The Girl With the Green Eyes

The first thing people noticed about Elena Vale was her eyes.

Dark green.

They were not the bright green people usually described in photographs. Hers were deeper, almost mysterious, especially when she was quiet.

And Elena was quiet most of the time.

The second thing people noticed was that she was always alone.

She didn't mind.

At least, that was what she told herself.

She stood outside the university administration building with a folder pressed against her chest, watching students cross the courtyard.

The campus was already busy.

Students were laughing with their friends, carrying books, complaining about classes and making plans for the evening. Some looked as if they had known each other for years.

Elena watched them for a moment before looking down at the folder in her hands.

Inside was a letter she had been waiting for.

She opened it again, even though she had already read it several times.

Scholarship Renewal — Approved.

Her shoulders relaxed.

A small smile appeared on her face.

It was more than a piece of paper.

It meant another year of education.

Another year without having to ask her relatives for money.

Another year of being able to work toward the life she wanted.

Elena had never been given much.

So she had learned to earn everything.

Her scholarship had not come easily. She had spent countless nights studying while other students slept. She had stayed in the library until closing time, rewritten assignments until they were perfect and learned to keep going even when she was exhausted.

She knew that one mistake could have consequences.

Her phone vibrated.

The smile disappeared.

She looked at the screen.

A message from her aunt.

«Don't forget where you came from.»

Elena stared at the words.

She knew what her aunt meant.

Her relatives had never allowed her to forget that she had depended on them after her parents died.

They reminded her whenever they could.

They had given her a place to stay.

They had helped her when she was young.

They had done things for her.

Elena was grateful.

But sometimes gratitude felt like a debt that could never be repaid.

She slipped her phone into her pocket.

Her parents had died when she was young.

That was the story she had grown up hearing.

But Elena had questions.

Questions she had carried for years.

She remembered very little about them.

A man's voice.

A woman's hand holding hers.

A photograph hidden inside an old drawer.

And one particular memory she couldn't explain.

Whenever she tried to ask her relatives about her parents, the conversation changed.

Sometimes they became angry.

Sometimes they told her she was too young to understand.

Eventually, Elena stopped asking.

But stopping didn't mean forgetting.

She looked toward the university buildings.

“Focus,” she whispered.

She had come here for her future.

She wasn't going to let the past destroy it.

---

Across the campus, Adrian Cole was having a completely different morning.

“Adrian!”

He turned around.

Daniel was hurrying toward him, holding two coffees.

“You're late.”

Adrian checked his phone.

“Three minutes.”

“Three minutes is still late.”

“Then you should have started without me.”

Daniel handed him a coffee.

“You're impossible.”

Adrian smiled and took a sip.

He was the kind of person who rarely seemed to be in a hurry, even when he was.

At twenty-two, Adrian had already learned that life didn't always go according to plan.

He came from an ordinary family.

His father worked hard to keep their small business running. His mother took care of the house and somehow managed to worry about everyone at the same time.

Adrian helped whenever he could.

He worked part-time after classes and sometimes spent weekends helping his father.

They weren't wealthy.

They didn't have connections that could solve problems for them.

But Adrian didn't feel ashamed of it.

He loved his family.

There was something comforting about ordinary life.

His mother's habit of calling him when he forgot to eat.

His father's endless advice.

His younger sister borrowing his things without asking.

Their arguments.

Their laughter.

Their small home.

It was enough.

“Are you working tonight?” Daniel asked.

“Probably.”

“Again?”

“My father needs help at the shop.”

“You know you can say no sometimes.”

Adrian laughed.

“I know.”

“You never do.”

“Maybe tomorrow.”

Daniel shook his head.

“You've been saying that for months.”

Adrian was about to answer when his attention shifted toward the courtyard.

A girl stood near the administration building.

Brown hair.

Fair skin.

A folder held tightly against her chest.

There was nothing particularly unusual about standing alone on a university campus.

But something about her caught his attention.

Her eyes.

Dark green.

Adrian watched her for a few seconds.

She looked at her phone.

For a moment, there was a small smile on her face.

Then the smile disappeared.

Something had changed.

Adrian couldn't tell what.

