I opened my eyes, breathing heavily, as I remembered that nightmare once more.
As usual, I woke up from the bed, cooked some sunny-side-up eggs, and went to my school, hoping to start anew.
But somehow I just can't forget everything I mean, who would?
Her tragic news was widespread. Her father was caught by the police later on, when the neighbour heard arguments and screaming and came to the house for inspection.
And there they found Camelia had been murdered.
Later on, it was found out they weren’t even biologically related. Her body was found in the kitchen, rotting beside the countertop.
Everything happened all at once, and it still questions me, what the hell did I just see then? That moment I saw her fall from the building and a glimpse of a man in a suit.
Maybe it was just a dream. But I was there. I was conscious. Probably a hallucination. I'm not even in my right mind. What’s even more intriguing I still had her message.
("Where are you? Can you meet me right now? I need you.")
Everything doesn’t seem to make a lot of sense. But there’s one thing I’m certain of, that she’s not here anymore.
Present day:
It was already autumn. At school, everything remained in its usual state. Teachers droned on, students gossiped about trends, breakups, and petty drama. Only Roze sat silently at her desk, quiet, detached, and distant as ever.
Until he walked in.
The classroom door opened with a soft click, and the teacher turned from the whiteboard.
“Everyone, we have a new student joining us today.”
A boy stepped in, not much older than the rest of us, but something about him felt strange. The air seemed to still around him, as if his presence alone calmed the space.
“This is Richard Ward. He just moved here from overseas. Please be kind.”
He had transferred in the middle of the second period.
Richard glanced around the room with polite detachment. His uniform was crisp, almost too perfectly fitted. His eyes were sharp, not unkind but observant. The kind of gaze that didn’t just look at people, but through them.
He took the empty seat by the window, the one that used to be Camelia’s.
Roze didn’t flinch. She couldn’t.
As the lesson continued, Richard didn’t acknowledge anyone. Not even the teacher. But once, just once, he turned slightly in her direction.
“Boo. You seem lonely,” he said with an unexpected grin.
Startled, Roze blinked. “Oh, uhm… who are you?”
He chuckled. “Wow, I was just introduced a minute ago. Weren’t you paying attention?”
She looked away, a bit embarrassed. “I guess I wasn’t. I haven’t been focused lately.”
I didn’t notice not even the discussion I wasn't paying attention. My grades drifted ever since and I had lost interest in everything.
She then shrugged her thoughts and continued the conversation.
“It’s already the second period of the semester. Why transfer now?”
He leaned back. “My parents decided to move here. I had no choice.
“Oh… May I ask why you guys moved?”
He hesitated."Sorry I can't tell you any further"
"That's fine by me." He seems enthusiastic. I could already tell he would find friends soon enough.
The school day ended, and Roze left as soon as the bell rang. She walked the familiar path home, her thoughts drifting, until the glowing red of a stoplight forced her to pause. Cars rushed past in front of her.
Then, out of the corner of her eye, she saw someone.
A stranger was walking across the street, completely unaware of the oncoming traffic.
Roze panicked. She stepped forward, instinctively reaching out to stop him, but before she could, a blinding flash of headlights hit her eyes.
In that moment, she truly thought it would all end.
Then, a cane yanked her back.
She was pulled to the ground, landing hard. Someone had saved her.
A man in a dark suit.
“Oh my, what were you thinking?” he said, not with anger, but with a disturbingly cheerful tone. “Wait, don’t tell me you were trying to kill yourself.”
“What?! No!” she gasped, shaken. “I was trying to save someone. There's a man who's about to crash..
The man in a suit raised an eyebrow.
“And who exactly would that be?”
Roze turned around to point out, but the stranger was gone.
“What...” she whispered. “He was just there. I swear.”
“Okay, okay,” the man in a suit said gently, stroking her back while she caught her breath. The People were staring at them as Roze felt out of place.
“We should go somewhere else." She mumbled
He nodded. “Good idea.”
They ended up at a nearby park. Roze sat on a bench, still trembling, while the man in a suit returned with a bottle of water.
“Here you go,” he said, handing it to her.
“Thank you, mister,” she replied calmly.
He smirked and sat beside her.
To be continued
Author note
(What do you guys think. Is Roze really seeing things. Also why was the man in a suit saved her. Who is he really??)
