Chapter 2
The rain whispered against the windowpane as Elara stirred from uneasy sleep. Her dreams had been filled with fractured voices and flashes of unfamiliar places—hallways that seemed to shift, a clock that ticked backward, and a boy with gray eyes standing just beyond reach.
She blinked slowly, adjusting to the muted light of morning. The journal lay open beside her on the bed, its last words still etched into her mind:
“Find me before time forgets us both.”
She touched the page with hesitant fingers, half-expecting it to vanish or rearrange itself. But it remained still—waiting.
A knock at the door jolted her.
“Elara?” It was her aunt. “Breakfast is ready.”
“I’ll be down in a minute,” she called back.
She threw on a hoodie and shoved the journal into her bag. Something told her this wasn’t just a dream or some creative hallucination. It felt… real. Like a thread had been pulled loose in the fabric of her life.
As she descended the creaky staircase, a flicker of movement caught her eye at the end of the hallway. A shadow disappeared around the corner—too quick to identify.
She hesitated, but the smell of toast and cinnamon coaxed her toward the kitchen instead. Her aunt was already sipping tea and flipping through a local newspaper.
“Sleep okay?” her aunt asked without looking up.
“Sort of.” Elara poured herself some tea. “Have you ever heard of a boy named Aeren?”
Her aunt froze mid-turn of the page.
“Aeren?” she repeated, voice lower now. “Where did you hear that name?”
Elara met her gaze. “From a dream… or maybe not. I found a journal. I think it belonged to him.”
For a long moment, her aunt didn’t speak. Then she folded the newspaper carefully.
“Elara, there are things in this town that don’t always make sense. Some stories—especially ones about time—are best left alone.”
Elara’s pulse quickened. “So you do know who he is.”
But her aunt only gave her a strained smile.
“I think you should go to school. Try to focus on your life here. Let the past rest.”
Elara nodded, but her fingers clenched around the bag at her side. She knew one thing for sure—she wouldn’t stop until she found the truth.
