02/05/2026
2-The Present (Elena)
When i opened my eyes the first thing i noticed was my quiet surroundings.
Not the heavy, suffocating kind I used to feel-no, this was different. This silence felt... gentle. Like nothing was wrong. Like nothing had ever been wrong.
For a moment I just lay there, staring at the ceiling above me.
It was high.
Too high.
Elegant patterns framed it, soft gold against white, perfectly clean, perfectly untouched. I blinked slowly, my thoughts struggling to catch up with what I was seeing.
This wasn't my room
-
Or
-
It was.....
It felt familiar, like something I had but lost.
I pushed myself up, the bed beneath me soft-far softer than I expected. My fingers brushed against the sheets. Smooth. Expensive. New.
Everything felt... perfect.
Too perfect.
My eyes wandered around the room, taking in every detail. The wide windows, the silk curtains, the polished furniture, the vanity filled with things I didn't remember owning but somehow knew were mine.
My chest felt hollow like something was missing.
It should've scared me, but it didn't.
I placed my hand on my heart, waiting-expecting something. A weight. A tightness. A feeling I couldn't name.
Nothing came.
Just calm.
"...That's strange," I murmured to myself.
I don't know why I said it.
I didn't know what I was comparing it to.
Before I could think about it any further, a voice called from the doorway.
"Miss Elena?"
I turned my head.
A maid stood there, smiling politely, like she'd been waiting.
"You're awake. Your parents are downstairs."
My parents.
The words felt natural. Obvious.
"Okay," I said, my voice softer than I expected.
I slipped out of bed, my feet touching cold marble floors. Even that felt... right.
Like this was where I belonged.
Walking through the halls felt like stepping into something I should remember.
Everything was beautiful. Carefully placed. Familiar in a way I couldn't explain.
And then-
"Elena!"
I looked up.
And the moment I saw her, something in me relaxed.
My mother.
I didn't need to think about it. I didn't need to question it. I just knew.
"You're finally up," she said, walking toward me with a warm smile. "I was starting to worry."
Before I could respond, she pulled me into a hug.
And just like that-
I felt safe.
Completely.
"I'm okay," I told her.
And I meant it.
She pulled back slightly, studying my face like she was searching for something.
"You have your first day today," she reminded me. "Your new school. Are you ready?"
School.
Right.
"I am," I said, nodding.
And again, I didn't know why-but it felt true.
The drive there was quiet.
I sat by the window, watching everything pass by. Trees, streets, people... it all looked so normal.
Like nothing had ever gone wrong.
I caught my reflection in the glass.
Eighteen.
Young.
Put together.
Untouched.
I stared at myself for a moment longer than I meant to.
There was something missing.
I couldn't explain it.
Not something physical. Not something I could point to.
Just-
a space.
Like there was supposed to be something there, but it wasn't anymore.
I pressed my lips together, looking away.
"Just nerves," I whispered to myself.
That made sense.
It was my first day, after all.
When we arrived, everything felt... big.
The school was beautiful. Clean. Lively.
Students were everywhere, talking, laughing, moving like they all belonged.
And I did too.
I stepped out of the car, adjusting my bag slightly.
This was my life.
It felt... easy.
"Elena!"
I turned at the sound of my name.
A girl ran up to me, smiling brightly, like we'd known each other forever.
And I knew her.
Of course I did.
"You made it!" she said, looping her arm through mine. "I was worried you'd be late."
I laughed softly. "I wouldn't do that on my first day."
We started walking together, blending into the crowd.
"There's someone new this year," she said suddenly, her voice dropping slightly like she was about to share something important. "Transferred in. People are already talking about him."
"Oh?" I asked, only half paying attention.
"Yeah. I heard he's-"
"Elena."
My name.
Spoken by a voice I didn't recognize.
But something about it-
felt different.
I stopped walking.
Slowly, I turned.
There was a boy standing a few steps away.
I don't know how to explain it.
The moment I saw him, everything felt... strange.
Not in a bad way.
Just-
off.
Like something inside me shifted without permission.
Our eyes met.
And for a second-
just one second-
it felt like I should know him.
Like there was something there.
Something important.
Something I almost remembered-
But then it was gone.
Completely.
Like it had never been there at all.
I blinked, steadying myself.
"Yes?" I asked politely.
He stared at me.
Not in a normal way.
Not like someone seeing a stranger for the first time.
There was something in his eyes-
Something heavy.
Something... painful.
It made my chest tighten for reasons I didn't understand.
But before I could say anything else, his expression changed.
Like something closed.
"Nothing," he said.
And then he walked away.
Just like that.
I frowned slightly, watching him go.
"That's him," my friend whispered beside me. "Ethan Hayes."
Ethan Hayes.
I repeated the name in my head.
Waiting.
For something.
A feeling.
A memory.
Anything.
But-
there was nothing.
He was just a boy.
A stranger.
Someone I had never met before.
"...Oh," I said quietly.
And somehow, that felt like enough.
So I turned away.
And I kept walking.
Because whatever that moment was-
whatever that feeling had almost been-
it didn't matter.
Not anymore.
To me,
he was no one.
And I had no idea
that to him-
I was everything
he had already lost.
