The word fire echoed in Tadan’s mind.
He sat at the edge of Ruha’s couch, her confession still hanging between them like thick smoke.
“She says I did it.”
Her voice had been barely a whisper, but it hit him like a thunderclap. Not because he believed her—he didn’t. But because she did.
“Do you remember anything else?” he asked, careful not to push too hard.
Ruha shook her head slowly. “Only flashes. The smell of burning wood. Screaming. Danam pulling me outside. My hands—” She paused. “They were covered in something. I don’t know if it was blood or ash.”
Tadan’s heart ached. Not for the story, but for how broken she looked telling it. Like she wasn’t sure she deserved to be believed.
He reached for her hand. “Ruha. Whatever happened that night… I’m going to find out the truth. You don’t have to carry it alone anymore.”
She didn’t answer. But she didn’t let go either.
That afternoon, while Ruha stayed home, Tadan headed to the town archives.
He wasn’t a detective. But he was smart, stubborn, and in love with a girl whose past was full of shadows.
And one thing he’d learned from loving her—30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJKU3xLZzMS
Sometimes, shadows lie.
It took hours, digging through brittle files and grainy microfilm, but finally he found it.
FIRE: TWO INJURED, ONE MISSING IN WAREHOUSE BLAZE30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCDJZa5eyXy
Cause: Unknown. Suspected Arson.
He scanned the article. There it was—Ruha’s name. Danam’s too.
But there was a third.
Elias Vair. Age 20. Status: presumed dead.
Tadan’s stomach dropped.
Elias. A name Ruha had never mentioned. A person who’d supposedly died that night.
But the part that chilled him?30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTcc8t31oQo
There was no record of Elias’s body being found.30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7hw5VmpKjr
Just a line: “No remains recovered. Case remains open.”
Back at Ruha’s apartment, the nightmares returned.
The flames.30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoL8DyRP4Tz
The screams.30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlDkVhs3whM
A hand reaching for hers—
But it wasn’t Danam’s. It was someone else. Someone with pale eyes and a trembling voice.
“Don’t leave me.”
Ruha woke up gasping, drenched in sweat.
Elias.
She clutched the edge of the bed, heart racing. Why hadn’t she remembered him before? Why had she buried it so deep?
And then, her phone buzzed again.
This time, no image.
Just a message:
“You forgot him. But he didn’t forget you.”30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2pltRweB16
– D.
Her fingers trembled. She looked toward the front door. The lock. The windows.
Something was coming.30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxLgN0assd1
And for the first time, Ruha wasn’t sure if it was justice… or revenge.
