THE ARRIVAL
2017 Sep 22, 22:05
There was a terrible accident—no… it was more like a suicide. A car drove at high speed and crashed into a wall. The front of the vehicle was completely crushed. It felt planned… as if it had been calculated so that both the driver and the person in the passenger seat would die instantly, at nearly the same time.
Why did they do it? What pushed them to such an end?
A passerby witnessed the horrific scene and immediately called the police. They arrived at the location at 22:15. The incident occurred on a rarely used bridge—perhaps they chose it so they wouldn’t trouble others.
A few minutes later, the fire department arrived and extinguished the flames coming from the car’s engine. The medical team then stepped in to retrieve the bodies. The state of the wreckage was so severe, it was hard to identify the victims.
Fortunately, both had ID cards. The male was identified as Julian Ashford, DOB: 19.08.1995. The female was Aira Blake, DOB: 19.08.2000.
Upon further investigation, the police discovered that Julian was the same boy reported missing back in 2012—a child who had vanished without a trace. Yet both he and Aira appeared to be the same age.
The police were left confused.
How could Julian and Aira be the same age?
It was a miracle—an unusual, unexplainable event.
June 12, 2011. It was a bright day—at least for everyone except Julian. A year had passed since the accident that took both his parents, but time hadn’t dulled the ache. He couldn’t move on. Most days, he barely left his room. His life felt like a loop of numbness and silence. His uncle, Mathew Ashford—his guardian now—paid him little attention, wrapped up in his own world. Julian was just fifteen.
There hadn’t been a single day without tears. But that morning, something felt different. Just a flicker. A tiny spark of hope. It was faint, but it was there. For the first time in a year, Julian reached for a cup of coffee. He used to love his morning coffee. His mother made it every day, always with a warm smile. Since her death, he couldn’t bring himself to even look at a cup.
But today, he was ready to face it.
As he took that first sip, tears streamed down his face. He didn’t break down, though. He sat still, staring out the window, the mug warm in his hands.
“I can’t keep living like I’m already dead,” he whispered to himself. “They wouldn’t want this. They’d want me to smile... to live.”
Something had changed. But what was it that awakened this shift in him?
June 6, 2011. A dark day. Heavy clouds blanketed the sky, and the air hinted at rain. For the first time in weeks, Julian stepped outside—he was out of groceries. He walked along the pavement, eyes fixed ahead, oblivious to the world. Then the rain came. It poured steadily, soaking him within moments.
“Hey, it’s raining!”
A voice, soft and clear, cut through the downpour. He turned. Under the roof of a nearby shop stood a girl in a flowing white gown. She waved him over. Only then did he register the rain.
Julian joined her under the shelter and mumbled a quiet “thank you.”
She was beautiful. Big eyes, thick brows, long, dark hair. Something about her felt... familiar. Like a face from a dream.
“Have we met before?” she asked, tilting her head slightly. “I feel like I know you... but I’m not sure from where.”
Julian stared, stunned. He had been thinking the exact same thing.
“I think I know you too...” he said.
It was the first real conversation he’d had in a long time. He wanted to ask her name, learn more, but the words never came. He simply stood there, heart thudding, letting the moment wash over him.
As the rain faded, Julian turned to leave. She waved, smiling brightly.
Without realizing, he smiled back.
He bought his groceries and walked home. Halfway there, it hit him—he hadn’t even asked her name.
Reaching home, his thoughts were completely about her, yet he couldn’t remember her face. He knew that face, but couldn’t recall it—it made no sense to him. She was like a glowing light in his memory. He wanted to meet her again. It felt like a restart to his life after seeing her.
The next day, he woke up from his bed, but today, he had some energy. He had his morning coffee, did his laundry, and took a shower. Then he got dressed. It was surprising—does anyone really change this much for a girl he just met for thirty seconds?
“I don’t know why,” he said to himself, “but now I wanna go out. I wanna see her. I wanna see her so bad. I don’t know if it’s the right thing, but it feels right to me. I guess that’s what matters the most right now.”
He created a reason to buy salt, even though he already had plenty for the week—a lame excuse to convince himself he wasn’t stalking her.
He left his house. On the way to the shop, he looked in every corner for her, hoping to see her again. But unfortunately, he couldn’t find her. His excitement and happiness faded quickly. Halfway to the store, he turned around and decided to head back home.
Then he heard a voice—the same voice that had made him smile, the voice he was hoping to find, the voice he had been longing to hear.
“Hey, weren’t you the one from yesterday?” she said.
“Yeah, that was me,” he replied.
“I wanted to meet you, but I couldn’t find you. Then I felt some air flowing toward me from your direction,” she said.
