The Girl At Signal
The sound of keyboards echoed throughout the examination hall. Only five minutes remained, yet some students were still busy writing their answers.
Pathetic.
Then the bell rang, signalling the end of the examination.
My face lit up, but I somehow managed to control my excitement. After all, I was finally going back to my hometown for vacation. I would get to meet my old friends, Riven and Daniel. Their messages had arrived just last night.
Hey! Excited for vacation? We're all waiting for you.
My name is Aiden Grey.
I'm seventeen years old. A few months ago, I was constantly stuck at my desk, exhausted from endless college work. But now, it was finally over. Somehow, I had managed to survive another academic year.
For the first time in months, I could finally relax and live in peace without drowning in assignments.
Well... at least that's what I thought.
Even though vacations had started, my dad would never let me sit around doing nothing at home. He would definitely hand me some office work sooner or later.
Honestly, though, I didn't really mind. I kind of enjoyed helping him.
As soon as I stepped out of the examination hall, I hurried towards my hostel room, taking the stairs two at a time. Each footstep echoed through the corridor.
"Hey, boy! Don't make so much noise!" the rector scolded me.
I ignored him and continued straight towards my room. I didn't want to stay here anymore. At least, not now. I was finally going home. The happiness on my face was impossible to hide, especially the stupidly wide smile I couldn't seem to get rid of. I finished packing quickly. One suitcase and two handbags.
Wow. I never thought I had this much stuff.
"Hey, why are you in such a hurry?"
Shit. I had completely forgotten that someone else was in the room. Karl, My roommate for the past two years.
"I'm just packing early so I don't forget anything," I replied.
"Don't lie, bro. I can literally see how excited you are to leave this place."
Maybe he was right.
Even so, a part of me felt sad about leaving everything behind. The memories, the friends, and all the stupid things we had done together.
But that's life.
Sometimes, we have to leave the things we love behind.
"Anyway, Josh was saying we should stay here for one more day so we could finally explore this town. We never actually got the chance because of our great college restrictions," Karl said, making air quotes around the word great.
I laughed, and soon he joined me.
"Yeah, definitely. The greatest college of all time," I replied between laughs. Mid our laughter, we heard a subtle knock on the door.
Both our heads turned towards it. It was Josh, my second roommate. He closed the door behind him and walked into the room.
"Ready for a ride around town?" Josh asked, looking between Karl and me.
His tone sounded different from usual. Maybe it was because we all knew this was our last evening together before heading our separate ways.
"Of course! I'm already halfway out the door," Karl replied cheerfully.
"And you, Aiden?" Josh asked.
"If you say so." I shrugged.
Suddenly, the atmosphere in the room felt lighter than before.
But deep down, we knew we would soon be going our separate ways.
Not forever, though. Honestly, we never knew what would come next. Maybe this ending would lead to the beginning of something new. I couldn't wait to find out.
Later that evening, we went for a ride around town on rented bikes. I had always felt happiest whenever I was with my friends.
We eventually stopped at a garden. The atmosphere was peaceful, and we settled on a bench beneath a tree, enjoying its cool shade.
Birds chirped softly above us. Children ran around, playing tag and chasing one another without a care in the world. Meanwhile, the three of us sat quietly, simply enjoying each other's company.
No one felt the need to speak.
"Hey, we should head back to our rooms. It's already 5:30 p.m.," I said, breaking the silence.
"Oh, you're right. Otherwise, the rector will scold us on our last day here," Josh agreed. "We didn't exactly inform him that we were coming here."
Karl simply nodded, keeping his thoughts to himself.
It looked as though he had something to say, but he chose to remain quiet. We stood up and headed towards the parking area where we had left our bikes. Josh and Karl walked a little ahead of me.
Then suddenly, I felt a cold breeze against the back of my neck. A chill ran down my spine.
I immediately stopped walking, my body stiffening. I gently rubbed the back of my neck and turned around, trying to find the source of the sudden coldness.
Nothing. No one was behind me. Just an ordinary garden.
"...Must be my imagination," I muttered under my breath.
The air was strangely cold for this season. It didn't make any sense. Yeah... it must have been my imagination.
