"So how long have you lived here?" I asked him as we walked down the streets of our town together. Our town Myst was a small town, not far away from the city. The population was only about 15000 people and almost everyone knew everyone. Every town, whether small or big, is always famous for some things. Our town was known for its streets, both overground and underground. But what our town was really famous for was a legend. A legend that always proved to be true.

"I haven't lived here long. I moved here about six months back." He replied as he turned his head towards me.

"So the town got to you too." I said as I tugged on his hand and took a right turn.

"What do you mean?" He asked me with confusion written all over his face. The red in his eyes grew darker with curiosity. The words I said aren't words you hear everyday.

"You don't know?" I asked him in disbelief. Everyone living here was supposed to know about it.

"What do I not know?" There was a hint of frustration in his voice.

"There's a really old legend that says that the town was cursed by a lady." I said.

"I don't believe in old legends and scary curses." He said without even thinking about it for a split second.

"This one...its true. Trust me, I should know all about it." I said as a bitter laugh escaped my mouth without me even realizing about it. Instantly, I changed the topic. "Why did you decide to change your mind about jumping?"

"Some really persistent girl made it quite clear that by killing yourself becuase of guilt is not-so-smart because it would simply be me passing on my guilt to someone else. And also if I jumped into the sea there was a really high chance of a particular crazy hazel-eyed girl jumping in with me." He said with a smile playing around his lips. The gray in his eyes, that was so used to being a part of a storm, was crystal clear and settled for once. His mind, right now, was at peace.

I smiled at him. "How long do you plan on holding my hand?" I asked even though I enjoyed his touch. His hand was so warm and inviting, that holding on to it tightly was all that kept me from leaning into him.

"Don't you like it this way?" He asked with a small laugh.Your hand fits so perfectly into my hand that it almost scares me a bit." He said and walked a bit closer to me. I felt my cheek get hotter due to his comment.

"I can't deny the fact. It does fit quite perfectly. But why does this scare you?" I asked looking down at our hands.

"I don't know...but doesn't it scare you?" He asked. I didn't reply, instead, I broke free my hand from his and I ran.

"Where are we going?" He yelled from behind.

"To the past. Catch me if you can." I yelled back and kept running. I turned around to look at him, stopping for a moment, only to see him running towards me with a smile etched across his beautiful face. The smile looked foreign in his face; yet it fit so perfectly on his perfect face. 

I then turned around and kept running until I reached a meadow. The grass here was up to my ankles, and was spread all across. The grass was so soft and welcoming that I collapsed onto it. I laid down on it with my hand and legs stretched out. I heard a thud next to me. The sound of another person laying down next to me. I never lifted my eyes off the beautiful night sky above us while I whispered "Hey, Stranger."

"Hello Crazy Hazel-eyed girl" he whispered back. I could hear him gasping for air. He needed air to pump him lungs, he also need air to breathe in the reality around him. A reality he didn't know existed. A feeling of fun he never thought he experienced. To him, reality meant suffering and pain that he experienced all day, pain that people caused him...and the pain he caused himself.

"I don't see how this is the past." He asked me.

"Look up. Tell me what you see." I said. 

"I see stars" he replied. "Beautiful starts."

"Then you are looking right into the past" I whispered into his ear.

"How? I don't get it."

"You know, stars that we see are so far away from us that their light takes years...even thousands of years to reach us. And when we finally see them, we see them as they were thousands of years back. Its very possible that the stars that we are seeing right now don't even exist anymore or they are much different from what they look like now. So these stars...they are the past." I explained with a smile.

"You love stars, don't you." He said.

"I do. They live for a long long time, and you never know if they are alive or dead." I said.

"That's a weird reason to love something." He said.

"They are also one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen" I stated.

"They are most certainly not the most beautiful thing that I have seen." He said and turned his head to look at me. I was aware of his gaze on my face, but I didn't dare to look at him.

"What did feel like every minute of your life before you met me?" I asked him without moving my eyes from the sky.

"Honestly? I always felt like I was in this big, dark room all alone. And this room, was filled up with water. All the way to the top. There was no way for me to breathe; no one with me. But you what the funny part was? I never drowned. I felt like I was drowning. All the time. But I never truly drowned. I was alive but in a way that my heart kept wishing to die." He said and sighed.

"And what do you feel like now?" I turned my head to look at him.

His smile on his face grew bigger and he turned to look at me. "Now I am still in that same room. But this time, you're with me. The room is not so big or dark anymore. And every once in a while, the water reduces just enough to let me breathe." He held my hand in his, and our fingers interlocked. The gray in his eyes turned stormy, but this time there was no confusion, doubt or uncertainty clouding his Iris. The red in those eyes glowed as if a new fire was lit within his soul and heart. And now I knew why the eyes were the window to the soul. His eyes betrayed him and presented every emotion he felt. All his soul required was a person to read it through his eyes. And I was more than willing to read them.

"I think I prefer your breath taken away ." I whispered with a smile as I leaned even closer.

"Then by all means...go ahead and take it away." He whispered, leaning closer to me. Close enough for me to feel his breath on my lips.

"This is my favourite place. If you're looking for me and can't find me...then know that I'll be right here." I whispered as I broke free my hand from his grip, only to let my fingers find their way to his jaw, tracing it lightly. He caught my hand and brought it to his lips.

"Remind me, how long ago did we meet each other?" I asked him as he placed another kiss on my knuckles.

"A couple hours." He replied. "But none of that matters right now. All that matters right now, is you and me. Let's not let reality affect us." He whispered and as soon as the words escaped his lips, his lips met mine. In that moment I felt complete, like for the first time it wasn't me against the world. I wasn't part of any reality any more, because no matter what happened, being with him seemed to me like a fantasy. And in that moment when we lay under the stars together...I realized that this was the moment was when I truly felt like reality didn't exist...

End of Part 1
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I know...I know...This chapter too was super short and super romantic. But trust me when I say that things are gonna change real soon. The story that I am writing does not have romance in the center, even though it may seem like it. The mystery that is to come, requires me to first develop his character and his feelings for the girl.

Question (Just a conversation starter):
The way the two of them met and instantly clicked together...do you believe in something like that? Do you believe that people can fall in love just by being toghether for a couple of hours? And if not love...then that 'click'.

Hope you guys liked the book until now. And for those of you who don't like love...just bear with me for now.

Do remember to vote, comment and share.  Tell me what you have to think about this book. Also comment what you think about the question I asked.

~Sky