Hearing this, he was surprised. Why did she want to see me? he wondered.
“Oh... well…” he began.
“Don’t drag it out—spill it,” she said, smiling.
“I wanted to meet you as well,” he said.
His reply surprised her.
“I wanted to ask your name,” he added.
“I wanted to ask your name too,” she said.
“I’m Julian Ashford,” he said.
“I’m Aira Blake,” she replied.
They both felt an unexplainable connection between them. They stood there, looking at each other without saying a word. Then Aira said, “I don’t know why, I’ve never felt this before, but I really do think I know you. So… can we exchange contacts?”
Julian replied, “Sure, let’s do that.”
She waved at him and went on her way. Julian just stood there, trying to remember her face. Again, he couldn’t.
A person walking by approached Julian—it was his best friend, Mathew.
“Man! How long has it been? I haven’t seen you in a while. So, what were you doing here alone?” Mathew asked.
Julian replied, “Alone? What? Uh... never mind.”
“Never mind? Don’t do that to me, dude,” Mathew said.
“Nah, it’s not a big deal,” Julian responded.
“Uhh, okay,” Mathew said, slightly confused.
Julian smiled and said, “I’m actually going to the shop. Wanna grab a drink?”
Mathew looked at Julian in shock. A person who had shut himself away from everyone for more than a year was now acting normal again. This made him feel both surprised and happy.
“Sure!” Mathew replied.
They both went to the store, had some cold drinks, and chatted for a while. Then they decided to leave. While leaving, Julian asked Mathew if they could hang out tomorrow.
This made Mathew even happier. He said, “Sure, bro! I’ll tell the others and text you the time and place.”
Julian nodded and left.
On his way home, Julian thought about texting Aira. He did, but she didn’t see the message.
After getting home, he relaxed on the couch. Then he heard a notification. He rushed to his phone, hoping it was Aira—and it was. But her message read:
“Do I know you? How did you get this number?”
He replied, “I’m Julian… you saved my number, didn’t you?”
She texted back, “Julian? Who is that?”
He responded, “Heyy, stop playing already, Aira.”
She then sent, “Aira? Who is that? This must be the wrong number,” and blocked him.
He realized that she had given him a wrong number. It made him feel crushed.
“She didn’t have to do such a prank. I was already broken… and now she wanted to make a fool out of me,” he thought to himself.
Just then, he received another notification—it was from Mathew.
“The park near the lake @ 4:40 PM,” the message read.
Julian replied, “Sure.”
The next day, Julian woke up with his usual sadness on his face, but today it looked much worse. There was a hint of disappointment, and betrayal showed clearly in his expression. He didn’t even drink coffee that morning.
At 10:00 a.m., Julian’s phone rang — it was Mathew.
Mathew asked, “Hey bro, wanna come over to my house? Let’s play some games.”
Julian didn’t say anything. He was unusually quiet.
Mathew asked again, “Man, what happened? You were energetic just yesterday — why this sudden loneliness?”
Julian slowly began to open up about what had happened. His voice was trembling.
Mathew comforted him and told him he should come over at 4:40 p.m. Julian agreed.
At 4:30 p.m., Julian stepped out of his house. His eyes, once again, were searching for her — but unfortunately, he couldn’t find her.
He arrived at the park at 4:38 p.m. No one was there yet.
Suddenly, he heard footsteps. Footsteps he knew. Footsteps he had been searching for.
He turned around quickly — and saw Aira.
He was still mad at her for the prank, but seeing her on the verge of tears, his emotions changed instantly.
She looked fragile and weak.
He asked, “What happened?”
She replied, “I had no friends... I finally gathered the courage to talk to you, because you seemed like someone I already knew. But you pranked me by giving me the wrong number. I don’t know why, but I couldn’t stop looking for you. You seemed like a light to me... my hope.”
His expression changed completely — he was shocked to hear that.
He quickly said, “I gave you my correct number. You’re the one who gave me the wrong one.”
They both showed their phones.
They couldn’t believe what they were seeing — they had exchanged the same number, but somehow it didn’t belong to him.
At 4:41 p.m., his friends arrived.
Julian was still talking with Aira.
One of his friends said, “Hey dude, you came earlier. What were you complaining about, talking to yourself?”
Julian said, confused, “Talking to myself? I was talking with her.”
He pointed at Aira.
His friends looked at each other, confused and a little scared.
They said, “Her? There’s no one there.”
Julian’s eyes widened. He couldn’t believe it.
He turned to Aira and said, “My friends... they can’t see you.”
Aira replied softly, “Your friends? There’s only you standing here...”
Julian’s mind went blank.
He got dizzy — and collapsed to the ground.
