The air in the cavern crackled with tension as Maria laughed mockingly. Than she saw Isabella, her body snapped and eyes widen she whisper "How can it be possible?" But she knows if she ask to much question it will comes on her character. Isabella staring at her like maria needs to apology. She just take a deep breath and calm and sarcastically ask

"Did you honestly think I would apologize, Isabella? ‘Ugly girl?’ That’s what you were expecting? How ridiculous."

Isabella's eyes blazed with fury, the subtle hum of her magic filling the air.

Isabella: (Dangerously calm) "Mock me again, and I’ll show you what happens when you play with fire, literal fire."

Maria smirked, stepping closer.
Maria: "Come and try, siphon girl. I’ll send you back to your death tour."

Before Isabella could lunge, Phillip stepped in front of her, his vampiric eyes glowing red.

Maria exhales "Again."

Phillip: (Low and menacing) "Back off,
Maria. You don’t want to push her further."

Maria glanced between them, unimpressed.
Maria: (Turning) "Fine. But we are good without you, Little Vampire." He clench his palm than Isabella hold his hand and said "relax, Phil."

Maria see them and said "See you at school, uglies."

As Maria disappeared into the shadows, the group turned to the task ahead. The cavern groaned with a deep, unnatural rumble, as though the earth itself were warning them.

Isabella: (Looking around) "We need to keep moving. Something is wrong here and we have only 1 day left with 2 tasks, how can we complete it?."

"We will." Phillip smiles looking at Isabella.

Sirela: (Anxiously) "The air feels... alive. It’s unnatural."

The tension broke with a deafening roar. From the swirling clouds above descended Zypherus, the ancient wind monster. Its colossal form towered over them, eyes like twin storms glaring with malevolence.

Zypherus: (Voice like thunder) "Who dares disturb my domain?"
The group froze momentarily, the sheer magnitude of Zypherus’s power pinning them in place.

Isabella: (Stepping forward) "We mean no harm. We only seek the feather of the Mystical Bird."
Zypherus: (Laughing cruelly) "Then you seek death! Prepare to face the wrath of the skies."

The battle began in chaos. Zypherus unleashed a powerful gust that sent the group sprawling. Aurora, the light fairy, was the first to recover, her wings glowing brilliantly.

Aurora: (Shouting) "We need to blind him! Use light!"
She raised her hands, summoning radiant beams that cut through the swirling wind.

Phillip leapt into action, his vampiric strength propelling him toward Zypherus. He struck with ferocity, fangs bared and claws extended.
Phillip: (Grunting) "We need to weaken his core!"

Felix howled, the sound reverberating through the cavern. His lupine form was a blur of movement as he clawed at Zypherus’s legs, trying to destabilize the wind monster.
Felix: "Keep him distracted!"

Meanwhile, Sirela’s voice rose above the chaos, a haunting melody in her siren language. Her song cut through Zypherus’s storm, weakening his winds momentarily.

Sirela: (Softly) "Calm the skies, calm the wrath, bring peace to this path..."

Her eyes flickered toward Felix, but he didn’t notice, too focused on the fight.

Lysandra, wounded and trembling, lay near the edge of the cavern. Isabella rushed to her side.
Isabella: (Kneeling) "Stay with me, Lysandra. I won’t let you die here."

Lysandra weakly gripped Isabella’s arm.
Lysandra: (Whispering) "You’re our hope, Isabella... don’t let this monster win."

Rising, Isabella’s anger flared. Her eyes shining in firey orange in colour. Lysandra notices but ignored like she knows everything about her. Isabella began chanting in the ancient tongue, her voice echoing powerfully through the cavern.

Isabella: (Chanting) "Vellathra Draconae, Ignis et Ventus, obedi me!" (Dragon Spirits, Fire and Wind, obey me!)

The air around her ignited, a swirling vortex of flames and wind forming in her hands. Zypherus roared in defiance, but Isabella’s power held him back.

Aurora: (Dodging an attack) "I’ll reinforce you!"
She shot beams of concentrated light at Zypherus, blinding him momentarily.

As Zypherus weakened, Phillip appeared at Isabella’s side.
Phillip: (Gently) "I’ve got your back, always."
Isabella glanced at him, her gaze softening for a moment.
Isabella: (Quietly) "Don’t die on me, Phillip."
Phillip: (Smirking) "Not when you’re watching."

Together, they launched a final attack. Sirela’s voice rose again, more powerful and mournful, her song harmonizing with Isabella’s chants.

