There are memories that never fade… And remembering them is often not our choice, but fate's design.
The rain had not yet fallen upon the earth.But the sky, as if about to tear out a great secret it had been hiding, had already wrapped the city in a heavy, misty, and gray veil.It was as if the world was holding its breath, waiting for something approaching to arrive.This was the first fracture of fate.
The streets were silent.The windows of the buildings were fogged up, and the street lamps cast yellow, flickering lights...Even the wind did not want to pass through.Everything was overly quiet — almost this silence deafened me.
The air felt like it was pressing down on my body.Not only my shoulders, but also my insides, crushed by a weight...A feeling I couldn't name was squeezing my heart.Something was going to happen.Soon everything would change.
My eyes were burning.But I didn't dare to blink.As if closing my eyes would release the darkness inside me and take me away with it.
At that moment, I saw.
Under the pale light of the street lamp lay a body.Young. Motionless.A growing pool of blood spread around, staining the ground, painting the darkness.But what was truly terrifying was the person standing over that body.
The killer.
Motionless, as if time itself was tied to him.There was no panic, no hurry, no regret on him.He was there.Calm. Standing silently at the bedside.And as real as death.
I... was only a few steps away.Behind a wall, on my knees, hands trembling at my mouth.I didn't even dare to breathe.I was like a shadow.
I pressed my hand to my mouth.Even breathing was too much.My heart was beating so fast that I thought each beat would shatter my ribcage.One step, one breath, one glance...Would be enough to destroy me.
I had to stay calm.He must not see me.Otherwise...
Before the words in my mind could finish, our eyes met.
Time stopped.Sounds withdrew.The city disappeared.Only that gaze...Only that...
There was no humanity in his eyes.There was a void; a darkness that swallowed everything pulled inside.At that moment, a scream rose within me but could not escape.It got stuck in my throat, burned in my eyes.
He took a step.I didn't hear my name, but it echoed in my heart.I couldn't run.I only waited.Just like the body lying on the ground.
Then everything went dark.As if my existence was erased.My mind was torn from my body.
—
I suddenly woke up in bed with a sharp pain in my throat.I was panting.My lungs burned, my heart was still punching my ribs.
For a moment, I couldn't understand where I was.I saw the ceiling... but I was still on that street.Still inside that gaze.
I was sweating.My palms were ice cold.I looked around; everything was in its place.But the "me" inside... was still there.
Even though I was in my bed, my body felt like it was under the street lamp.Together with that boy.In the place where that killer was breathing.
"It was a dream," I whispered.But even my voice didn't believe me.I squeezed my eyes shut tight.Took deep breaths.Trying to pull myself together.
"This is a nightmare... just a nightmare."
I tried to convince myself.Because it was too sharp, too painful, and too real to be true.But the scream in my throat was still there.That cold was still in my skin.That gaze was still behind my eyes.
Then I heard a sound.Soft. Metallic.
Tick.
I turned my head toward the window.Outside the glass, the sky had finally cleared.A raindrop hit the window.Then another.And another.
The rain had begun.
And I...Felt that everything had started at exactly that moment.