The last light of the sun was slipping away, turning the sky soft orange and pink as Aria gathered her things. She sighed, brushing off a strand of hair from her face.
"Finally," she whispered to herself. "What a day."
Even with the exhaustion in her shoulders, she felt her heartbeat quicken. Her steps naturally turned toward the courtyard she had stopped by earlier, the place that had pulled at her thoughts all afternoon.
As she approached, she slowed, almost afraid she might not see him. But there he was.
Kai stood beneath the old oak tree, hands in his pockets, leaning against the trunk as if he had been waiting for hours. He looked up the moment he heard her footsteps.
"You came," he said, a small smile forming.
Aria let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. "I said I would. You didn't think I'd disappear, did you?"
Kai laughed softly. "I wasn't sure. You looked pretty tired earlier."
"I'm tired now too," she admitted, walking closer. "But I still wanted to see you."
The cool evening breeze brushed against her skin, carrying the faint scent of grass and warm earth. She hugged her arms, not from cold but from nerves.
Kai tilted his head. "Long day?"
"You have no idea," Aria said, shaking her head. "But somehow, ending it here feels… better."
He pushed away from the tree and stepped forward, the shadows making his face softer. "Good. I didn't want you walking home without stopping by."
Aria glanced up at the branches above him. "This tree," she said quietly, "I don't know why, but it feels like it remembers things."
Kai chuckled. "Maybe it remembers us."
"Us?" she echoed, raising a brow.
"If you want there to be an us," he replied gently.
Aria felt the warmth rise in her chest, more comforting than the fading sunlight behind her.
"I think," she said slowly, "that's exactly why I came back."
Kai's eyes lit up the moment he saw her. There was relief in his expression, and something else too. Something gentle and bright, almost like hope.
Hearing him speak made something stir deep inside her. The sound of his name on her lips made her feel a mix of nervousness and excitement she could not quite explain. For a moment, they just stood there, looking at each other as the last bit of sunlight slipped behind the horizon.
Then Kai took a small step forward, his gaze steady and full of meaning. "Good," he said softly. "I wanted to show you something."
He held her hand gently and guided her toward the back of the school, where the noise of students faded and only the sound of their footsteps remained. They stopped in front of an old service door, its metal frame rusted and the paint peeling in thin curls. The place seemed forgotten, a part of the school that no one cared to visit anymore. Kai glanced around to make sure no one was watching before reaching into his pocket. Without saying a word, he pulled out a small key, the same one they had used once before. The lock clicked softly, and the door creaked open.
Kai pushed the door open, and a cloud of dust drifted out like it had been waiting years for someone to disturb it. "Whoa," he murmured, stepping inside. "It smells… old. Like wood and paper and… everything forgotten."
"I told you this place was creepy," someone replied from just behind him, their voice low and cautious. "I didn't expect it to actually feel like it."
Kai's eyes swept the room. "Look at these shelves. They're huge… and they go way up there," he said, tilting his head back to follow the shadows crawling across the ceiling. "And the boxes… see how they're stacked? Totally uneven. Like whoever put them here just ran out mid-cleaning or something."
"Or mid-hiding," the other voice said, a hint of amusement threading through the fear. "You think someone left in a hurry?"
"Maybe." Kai swung his backpack off his shoulder with a soft grunt, resting it against his hip. "Alright, let's see what we've got." He unzipped it carefully, producing a small flashlight. "Check this out."
He flicked it on. The narrow beam cut through the gloom like a knife. "Look—cobwebs. They're everywhere, hanging in the corners. And that," he pointed, "see the map pinned there? Crooked, like someone just shoved it up in a hurry."
"I can see dust floating in the light," the other whispered, reaching out instinctively as if it would catch in their fingers. "It's like… golden specks. Magic or something."
Kai chuckled softly. "Not magic, just… really, really old dust. But yeah, it's beautiful in its own way. Kinda makes you wonder who left all this and why it's been forgotten for so long."
"I don't know if I want to wonder too hard," the voice muttered, a shiver running through it. "It's the kind of place that makes you feel watched."
Kai moved a little closer to the shelves, shining the light along the uneven stacks of boxes, cleaning supplies, and rusty tools. "C'mon, let's take a closer look. There's definitely something here worth finding… I can feel it."
"This map is older than the school itself," Kai said softly, stepping closer. His fingers brushed over the faded lines drawn by hand. The map showed Silverwood and the forest that surrounded it, the ink so faint that some parts had almost disappeared. He smiled a little as he traced the edges. "Elisa loved maps," he said. "She used to say that the school was full of secrets, and that if anyone could find them, it would be somewhere beyond these walls."
For a moment, silence filled the room, broken only by the soft hum of the flashlight. The map seemed to whisper of stories long forgotten, and both of them stood there, wondering what Elisa had truly discovered.
Aria's trembling fingers brushed against the old, yellowed map that lay between them. Her eyes suddenly grew wide with surprise as if she had just uncovered a secret meant to stay hidden. She leaned closer, her voice dropping to a whisper. "There," she said, pointing to a tiny marking near the drawing of an oak tree. The symbol looked like a vine wrapped around an eye. "What is that supposed to mean?"
Kai's face brightened with understanding. He lifted his small flashlight and shone it across the map, letting the beam trace the lines and markings like he was revealing a story written long ago. "That," he replied with quiet excitement, "is right where we are standing."
They stepped out together into the courtyard again. The night air was sharp and cold, biting at their cheeks, and tiny snowflakes began to drift down lazily, settling on the ground in delicate patterns. The old oak tree loomed above them, its skeletal branches stretching up like fingers trying to scratch the sky.
Aria hugged her arms around herself. "It's freezing tonight," she said, her voice slightly muffled by the scarf wrapped around her neck.
Kai let out a long breath, his eyes tracing the dark outlines of the oak. "Yeah… it's… quiet," he murmured. He tilted his head, staring up at the twisted branches. "Sometimes I think these trees… they remember everything. Every secret, every whispered word ever spoken here."
Aria glanced at him, her brows furrowed. "You're imagining things again, aren't you?"
Kai smiled faintly, but his gaze didn't leave the branches. "Maybe. Or maybe I'm just listening… listening to what the night wants to tell me."
"You really think the tree can hear you?" Aria teased, shivering a little as a gust of wind blew past.
He shook his head slowly, a small laugh escaping him. "Not hear me… but… maybe it knows. Knows things we can't see." His eyes met hers then, soft in the dim light of the flashlight he held. "I always feel like someone's there, hidden among the leaves, watching. Waiting."
Aria stepped closer, brushing a strand of hair from her face. "And who would that be? A ghost? A spirit of some kind?"
Kai shrugged, lowering the flashlight a little so its glow fell on them both. "Could be. Or maybe just… the memory of everything that's happened here." He paused, then added quietly, "I don't know. But standing here, under this tree, I feel like… it's listening with me."
Aria smiled softly, shivering again, but she didn't pull away. "Well… I suppose if it's listening, it should hear that I'm cold. And that I'm not letting go of you."
Kai's lips curved into a grin, and for a moment, the weight of the night seemed lighter. The snow fell, the tree loomed, and the courtyard held them in its quiet embrace.
"You did something really brave today," he said gently. "Just showing up took courage. I know this must feel frightening, but you came anyway."
The snow continued to fall between them, silent and steady, as if the world itself was pausing to listen.