Episode 2

I locked up the shop, and the click of the door felt like a new page turning in my mind. I slipped the key into my pocket and shoved my hands deep into my coat.

The rain had finally stopped, but the air still smelled like something tired and wet.

The streets shimmered, reflecting the half-clouded sky like mirrors.

I started walking.

My feet moved aimlessly, but something in the night was calling me…

Like the city itself was whispering:

Come closer… just a little more.

Each step pulled me further from the routine of my day.

There was a strange feeling building inside me—

a quiet mix of sorrow and curiosity.

A soft shiver ran through my bones—

maybe from the cold,

maybe from the thought of him.

That look.

That silence.

That low, calm voice.

Damn it… why can’t I stop thinking about him?

He wasn’t the kind of man you could just forget.

There was something behind his eyes—

something wounded.

Something… familiar.

I reached a narrow alley tucked between two tall buildings.

From across the street, the drunken laughter of a few men echoed faintly.

I walked on, distracted—

but when I realized someone was close behind me, my breath caught in my throat.

Then I heard a voice in my ear:

— “Doesn’t seem like the best street for walking alone.”

I spun around fast.

My heart leapt to my throat.

It was him.

Same long coat.

Same damp hair.

Same eyes.

I had no idea where he came from.

No footsteps, no sound.

He just… appeared.

Like he’d stepped out of the dark itself.

— “Did you follow me?” I asked, before I could stop myself.

He smiled. Not warm, not cold—just… unreadable.

— “If I had followed you,” he said softly,

“you’d never have known.”

Before I could respond, sharp footsteps echoed behind us.

I turned.

One of the drunk men from before was staring at me now.

There was something in his eyes I didn’t want to understand.

The guy—that guy—stepped forward once.

Something in the way he moved made the drunk freeze.

He hesitated, muttered something under his breath, and turned back toward the street.

I exhaled. Finally.

The guy was still standing beside me.

He leaned in, and his voice dropped to a whisper:

— “This city is more than it appears, Lia.”

My name.

How does he know my name?

I froze.

My lips parted but no sound came out.

He just gave me one last look—

and walked past me into the night.

I moved toward him, ready to ask something—

but as he turned into the alley…

he was gone.

Only the fading sound of his footsteps lingered,

blending into the night.

And I…

was left standing in the middle of a quiet, rain-soaked city,

with a thousand questions spinning in my head.

The sudden return of rain snapped me out of it.

I looked down the dark, glistening street—

but he wasn’t there.

Not even the echo of his steps remained.

Only me, the rain,

and the cold, silent night.

I started walking again.

My feet moved across the pavement,

but my mind…

was somewhere else.

Lost in a world of questions and doubt.

How did he know my name?

Did he know me?

And if he did…

why couldn’t I remember him?

Had he been to the flower shop before?

I wasn’t sure.

But something about him felt familiar—

a blurry, distant echo I couldn’t quite reach.

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