Aria woke up gasping.
Her room was dark. Rain pounded the window like fists.
She clutched her blanket.
*Who was screaming?*
Then she realized—it was her.
Her phone glowed on the pillow.
**3:44 a.m.**
One new message.
**Umbrella Boy:**
*You forgot my name again. It's Leo. Please remember.*
Aria stared.
Her fingers shook as she typed:
*How do you know?*
Three dots.
Then:
*Because every time you forget, I feel it. Like a knife.*
Aria sat up.
The red umbrella leaned against her bedroom wall.
It hadn't been there yesterday.
Or had it?
She opened her diary.
Every page—blank.
Except the last one.
In fresh blue ink:
**"The rain is a thief. It steals you from me, one memory at a time. Fight it. – L"**
Aria's chest hurt.
She didn't know why.
---
Morning came gray.
Aria walked to school in a fog.
Her mom called from the kitchen: "Honey, eat something!"
Aria froze.
*What's her name?*
The thought came and went. She shook it off.
At the school gate, Leo waited.
Same black hoodie. Same messy hair.
But his eyes—red, like he hadn't slept.
"Aria," he said, voice rough. "We need to talk. Now."
She followed him behind the gym.
No one around. Just puddles and the smell of wet grass.
Leo pulled out a small tin box.
Inside:
- A **red ribbon**
- A **piano key** (middle C)
- A **photo** of them kissing under the broken umbrella
Aria stared.
"I don't remember taking this."
Leo's jaw tightened. "You did. Three days ago."
"Three days?"
He nodded. "That's how long you've known me. But every rain resets you."
Aria stepped back. "You're crazy."
"Am I?" He held up the photo. "Look at your face. You're happy."
She looked.
She was smiling.
But the girl in the photo felt like a stranger.
Leo said, "The rain isn't normal. It's… tied to us."
"How?"
He took a deep breath. "I'm not from here. Not really."
"What does that mean?"
"I'm a **Rainbound**."
Aria laughed—sharp, scared. "A what?"
"A spirit born in storms. I can only exist when it rains. When the sky clears, I fade. But you—"
He touched her cheek. "You pulled me into your world. With your wish."
Aria's head spun.
"What wish?"
Leo closed his eyes. "The first day. At the music shop. You said, 'I wish someone would stay.'"
"I don't remember saying that."
"You did. And the rain heard you."
Thunder rumbled.
A drop hit Aria's nose.
She flinched.
Leo grabbed her hands. "Listen. Every time it rains, you lose **one memory of me**. First my name. Then my face. Then—"
"Then what?"
"Then you'll forget you ever loved me. And I'll vanish forever."
Aria pulled away. "This is a dream."
Leo opened the tin box again.
He took out the **piano key**.
"Play this."
He placed it in her palm.
It was warm.
Real.
---
They skipped first period.
Hid in the music room.
The Yamaha from the shop was gone, but a smaller piano sat in the corner.
Aria sat.
Leo stood behind her.
"Play 'Clair de Lune.' You knew it yesterday."
"I told you—I can't."
"Try."
Her fingers found the keys.
The first notes came.
Soft.
Haunting.
She played half the song.
Then—nothing.
Her hands froze.
"I… I don't know the rest."
Tears fell.
Leo knelt beside her. "That's the second memory. Gone."
Outside, the rain thickened.
Aria whispered, "How do we stop it?"
Leo's voice broke. "You have to **anchor** me."
"How?"
"With something stronger than rain."
"Like what?"
He looked at her.
"Love. But real love. The kind that remembers even when it hurts."
Aria's heart raced.
"I don't even know you."
"You did. Three days ago, you said I was your home."
He pulled out the **red ribbon**.
"Tie this around your wrist. Every time you see it, remember one thing about me."
Aria tied it.
The ribbon was soft.
Warm.
Like his hand.
---
Lunch bell rang.
They walked to the cafeteria.
Aria's best friend, Mia, waved. "Aria! Where were you?"
Aria opened her mouth.
Couldn't remember Mia's name.
She froze.
Mia frowned. "You okay?"
Leo squeezed her hand under the table.
"She's fine. Just tired."
Mia stared at Leo. "Who's this?"
"Leo," he said. "New transfer."
Mia's eyes narrowed. "You look familiar."
Leo smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes.
Aria felt sick.
*Is she forgetting too?*
---
After school, the rain stopped.
For ten minutes.
Leo's face flickered—like a bad TV signal.
"Aria," he gasped. "It's starting."
She grabbed him. "No!"
They ran to the music shop.
Mr. Han was closing. "Kid, we're done for the day."
"Please," Aria begged. "Five minutes."
Mr. Han sighed. "Lock up when you leave."
Inside, the Yamaha waited.
Leo sat at the bench.
"Play with me."
"I don't know how."
"I'll teach you."
He placed her hands on the keys.
His fingers over hers.
They played a simple duet.
C major.