"Aiden! What are you thinking about, dude?"
Karl was standing beside his bike, looking at me.
"...Nothing."
"You sure?"
"Yeah."
Josh started the bike, and we climbed on.
The warm air brushed against my face, making my forehead slightly sweaty. My hair fluttered wildly in the wind. How could I forget my cap?
I hadn't even applied sunscreen before coming out. I was definitely going to get tanned. We were getting closer to the hostel, and I watched the surroundings pass by.
People were returning from their offices and heading home, making the traffic heavier than usual. Most of the traffic congestion happened between five and six in the evening.
We stopped at a traffic signal while cars and bikes rushed across the road in different directions. That's when I spotted a girl standing on the pavement.
She was wearing a yellow dress with little white flowers printed on it. Her hair was short, and a small clip was pinned to one side.
No one seemed to be with her.
Slowly, the weather began to change. Grey clouds gathered across the sky, and a cold wind started blowing through the streets.
"It's strange," Josh muttered.
"Really, it is. But maybe it's because of the changing weather cycle," Karl replied.
"Yeah, the weather has been acting strangely lately. Can't really say anything about it," Josh agreed.
While Karl and Josh continued discussing the weather, my eyes remained fixed on the girl standing alone.
I didn't know why, but something about her felt... off.
Something I couldn't explain.
Then the girl looked directly at me. My posture immediately straightened, as though I had been caught doing something illegal.
Her eyes were beautiful, wide and filled with innocence. For a moment, she simply stared at me through the crowd of moving vehicles and restless people.
Then she smiled.
I looked at her in confusion for a second before smiling back.
Yes, some people do that sometimes. They smile at complete strangers for no reason and somehow make their day a little better.
Just like you did, girl.
The signal countdown still showed thirty seconds. We had some time left.
But the moment I looked away from her, she disappeared.
I tilted my head, trying to find her again, but there was nothing except the empty pavement where she had been standing just moments ago.
How could she vanish like that?
"...Where did she go?" I murmured.
"She? Who?" Karl immediately asked, looking confused.
"The girl who was standing there a minute ago," I replied instinctively, pointing towards the spot where she had been.
"Aiden, are you seeing things lately?" Karl gave me a strange look.
"No. Why?" I asked.
"I was literally looking at the flowers in the same direction you're pointing at. No one was there," Karl said.
"No, there was someone. A girl in a yellow dress," I protested.
"Yeah, now I understand," Karl said dramatically.
"You're having a girlfriend crisis, you poor soul!"
Josh burst out laughing along with him. Even a few people nearby started giving us strange looks.
"At this point, bro's so lonely he's hallucinating girls now," Josh added dramatically.
Karl laughed loudly.
"Aiden's finally losing it. College really destroyed this man."
I sighed, ignoring their jokes about my nonexistent love life. I'm already regretting opening my mouth in front of them.
The traffic signal changed from red to orange, then finally green.
Engines roared to life around us as bikes and cars rushed forward all at once. Josh started the bike again, and we drove towards our hostel along the crowded road.
The cold wind brushed against my face while dark clouds slowly spread across the evening sky. Even the air felt heavier than before.
After around fifteen minutes, we finally reached the hostel.
As soon as I entered my room, I threw myself onto the bed like a dead fish. What the hell was happening? Was there actually a girl, or was it just my imagination?
But I couldn't ignore what I had seen. I had definitely seen someone standing there.
My eyes began to feel heavy. I shut them, and slowly, sleep took control of my mind. I hoped the next day would be just as good as this one had been.
Even as I drifted off, I felt as though someone was hugging me. A soft, gentle hand patted my head.
It felt comfortable.
I relaxed my muscles and curled up slightly, sinking deeper into the warmth. I had never felt this comfortable in my hostel room before.
Night settled across the sky.
A big, full moon glowed above, spreading its beautiful silver light everywhere. Crickets chirped outside the window while a gentle breeze drifted through it, softly brushing against my face.
Everything was quiet. Until a soft, gentle voice echoed in my ears. It sounded as though someone was calling me, waiting for me to respond.
[Aiden...]
