Whispers In the Rain (Short Story) Noticed

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*

Later in the Friday

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.

Ares (MC)

"who are you?"

then he waited for another envelope to show up.

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