G major.
F major.
The notes filled the shop.
Warm.
Alive.
The rain started again.
Harder.
Leo's hands faded.
"Aria—"
"No!" She pressed her forehead to his. "Stay."
"I'm trying."
She kissed him.
Desperate.
Tasted salt—his tears.
Or hers.
The lights went out.
Emergency bulb glowed red.
Leo whispered, "The ribbon. Remember one thing."
Aria looked at the red ribbon on her wrist.
"I remember… your smile. When you fixed the umbrella."
Leo's form solidified.
Just a little.
"Good," he breathed. "Keep going."
---
Night.
Aria's room.
Rain nonstop.
She sat at her desk.
Opened her diary.
Wrote with shaking hands:
**Day 4 (I think)**
- Leo has green eyes.
- He smells like rain and peppermint.
- He said I'm his home.
- I played a duet with him.
- The ribbon is my anchor.
She tied the ribbon tighter.
Her phone buzzed.
**Umbrella Boy:**
*You remembered four things. That's enough for tonight. Sleep. I'll find you tomorrow.*
Aria typed:
*What happens when I run out of memories?*
He replied:
*Then I become the rain. And you'll never see me again.*
---
Next morning.
Aria woke up.
The ribbon was gone.
She searched her room.
Under the bed.
In the laundry.
Nothing.
Her diary—blank again.
Except one line:
**"Find the red ribbon. Before the storm takes everything."**
She ran downstairs.
Her mom was making pancakes.
"Morning, honey."
Aria stared.
Couldn't remember her mom's face from yesterday.
She ran out the door.
Barefoot.
In pajamas.
The music shop.
Locked.
She banged on the door.
Mr. Han opened. "Aria? What's wrong?"
"The piano! The Yamaha!"
He let her in.
The piano was gone.
Sold.
"To who?"
"A boy. Yesterday. Paid cash."
Aria sank to the floor.
Mr. Han knelt. "Kid, talk to me."
She cried. "I'm forgetting someone. And he's disappearing."
Mr. Han's eyes softened. "Love?"
She nodded.
He pulled a small box from his pocket.
Inside: the **piano key**.
"The boy left this. Said to give it to the girl with coffee eyes."
Aria took it.
Warm.
She closed her fist around it.
"I have to find him."
Mr. Han pointed outside.
The sky was clear.
For now.
---
Aria ran to Clover Street.
The blue house.
Knocked.
An old woman answered. "Yes?"
"Is Leo here?"
The woman frowned. "No one by that name. House has been empty for years."
Aria's heart stopped.
She backed away.
Looked at the mailbox.
Faded paint.
**"Park"**
Leo's last name.
But the house—abandoned.
She sat on the curb.
Held the piano key.
Whispered, "Leo. Where are you?"
Thunder.
Far away.
The storm was coming.
---
School.
Aria walked the halls like a ghost.
Mia found her. "Aria, you look awful."
"Do you remember Leo?"
Mia blinked. "Who?"
Aria's stomach dropped.
*The rain is taking him from everyone.*
She ran to the rooftop.
The place from her dream.
But this was real.
She opened her hand.
The piano key.
She pressed it to her lips.
"Leo. I remember your music. I remember your kiss. I remember—"
The sky cracked open.
Rain poured.
Aria screamed into the storm.
"COME BACK!"
Lightning flashed.
For a second, she saw him.
Leo.
Standing ten feet away.
Fading.
Smiling.
Sad.
He mouthed: **"Find the umbrella."**
Then—gone.
---
Aria ran home.
The red umbrella.
Still by the fence.
She grabbed it.
Opened it.
Inside the canopy—words written in black marker:
**"When you remember everything, close your eyes. I'll be there. – L"**
Aria closed her eyes.
Rain soaked her.
She whispered every memory she had left:
- His green eyes
- His peppermint gum
- The duet
- The kiss
- The ribbon
- The piano key
- The photo
- The tin box
- His voice saying "You're my home"
She opened her eyes.
The rain stopped.
The umbrella glowed.
Red light.
Warm.
Leo stood in front of her.
Solid.
Real.
Breathing hard.
"Aria," he said. "You did it."
She dropped the umbrella.
Ran into his arms.
He held her like she was air.
"I thought I lost you."
"You almost did."
They kissed.
The world was quiet.
No rain.
No thunder.
Just them.
But in the distance—
A single cloud.
Dark.
Moving closer.
Leo pulled back. "It's not over."
"What do you mean?"
He looked at the sky. "The storm is angry. It wants me back."
Aria grabbed his hand. "Then we fight it. Together."
Leo smiled. Real this time. "Together."
---
That night, Aria wrote in her diary:
**"I remember everything. And I'm never letting go."**
She tied the red ribbon around Leo's wrist.
He tied the piano key to her necklace.
They fell asleep on her bed.
Window open.
Stars out.
But outside—
The cloud grew.
And the rain waited.