Isabella and Sirela: (United) "Elements of fire and air, bind this beast and end his despair!"

A massive surge of magic engulfed Zypherus. With a final, anguished roar, the wind monster dissolved, leaving behind the faintest trace of his storm. Isabella fainted.

Everyone running towards her and phillip catch her in arms. She said "Phil, see Lysandra." He replied "She's okay."

Than, phillip drop water in her mouth she wakes up. And they move ahead. Phillip holds Isabella in his arm and walk. Isabella folding her hands around Phillip's neck. 

Exhausted, the group reached a serene clearing by a shimmering lake. Felix sat silently, sharpening his blade, while Sirela hovered nearby, stealing glances at him.

Sirela: (Softly) "You fought well today."
Felix didn’t look up.
Felix: (Flatly) "It was nothing."

Sirela’s expression fell, but she quickly masked it, turning her attention to the lake.

Isabella and Phillip sat near the fire. Phillip reached for her hand.
Phillip: (Softly) "You scared me back there. You’re reckless."
Isabella: (Smirking) "You worry too much."
Phillip: (Sincerely) "I can’t lose you, Isabella. You mean more to me than this fight."
For a moment, the world faded around them. Phillip leaned closer, their foreheads touching.
Isabella: (Whispering) "I need you, too, but this is wrong.

Phillip ask "What?."

"The thing happening between us.  I mean I'm a witch and you are vampire. Our tradition never accept us." Isabella saying.

Phillip holds Isabella's hand said "there are many witches and vampire couples living here in eldoria. We will live among them. A beautiful life with children."

Both chuckles and Isabella hold phillip hand.

The others watched quietly, their exhaustion momentarily forgotten. Sirela hummed softly, her siren song blending with the crackle of the fire. Felix stared into the flames, unaware of her watchful eyes. Aurora tended to Lysandra, her gentle glow a comforting presence.

"Oh, God. Why you stuck me here. Especially with her." She is pointing on Lysandra.
Lysandra replied "I dont want any fight here."
Aurora said "so, shut up your mouth. Otherwise I'll broke your neck and turn you into a bloodthirsty vampire."

As the stars filled the sky, the group felt the weight of their journey. They had won a battle, but the war was far from over.

Isabella: (Looking at the group) "Rest now. Tomorrow, we face whatever comes next together."

𝑀𝑒𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒, 𝐸𝑉𝐸𝐿𝐼𝑁𝐴 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 1468, 𝑀𝑜𝑛𝑡ℎ 𝑜𝑓 𝑝𝑎𝑖𝑛,  𝑑𝑎𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝑏𝑖𝑛𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 3𝑟𝑑. 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑡 𝑓𝑎𝑑𝑒𝑑 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑜 𝑎 𝑣𝑖𝑠𝑢𝑎𝑙 𝑠𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑒.

𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑎𝑖𝑟 𝑤𝑎𝑠 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑣𝑦 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑑𝑒𝑠𝑝𝑎𝑖𝑟. 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑑𝑖𝑚𝑙𝑦 𝑙𝑖𝑡 ℎ𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑒𝑐ℎ𝑜𝑒𝑑 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑠ℎ𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑜𝑤 𝑏𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑡ℎ𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑚𝑢𝑓𝑓𝑙𝑒𝑑 𝑠𝑜𝑏𝑠. 𝑆ℎ𝑎𝑑𝑜𝑤𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑚𝑏𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑐ℎ𝑖𝑙𝑑𝑟𝑒𝑛 𝑑𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒𝑑 𝑎𝑐𝑟𝑜𝑠𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑗𝑎𝑔𝑔𝑒𝑑 𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑤𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑠, 𝑐𝑎𝑠𝑡 𝑏𝑦 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑓𝑙𝑖𝑐𝑘𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔, 𝑏𝑙𝑜𝑜𝑑-𝑟𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑠 𝑚𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑑 ℎ𝑖𝑔ℎ 𝑎𝑏𝑜𝑣𝑒. 𝐸𝑣𝑒𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑎 𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑜𝑑 𝑎𝑚𝑜𝑛𝑔 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑚, ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑓𝑟𝑎𝑖𝑙 𝑏𝑜𝑑𝑦 𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑚𝑏𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑔, 𝑏𝑢𝑡 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑙𝑑, 𝑓𝑒𝑎𝑟 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑒𝑥ℎ𝑎𝑢𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑔𝑟𝑖𝑝𝑝𝑒𝑑 ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑙𝑖𝑘𝑒 𝑎 𝑣𝑖𝑐𝑒.

