23h59 : The Forgotten Lives

I never liked fresh starts.

People always acted like they were some kind of blessing. New house. New city. New people. To me, they mostly meant a lot of boxes and way too many questions I didn’t feel like answering.

“Maya?”

I looked up. My mom was watching me from the driver’s seat.

“You planning on staying in the car all day?”

I turned toward the window. Our new house sat in front of us. It was nice. Too nice, actually. Light-colored walls, a garden that had clearly gotten more attention than I had my entire life.

“I’m thinking,” I said.

“About what?”

“All the possible ways to get back home.”

She sighed.

“Maya…”

“I’m kidding.”

I wasn’t.

She got out and grabbed a box.

“Could you at least pretend to be happy?”

“I can pretend to be really busy if you’d rather.”

“Deal. Now move.”

I gave her a small smile and climbed out. The air felt cooler than back home. A light mist still clung to some of the streets, and the sky was heavy with gray clouds.

I looked around.

Névaris. My new town. My fresh start.

And yet…

Something felt off.

I knew this place.

Not just from the photos I’d looked up online. I knew this street. The old house at the end. The big tree in front of the bakery. Even the slightly leaning lamppost by the sidewalk.

A strange feeling washed over me. Like a memory.

An impossible one.

“Maya?”

I turned back to my mom.

“Have you ever felt like you remember a place even though you’ve never actually been there?”

She went quiet for a second.

A second too long.

“It happens sometimes,” she finally said.

“You think so?”

“Yeah.”

She picked up another box.

“Now come help me.”

I watched her walk away.

Her reaction bothered me, but I decided not to push it.

✧───────────────✧

After almost two hours of carrying boxes, I officially decided that moving was an activity invented just to punish people.

I went up to my new room.

It was bigger than my old one. A large window looked out over part of the town.

I set the box down and walked over to it.

In the distance, I could make out the rooftops of Névaris.

Then my eyes landed on an old house.

It stood a little farther away, almost hidden behind the trees.

It was huge.

And abandoned.

Even from here, something about it made me uneasy.

I didn’t know why.

Then I noticed a figure.

Someone was standing in front of the house.

Completely still.

I leaned closer to the window.

The person seemed to be looking straight at me.

A shiver ran down my spine.

“Mom?”

No answer.

I blinked.

The figure was gone.

I stayed frozen for a few seconds.

Then I stepped back from the window.

Great.

New town. New house.

And apparently a new ghost neighbor.

Perfect.

✧───────────────✧

The next morning, I immediately regretted being born.

My alarm went off at seven.

I ignored it.

It went off again.

I ignored it again.

Then my mom walked into the room.

“Maya, you’re going to be late for your first day.”

“I’m sick.”

“No.”

“I’m actually sick.”

“You’re not.”

“You didn’t even check.”

“Because you said the exact same thing yesterday.”

I pulled the covers over my head.

“I’m pretty sure the high school can survive without me.”

“Get up.”

I finally dragged myself out of bed with all the energy of a zombie.

An hour later, I was standing in front of a massive building.

BLACKWOOD ACADEMY

I stared up at the sign.

“Great,” I muttered. “Not intimidating at all.”

Dozens of students were walking in and out. Some talking to friends. Others on their phones. Everything looked completely normal.

Which, weirdly, made me feel a little better.

Maybe the silhouette had just been my imagination. Maybe the déjà vu was just from being tired. Maybe I was losing it.

Right.

I really hoped it wasn’t option three.

“You’re blocking the entrance.”

I turned around.

A guy stood behind me with a bag over one shoulder and a slightly amused look on his face.

“Sorry?”

“The entrance,” he said. “You’re standing right in front of it.”

I glanced around.

Yeah. I was right in the middle of the doorway.

“Okay. Thanks for the incredibly helpful information.”

He smiled.

“You’re welcome. I’m really good at that.”

I studied him for a second.

“Do you always do this? Just start talking like we’re already friends?”

“It works pretty well, doesn’t it?”

“I don’t think so.”

“So you already hate me?”

“I don’t even know you.”

“Great start. I’m Léo.”

He held out his hand.

I hesitated for a second before shaking it.

“Maya.”

His smile faded slightly.

Just for a second.

But I caught it.

“Maya…” he repeated.

“Yeah. That’s usually my name.”

“I…”

He stopped.

Then the smile came back.

“Nothing. Welcome to Blackwood.”

Weird.

Very weird.

Before I could ask him anything, a girl walked past us. Earbuds around her neck, completely focused on something.

Then she stopped.

She looked at me.

For a long moment.

“Is there a problem?” I asked, already uncomfortable.

She blinked.

“Sorry.”

“You were staring at me.”

“I know…” She hesitated. “It’s just… you remind me of someone.”

Léo looked at her.

“Elena, do you know Maya?”

“Not at all.”

“She just got here.”

Elena looked at me one last time.

“Yeah. I know.”

Then she walked away.

I turned to Léo.

“Was that normal?”

“In Névaris?” he asked.

He thought for a second.

“Even for here, that was seriously weird.”

I sighed.

“Great.”

✧───────────────✧

The rest of the day was a blur of new classrooms, new teachers, and way too many names to remember.

Léo had decided, without asking, that he was going to be my official tour guide.

He’d shown me:

The cafeteria.

The library.

The gym.

The bathrooms.

And a vending machine that, according to him, was “probably the most dangerous place in the entire school.”

I still wasn’t sure if he was joking.

Toward the end of the day, I found myself alone in a hallway, looking for my next class, when something caught my eye.

A locker.

There was nothing special about it.

Almost.

Every other locker was being used. Some were decorated. Some had stickers.

This one was old.

And it had a number on it.

27

I stepped closer.

A strange feeling washed over me.

My heart started beating faster.

Without really knowing why, I put my hand on the cold metal.

And suddenly—

An image flashed through my mind.

A dark room.

A door.

Five people.

Then a voice.

“Maya.”

I yanked my hand back.

I turned around.

A boy was standing at the end of the hallway.

Alone.

Tall. Still.

Looking at me.

My breath caught.

I knew him.

I didn’t know from where.

But I knew him.

I’d seen him.

Dozens of times.

In my dreams.

He walked slowly toward me.

Then stopped in front of me.

His eyes moved over my face, like he was trying to figure something out.

“Who are you?” I asked.

He didn’t answer.

Then he whispered:

“It’s not possible.”

My heart beat faster.

“What’s not possible?”

He took a small step back.

And for the first time since arriving in Névaris, I realized that something was really wrong.

Because the boy standing in front of me…

looked scared of me.