Chapter 4- The Shadow with the Scar.

It was only Monika’s second day in Maplewood, but the town already felt different.

The weather had changed.

Clouds covered the sun.

The wind carried whispers.

People didn’t laugh much that morning. They spoke in low voices, watching every movement around them.

But Monika didn’t care for whispers.

She was already on her way to Maplewood Train Station, holding Reeva’s sketch and the mystery map found under the bench.

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The station was small — only two platforms, one tea stall, and a sleeping dog near the ticket counter. A board above read:

“Next train: 11:45 a.m. to City Central.”

Monika walked slowly, her boots clicking on the concrete. Her eyes scanned every corner. Every face.

She looked at the benches. The ticket window. The clock on the wall.

Everything looked… too quiet.

She walked to the far end of Platform 2.

There it was — a burn mark on the ground. Fresh.

And near it, something shiny in the dirt.

She bent down and picked it up carefully.

A tiny metal button — smooth, black, with a strange symbol on it. A star inside a circle.

Her eyes narrowed.

“I’ve seen this before…” she whispered.

She opened her notebook and wrote one word:

“Watcher.”

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Back in town, Reeva stayed inside her room, but her eyes were always on the road.

Something was bothering her. She had told the truth. She had helped Monika. But the feeling of danger wasn’t gone.

Then she saw him.

Across the street, near the old bakery, a man stood still, watching her window.

He had a scarf around his neck — not red, but black.

And a scar on his face.

Her heart dropped.

She closed her curtain and held her breath.

Was it the same man from the park?

Or someone who knew she saw too much?

She picked up her phone and messaged Monika:

“He’s here. Watching. Scar. Outside my window.”

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At the station, Monika’s phone buzzed. She read the message and didn’t waste a second.

She turned, ran to her car, and drove fast through the empty road.

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Reeva, still inside, held a small wooden stick — the only thing she could find for safety.

Then… the doorbell rang.

She didn’t move.

Again — ding-dong.

Then a knock.

She froze.

But the door didn’t open.

The knocks stopped.

Silence.

And then, suddenly — a firm knock at the window.

Reeva turned slowly, and let out a small scream.

But it wasn’t the scar-faced man.

It was Monika.

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Monika climbed in quickly and locked the window.

“You did the right thing,” she said, calming Reeva down. “Now listen. Did he say anything?”

Reeva shook her head. “He just stared. Like… he knew I told you something.”

Monika looked out the window. The man was gone.

“Don’t worry,” Monika said. “I never let shadows win.”

She turned to Reeva. “That scar… it’s real. And he’s part of something bigger.”

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Back at the police station, Officer Veer got a report from the city lab.

He opened it and gasped.

The fingerprints on the metal button…

matched someone from Maplewood.

Someone they all knew.

Someone who always smiled.

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🧣 To be continued in Chapter 5: “The Man Who Smiled Too Much”

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