Before he could think about it, she suddenly looked up.

Their eyes met.

For a second, the noise around him seemed to disappear.

Neither of them smiled.

She looked away first.

Daniel noticed.

“Who is she?”

Adrian looked at him.

“No idea.”

“You were staring.”

“I was looking.”

Daniel raised an eyebrow.

“That's what staring people always say.”

Adrian laughed.

“Come on.”

They continued toward the main building.

Adrian didn't look back.

But for some reason, he remembered those green eyes.

---

Elena entered the library.

The library was her favorite place on campus.

It was quiet.

Predictable.

Nobody cared who she was or where she came from.

She found a table near the window and opened her laptop.

For the next two hours, she worked on her assignment.

She was halfway through reading an article when her phone vibrated.

She ignored it.

It vibrated again.

Elena frowned and picked it up.

Unknown number.

She opened the message.

«You should stop asking questions about your parents.»

Her fingers went still.

She read it again.

Then once more.

Her heart began beating faster.

She looked around the library.

Nothing seemed unusual.

Students were studying.

Someone was typing on a laptop.

A girl was quietly turning pages.

The librarian was arranging books.

Nobody was looking at her.

Elena looked back at her phone.

How did they know?

She had recently started searching for information about her parents.

She had found an old document with a name she didn't recognize.

She hadn't told anyone about it.

Not even her relatives.

So who had sent this?

She locked her phone.

Maybe it was a prank.

Maybe someone was trying to scare her.

But there was something about the message that made her uncomfortable.

It wasn't a question.

It was a warning.

Elena put her phone into her bag.

She tried to return to her assignment.

She couldn't concentrate.

The words on the screen blurred together.

For years, she had tried to build a life that had nothing to do with her past.

Now someone was reminding her that the past wasn't finished.

---

By late afternoon, dark clouds had covered the sky.

Elena packed her things and left the library.

The first drops of rain fell as she stepped outside.

She searched her bag.

Notebook.

Laptop.

Pens.

Wallet.

No umbrella.

“Of course,” she muttered.

The rain became heavier.

She stepped beneath the entrance and waited.

Students rushed past her, covering their heads with bags and books.

Elena sighed.

She would probably have to wait.

“Bad day?”

She turned.

It was him.

The boy from the courtyard.

He stood a few feet away, holding an umbrella.

Jet-black hair.

Dark brown eyes.

And the same relaxed expression he had worn earlier.

“You again,” Elena said.

He smiled.

“Apparently.”

She looked toward the rain.

“I'll wait.”

“You could.”

He opened his umbrella.

“Or you could take this.”

Elena looked at him.

“What about you?”

“I live five minutes away.”

“You'll get wet.”

“I've survived rain before.”

She almost smiled.

Almost.

“You don't have to give it to me.”

“I know.”

He held the umbrella toward her.

“I'm giving it anyway.”

Elena hesitated before taking it.

“Thank you.”

“No problem.”

He turned to leave.

Then he stopped.

“I'm Adrian, by the way.”

She looked at him.

“Elena.”

He smiled.

“I know.”

She frowned.

He pointed toward the notebook in his hand.

“You dropped this earlier.”

He handed her a sheet of paper.

Her name was written across the top.

She took it.

“Thank you.”

“Anytime.”

He stepped into the rain.

“See you around, Elena.”

She watched him walk away.

For a moment, she forgot about the strange message.

She looked down at the umbrella in her hand.

Then she smiled.

It was a small smile.

But this one was genuine.

She turned toward the campus exit.

Her phone vibrated.

Elena stopped.

Slowly, she took it from her pocket.

Another message from the unknown number.

«You should have listened.»

Her smile vanished.

She looked around.

The courtyard was slowly emptying.

Students were leaving.

The rain blurred everything beyond a few meters.

Elena's heart began beating faster.

She looked in the direction Adrian had gone.

He was already gone.

Someone knew about her parents.

Someone knew she was asking questions.

And someone was watching her.

Elena tightened her grip around the umbrella.

For the first time in years, she wondered if the story she had been told about her parents was a lie.

And if it was—

What else had her family been hiding?