Whispers In the Rain (Short Story)
The world doesn't look at me
24-year-old Ares lives a life of invisibility. Slim, awkward, and constantly unlucky, he's always been overlooked and even mocked for his looks. Struggling to get through each day in a gray, uncaring world (just imagine he is ugly and has a nerdy look with pores on his face)
The rain hadn't stopped for hours. Ares stood under the tiny awning of the convenience store where he worked, holding a bent umbrella that had given up halfway through his shift.
People said he looked sickly. Some even whispered he might be cursed... He didn't disagree....
Ares had grown used to being invisible. In high school, he was the quiet one in the back. In college, he was the guy nobody remembered. And now, at 24, working late shifts and barely scraping by in a tiny apartment with peeling walls, he felt like a ghost who had never truly lived.
Today had been like every other an elderly customer had scolded him for being too slow, a coworker ignored him during break, and his train pass had fallen into a puddle.
As he stepped out into the storm, the wind snatched his umbrella and sent it tumbling down the street. He sighed, didn't bother chasing it, and kept walking.
Ares (MC)
Another perfect day *mutters to himself*
Ares (MC)
*he reached his apartment, he saw a small envelope stuck to his door*
The letter was protected by a clear plastic sleeve.
Ares (MC)
*took the letter* what it is? There is no name, no address from the sender... But it has my name in the messy handwriting
Ares (MC)
*he took a moment and looked at his left and right if he could find someone who left this letter*
Ares (MC)
*later he turns his attention back to the letter, he peeled the plastic away and opened the envelope with trembling hands*
In the letter
"You don't see it yet, but I do.
The world doesn't deserve your kind of quiet beauty.
I'll keep watching from afar, until you're ready"
•by S
Ares (MC)
*he stared at the note, his mind racing with thoughts*
Ares (MC)
A prank?? but there is nothing mocking in this words... It felt .... Genuine and real
Ares (MC)
*clenches on the note*
And suddenly, for the first time in a long while, the rain didn't feel so cold to Ares his mind was somewhat relaxed and he was grateful to the note which made him feel better after a bad day.
Who would even notice me??
Ares sat on the edge of the bed staring at the letter and slurping his noodles in the pale yellow light of his ceiling bulb…
He couldn't eat more, his stomach twisted every time he thought about the note.
Ares (MC)
How can a stranger write something so.... Kind to me?? *mutters under his breath*
Ares (MC)
How does he know my name??
Ares (MC)
Who it might be??
Ares put the noodle bowl on the table beside the bed...... He took the note reading it again and again
"I will keep watching from afar"
This part was stuck in his mind.... He didn't know if the sentence was romantic.... Or creepy... Maybe both
Ares (MC)
I don't know what to feel about this... I am not used to being noticed by others
Ares (MC)
*he sighs and drops onto the bed, pulling the blanket over his face*
He lay there in silence, letting the words loop in his mind like a lullaby or a whisper... Which are just meant for him
The next morning. he trudged through another rainy walk to work, still thinking about it. The city felt louder today. Or maybe he just felt smaller than usual.
Every reflective surface caught his eye-shop windows, train doors, puddles. He kept wondering: Is someone watching me now?
The shift at the convenience store was painfully normal. He restocked the bento boxes, cleaned the coffee machine, and listened to two coworkers gossip in the back room about someone getting dumped.
store manager
Ares... Clean up aisle three before you go
He cleaned the aisle quietly as always... Until he noticed something strange
Near the shelf of instant curry bowls, half-hidden behind a cup of soup, was a second envelope.
His name again. The same messy handwriting. The same clear plastic wrap to protect it.
Ares (MC)
*he looked around with curious eyes, but no one was near*
Ares (MC)
*he opened the letter on the spot*
"I saw the way you offered your umbrella to that woman last week.
She didn't thank you, but I will.
You're better than this world gives you credit for"
•by S
Ares (MC)
What!! *remembers the same day but a week ago*
Ares (MC)
💭 it's true... I was walking in the rain when I saw a woman was holding a tiny baby in her arms but stuck in the rain
Ares (MC)
💭 I moved quickly to that women offering the umbrella, she felt uncomfortable because of my looks, so she left in a hurry holding the umbrella in her hand
Ares (MC)
*sat on the chair his shoulders slumber as he is holding back his tears*
Ares heart throbbed, his fingers gripping the note tightly
Nobody had thanked him... Nobody had even looked at him...but someone had noticed... Someone was watching..
Ares (MC)
*for the first time after a long time a small smile tugged on his lips*
He felt weird...maybe he should be scared that he was being watched by the stranger... But now he wasn't
Right now he just wanted to know
Ares (MC)
Who are you, S??
Noticed
He folded the second letter carefully and tucked it into his jacket pocket. It stayed there the whole walk home, over his chest, as if his heart didn't want to let it go.
Rain still fell, lighter now just a drizzle-but he didn't mind getting wet tonight.
He never knew that a single letter or more would bring little colors to the world he was seeing .... And think something good about himself
He kept glancing over his shoulder, half-hoping, half-fear he'd see someone watching. But the street was as empty as always.
Inside his tiny apartment, he placed both letters in a small notebook. It was the only valuable thing he owned a hand-me-down from his grandfather, with rough pages and a cracked spine. He hadn't written in it in years.
He took a pen and sat down to write something on that paper
Ares (MC)
"Why me? why now?" *scribbles on the paper*
He didn't expect an answer. He just wanted to put it somewhere, to release it from his chest before it burst with curiosity
The next few days passed in a blur. Work. Sleep. Repeat. And every day, he checked His locker, the store shelves. his front door.
Ares (MC)
Nothing... It's been 3 days... There is no response from him... Maybe he is tired too... *disappointed with a clear sign of sadness on his face*
He'd just finished restocking the milk when one of the new workers-bright, bubbly, and always wearing too much perfume called out.
co worker
Hey, someone left something for you at the register. Weird, huh?
Ares stomach flipped. There it was. Envelope number three.
Ares (MC)
*His hands shook as he opened it behind the store, tucked between vending machines and the back wall*
" Sorry Ares I was stuck with, some work so I couldn't reach you...
You're starting to believe it, aren't you?
That you deserve kindness.
That you can be seen.
I'm proud of you.
You deserve all the happiness in the world."
•by S
He read it three times. Four. Ten.
Someone believed in him. Someone was proud of him.
Ares clutched the letter against his chest and let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. It trembled as it left him.
Maybe this was the beginning of something. Or maybe it was all a dream, and he'd wake up to find the letters were never real.
But the ache in his chest said otherwise. The ache said this was the first time he felt something -something warm.
He walked home that night with his hands in his pockets and his heart racing. And when he reached his door, he paused. He took out a small piece of paper, wrote three simple words, and slid it into the crack of the door frame.
then he waited for another envelope to show up.
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