Somewhere in the dark...
The floor was covered in black oil,
dripping from the ceiling of the tall cave.
You could barely see the top.
A sharp point glistened.
Then,
a footstep.
Running.
Paddling through the oil,
splashing it around.
She was breathing fast.
The cave was dark.
Only a golden chain illuminated the space.
And as the chain grew brighter,
deeper in the cave.
She saw it.
Lucian.
He was tangled in the chains.
He looked at her,
but his face...
was eerily still.
Then he called to her.
"Leyla... save me..."
Leyla awoke, gasping.
Her heart was pounding.
It was morning.
"Ronan!" she blurted.
She looked to her right. Then left.
No sign of him.
"Where is he?"
She stayed frozen on her bed.
Traumatized.
"Was I having a nightmare?"
She looked down at her hands.
The pain from yesterday still fresh.
Slowly, she placed her feet on the floor.
Gently... the pain still lingered.
She reached for her phone.
(Last Call: Ronan)
"Should I call him?" she wondered.
She shook her head,
then put her phone down.
Suddenly, the TV sounded.
"The last 3 days of spring!
Big spring sale! Last call while stocks last!"
"...The last spring huh..."
She drifted back to sleep.
And then.
a vision.
Different now.
A different family.
A different point of view.
She was small.
Then, a woman came to her.
"There, there. You're playing too rough.
Falling from that tree... really painful.
Here."
She held a bowl.
Warm water, and a towel.
She wiped the girl's hands and feet.
"Yes, the water's warm, right?"
She smiled.
"I put some medicine in it.
It'll help your wounds heal."
"Thank you..."
Leyla's voice overlapped the child's.
"Mom..."
Who is she? Leyla wondered.
She's not my mom... whose memory is this?
She fell into a deep sleep.
That night, she awoke again.
8:30.
That was the time she usually went to the café.
She sighed.
"It's too late..."
Slowly, she placed her feet down.
Scared to feel the pain.
Scared to move.
As soon as her feet touched the floor,
She squeezed her eyes shut.
Bracing for pain.
But she didn't feel it.
"Eh?"
She looked down.
The marks were still fresh...
But the pain was gone.
Her heart stopped.
Her thoughts scattered in every direction.
She tore off her bandages.
"No way... my hands... they're—"
Before she couldn't think.
She felt it.
Her window.
the curtain slowly blowing in the breeze.
"No!!!"
She was terrified.
In her imagination...
it was Silva.
So she moved quickly.
She grabbed her jacket and ran from her apartment.
Took the train.
Rushed to the café.
When she arrived,
the café was nearly closed.
And there he was.
Ronan. At table 24.
Smiling.
The café was empty.
But he found a piece of glass.
"Well, well, well.
I didn't expect to see you here."
He began talking to himself.
"Tell me... are you the one who hurt Leyla?"
Then slowly,
he saw her.
For the first time.
Her eyes. Look in to his.
The way she looked at him.
Ronan froze.
Sweat ran down his face.
He didn't expect this.
"You are... generous," he whispered.
Then Silva spoke.
"My name is Silva.
Yes... I'm the one who hurt her."
Her eyes glowed.
She showed him what happened the night before.
but left out the moment
Leyla threw the glass at her.
And then she said.
"You know why I did this...
For love.
I believe you would've done the same."
Then she leaned in.
soft, terrifying, certain.
"Take Leyla.
Or I'll erase her memory.
Every trace of you,
and everything else she ever had."
Ronan smiled, smirking.
His eyes sharp.
His lips parted.
"Do you think I care about her?"
He placed a hand on his face.
"I care less about her now...
Because I have you in front of me."
Silva's eyes widened.
"Humans are disgusting!" she spat, rising.
But before she could strike,
Ronan pulled her toward him.
He smiled, just half of his lips curling.
"Thanks to you and Leyla,
you revealed your weakness."
He tossed a good handful of rock salt at her.
The sharp edges sliced through her,
but it wasn't just a cut.
It burned like rain.
Silva's soul weakened.
She dropped to the table,
her wounds hissing,
her soul burning, smoking.
escaping through the gashes in her form.
She looked at him.
Eyes full of rage.
But,
With salt still clinging to his palm,
he grabbed her.
And she changed.
A five-year-old girl.
Her eyes filled with sorrow,
almost begging him to stop.
Then,
the light flickered.
The last of her strength unraveled.
Her soul stretched toward him.
clinging to his hand like a web of light.
And he pulled her in.
Into the bottle.
Sealed it tight.
Then..
The door burst open.
"Ronan!"
Leyla entered.
"Leyla?" he gasped.
But Leyla didn't see anything.
She just ran to him and hugged him.
Ronan was confused.
"How... how are your feet?"
Leyla looked at him, eyes full of worry.
"I-I don't know!"
She told him everything.
The vision. The dreams.
She trusted him now.
Then he asked,
"Was it a guy?"
Leyla looked down.
Tears welled in her eyes.
"I don't know what he is..."
"I'm scared.
Leyla was still clinging to him.
Then he placed his hand gently behind her head.
"Oh, Leyla..."
His voice was soft.
"Then tell me...
Everything you remember from last spring.
Was it him?"
Leyla looked up at him.
"I don't know who you're talking about."
Her eyes were honest. Innocent.
Then he said it.
"Lucian, right..."
He closed his eyes.
Before she can gather her words.
He whispered,
"I'm sorry, Leyla.
Your face look beautiful...
but I don't want you."
His eyes opened filled with hatred.
"I want him."
Leyla's eyes widened.
Her heart stopped.
"What did you just say?"
She took a slow step back.
But Ronan's hands were like iron.
"No, Leyla.
You don't get to walk away from this."
"Call him. Now."
Leyla looked at him, eyes filled with fear.
"I don't know..."
"Well then, Leyla...
I guess I'll call him myself."
And with a violent shove,
he tossed her onto the table.
Table 24.
Leyla screamed.
"Ronan?!"
She pleaded, struggling.
"Let me go!"
But he didn't move.
Didn't care.
He leaned closer, pinning her down.
"You really think I care about you?"
His smile widened.
Leyla's eyes filled with tears.
Her body trembled in fear.
Ronan, he was always so kind.
But now...
his face, his smile...
He looked like he was enjoying it.
Then he spoke.
"Well, Leyla... I hate to break it to you,
but I never loved you from the start."
He grinned.
"I just used you... to get to him."
To be continued...