The Quiet Thunder

"ANDRINA" — it was a loud,mysterious and deep voice, falling into her ears like a stone into still water.

She stood alone in an empty field. The sky was grey and dark. No one was around. No wind. No birds. No sound.

"Wh... who?" Her voice cracked.

"Pa-"

She looked around — desperate, searching — just to catch a glimpse of her father. But there was no one. Only the emptiness. Only the ache in her chest.

---

She woke up.

Her eyes opened to the same ceiling she had stared at a thousand times before. She didn't move. Didn't blink. A single tear rolled down her cheek, slow and quiet.

She sat up. Stared at her hands. They looked like they belonged to someone else.

"Andrina?" Jay's voice floated from the kitchen.

She didn't answer.

He came to check on her. Found her sitting on the edge of the bed, expressionless, her eyes hollow.

"Are you okay? What happened?"

Her face expressions crumbled — just for a second. She turned away, pressed her lips into a thin line.

"Nothing. Just a nightmare."

But Jay saw the cracks. The way her shoulders trembled. The way her hands curled into fists an he red eye edges.

And then he saw the pillow.It was wet with her tears.

He had thousands of questions in his mind "WHAT? WHO?.."

But he swallowed them all and simply said, "Okay."

Andrina's voice was thick with sleep. "What time is it?"

"Seven."

"What — seven?!" She grabbed her watch, eyes wide. "Oh shit — I'm going to be late."

"It's the weekend," Jay said, placing a hand on her shoulder. "I made you a cake."

She looked at him suspiciously. "Cake? Why?"

"It's the 22nd of December."

"So?"

"It's your birthday."

"Don't you know that I don't celebrate my birthday."

"That doesn't matter now. I've already baked it. I can't just throw it away."

Without waiting for an answer, he pushed her gently toward the bathroom.

"I'm waiting," he said.

His phone rung*

"HELLO.." he answered the call

"WHAT? REALLY!!??"

A wide smile spread across his face. His eyes lit up — happiness shining through, impossible to miss.

He walked to the kitchen and placed the cake on the dining table.

"Come fast, the cake will melt!" he called out.

He set down a knife, plates, and spoons — but didn't cut the cake.

"What did you cook today?" Andrina stepped out of her room, hair still wet, lips dry, wearing an oversized t‑shirt.

"Cake and pancakes," Jay said, his smile bright.

Suddenly — a knock at the door.

"I'll get it. Can you please go to your room? There's a spoon in there — can you bring it?"

"Hmm… okay."

She disappeared into her room and returned within three minutes

"There's no any..." she stopped when she looke inside the kitched

"Mom!" The word tore from her throat, raw and loud.

"Mom, you're here?"

She didn't wait for an answer. She ran. Wrapped her arms around her mother like a child who had been lost at sea and had finally spotted land.

Her eyes shimmered — not with tears of sadness, but with something heavier: relief.

"I wish you could stay with us forever," she breathed, her voice trembling, cracking at the edges.

"I can, my baby." Her mother's voice was calm. Certain. As if she had already decided long ago.

Andrina pulled back, confused. "Uh… what?"

She searched her mother's eyes, then held her hand — tight, desperate.

"I resigned from my job," her mother said softly. "So I can take care of you both."

She lifted her hands and cradled Andrina's face, thumbs brushing away the tears that had escaped.

Jay folded his arms. A small, almost playful smile tugged at his lips. "And who am I?"

"My baby," her mother laughed gently, and pulled them both into her arms.

For a moment, the world outside didn't exist for them

---

Then — it all shattered.

Blood.

Broken glass.

A face — blurred n bloody

"AHH!"

Andrina's scream cut through the warmth like a blade---