to bake? Have you forgotten my last cake was black and bitter from being burned?"
Athena glanced toward the man again. He was still sitting on the couch, now examining his hands like foreign objects. His fingers bent one by one, then he started feeling his neck and cheeks, as if checking if they were real. Now he was touching his ears, looking utterly amazed like someone discovering the concept of ears for the first time.
"I… I found a man last night," Athena said in a low, serious voice. "He passed out in the snow, half-naked. He's in my house now. And he has no idea who he is. Not even his name."
"What?" Lucy gasped. "You're serious?"
"Deadly serious. This is urgent. I need to take him to a doctor or someone who can check his mental state. He seems physically fine, but something's clearly… off."
There was a pause on the other end.
Then Lucy asked, in the most unserious tone possible,
"Okay, but… is he hot?"
Athena nearly dropped her phone. "What? You're asking if he's hot.. now?!"
Lucy laughed. "Come on, Athena. I'm just curious! What if he's like... a romance novel character? You know...handsome, amnesiac, turns out to be a runaway billionaire or… I dunno, a fallen god? A vampire? An alien?"
Athena fell silent.
Lucy's words sounded ridiculous, but her mind drifted back to last night. To the man. How his body hadn't turned blue in the snow. His flawless skin. His face, like it was carved by a god. The way he wore leather pants like some kind of ancient warrior.
She quickly shook her head. No. That was absurd.
"Lucy, I'm serious. Can you come over now? Or at least help me find the nearest clinic."
Lucy stopped laughing. Her voice grew firm.
"Okay, I'm on my way. But promise me… you'll tell me everything later. From the top."
Athena nodded quickly. "Yeah. I promise."
She hung up.
Exhaling a long breath, she turned her gaze back toward the man.
He was now staring into the fire again, eyes blank, though his face looked… peaceful.
Or maybe just lost. Like someone who didn't even know what they were looking for.
Athena watched him for a long while.
Her heart churned, a strange mix of sympathy, curiosity, and… something else she couldn't quite name.