𝑇ℎ𝑒 ℎ𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑡𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑑 𝑒𝑛𝑑𝑙𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑙𝑦, 𝑓𝑖𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑑 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑟𝑜𝑤𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑡𝑎𝑏𝑙𝑒𝑡𝑠 𝑖𝑛𝑠𝑐𝑟𝑖𝑏𝑒𝑑 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑟𝑢𝑛𝑒𝑠, 𝑓𝑙𝑜𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑎𝑏𝑜𝑣𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑐ℎ𝑖𝑙𝑑𝑟𝑒𝑛. 𝐸𝑎𝑐ℎ 𝑡𝑎𝑏𝑙𝑒𝑡 𝑝𝑢𝑙𝑠𝑒𝑑 𝑓𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑙𝑦, 𝑖𝑡𝑠 𝑙𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑔𝑟𝑜𝑤𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑏𝑟𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝑎 𝑐ℎ𝑖𝑙𝑑 𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑝𝑝𝑒𝑑 𝑏𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑎𝑡ℎ 𝑖𝑡. 𝐸𝑣𝑒𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑎 ℎ𝑎𝑑 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑟𝑢𝑚𝑜𝑟𝑠 𝑤ℎ𝑖𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑑 𝑎𝑚𝑜𝑛𝑔 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑐𝑎𝑝𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑠: 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑡𝑎𝑏𝑙𝑒𝑡𝑠 𝑐ℎ𝑜𝑠𝑒 𝑤ℎ𝑜 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑓𝑖𝑡 𝑡𝑜 𝑒𝑛𝑑𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑟𝑖𝑡𝑢𝑎𝑙 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑤ℎ𝑜 𝑤𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑 𝑏𝑒 𝑙𝑒𝑓𝑡 𝑡𝑜 𝑟𝑜𝑡.

“𝑀𝑜𝑣𝑒!” 𝑎 𝑔𝑢𝑎𝑟𝑑 𝑠𝑛𝑎𝑟𝑙𝑒𝑑, 𝑠ℎ𝑜𝑣𝑖𝑛𝑔 ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑤𝑎𝑟𝑑. 𝐸𝑣𝑒𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑎 𝑠𝑡𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑙𝑒𝑑, 𝑛𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑙𝑦 𝑓𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡𝑜 ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑘𝑛𝑒𝑒𝑠, 𝑏𝑢𝑡 𝑠ℎ𝑒 𝑐𝑎𝑢𝑔ℎ𝑡 ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑓. 𝐻𝑒𝑟 𝑤𝑖𝑑𝑒, 𝑡𝑒𝑎𝑟-𝑓𝑖𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑑 𝑒𝑦𝑒𝑠 𝑑𝑎𝑟𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑔𝑙𝑜𝑤𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑠𝑖𝑔𝑖𝑙 𝑒𝑡𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑑 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑓𝑙𝑜𝑜𝑟 𝑏𝑒𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑒 ℎ𝑒𝑟. 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑟𝑢𝑛𝑒𝑠 𝑐𝑎𝑟𝑣𝑒𝑑 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑔𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑑 𝑠𝑒𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑑 𝑎𝑙𝑖𝑣𝑒, 𝑠ℎ𝑖𝑓𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑡𝑤𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔, 𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑎 𝑐𝑟𝑢𝑒𝑙 𝑝𝑎𝑡𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑛 𝑚𝑒𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝑡𝑜 𝑏𝑖𝑛𝑑 ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑡𝑜 𝑤ℎ𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟 𝑛𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡𝑚𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑡𝑜 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑒.

𝑆ℎ𝑒 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑧𝑒, ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑓𝑒𝑒𝑡 𝑟𝑒𝑓𝑢𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡𝑜 𝑚𝑜𝑣𝑒.

“𝐼-𝐼 𝑑𝑜𝑛’𝑡 𝑤𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝑡𝑜 𝑑𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠,” 𝑠ℎ𝑒 𝑤ℎ𝑖𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑑.

“𝑌𝑜𝑢 ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑛𝑜 𝑐ℎ𝑜𝑖𝑐𝑒,” 𝐿𝑎𝑑𝑦 𝐶𝑜𝑟𝑣𝑎 𝑏𝑎𝑟𝑘𝑒𝑑, 𝑦𝑎𝑛𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑔 ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑎𝑟𝑚 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑐𝑖𝑛𝑔 ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑖𝑔𝑖𝑙.

𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑚𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑏𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑓𝑒𝑒𝑡 𝑡𝑜𝑢𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑔𝑙𝑜𝑤𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑠, 𝐸𝑣𝑒𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑎 𝑓𝑒𝑙𝑡 𝑎 𝑠𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑝𝑎𝑖𝑛 𝑠ℎ𝑜𝑜𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑔ℎ ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑏𝑜𝑑𝑦. 𝐼𝑡 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑢𝑛𝑙𝑖𝑘𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑦𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑠ℎ𝑒’𝑑 𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟 𝑓𝑒𝑙𝑡 𝑏𝑒𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑒, 𝑎𝑠 𝑖𝑓 𝑚𝑜𝑙𝑡𝑒𝑛 𝑖𝑟𝑜𝑛 𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑠𝑒𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑔ℎ ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑣𝑒𝑖𝑛𝑠. 𝐻𝑒𝑟 𝑠𝑐𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑚𝑠 𝑗𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑐ℎ𝑜𝑟𝑢𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑐𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑠 𝑒𝑐ℎ𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡ℎ𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑔ℎ 𝑡ℎ𝑒 ℎ𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑎𝑠 𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑐ℎ𝑖𝑙𝑑𝑟𝑒𝑛 𝑒𝑛𝑑𝑢𝑟𝑒𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑎𝑚𝑒 𝑎𝑔𝑜𝑛𝑦.

“𝐵𝑒𝑔𝑖𝑛!” 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑚𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑑 𝑎 𝑑𝑒𝑒𝑝, 𝑏𝑜𝑜𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑣𝑜𝑖𝑐𝑒 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠ℎ𝑎𝑑𝑜𝑤𝑠.

𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑓𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑝𝑝𝑒𝑑 𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑤𝑎𝑟𝑑, ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑓𝑎𝑐𝑒 ℎ𝑖𝑑𝑑𝑒𝑛 𝑏𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑎𝑡ℎ 𝑎 ℎ𝑜𝑜𝑑. 𝐻𝑖𝑠 𝑣𝑜𝑖𝑐𝑒 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑐𝑎𝑙𝑚 𝑏𝑢𝑡 𝑐𝑜𝑙𝑑, 𝑒𝑎𝑐ℎ 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑑 𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑒𝑑 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑚𝑎𝑙𝑖𝑐𝑒. “𝑇𝑜𝑑𝑎𝑦, 𝑤𝑒 𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑔𝑒 𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ. 𝑇𝑜𝑑𝑎𝑦, 𝑤𝑒 𝑠𝑒𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑡ℎ𝑦 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑤𝑒𝑎𝑘.”

𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑎𝑖𝑟 𝑔𝑟𝑒𝑤 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑣𝑖𝑒𝑟, 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑐𝑘 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑚𝑎𝑔𝑖𝑐 𝑠𝑜 𝑑𝑎𝑟𝑘 𝑖𝑡 𝑠𝑒𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝑠𝑎𝑝 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑦 𝑙𝑖𝑓𝑒 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑟𝑜𝑜𝑚. 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑟𝑖𝑡𝑢𝑎𝑙 ℎ𝑎𝑑 𝑏𝑒𝑔𝑢𝑛. 𝑇𝑒𝑛𝑑𝑟𝑖𝑙𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑏𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑘 𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑦 𝑠𝑛𝑎𝑘𝑒𝑑 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑡𝑎𝑏𝑙𝑒𝑡𝑠, 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑐ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑐ℎ𝑖𝑙𝑑𝑟𝑒𝑛. 𝐸𝑣𝑒𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑎 𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑑 𝑖𝑛 𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑟𝑜𝑟 𝑎𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑑𝑎𝑟𝑘 𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑑𝑟𝑖𝑙𝑠 𝑐𝑜𝑖𝑙𝑒𝑑 𝑎𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑑 ℎ𝑒𝑟, 𝑤𝑟𝑎𝑝𝑝𝑖𝑛𝑔 ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑏𝑜𝑑𝑦 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑖𝑟 𝑠𝑢𝑓𝑓𝑜𝑐𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑒𝑚𝑏𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑒.

“𝑁𝑜, 𝑛𝑜, 𝑛𝑜!” 𝑠ℎ𝑒 𝑐𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑑, 𝑡ℎ𝑟𝑎𝑠ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑎𝑔𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑠𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑖𝑛𝑣𝑖𝑠𝑖𝑏𝑙𝑒 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 ℎ𝑒𝑙𝑑 ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑖𝑛 𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑒.

𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑦 𝑝𝑖𝑒𝑟𝑐𝑒𝑑 ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑠𝑘𝑖𝑛, 𝑚𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑚𝑎𝑔𝑖𝑐. 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑝𝑎𝑖𝑛 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑢𝑛𝑏𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑎𝑏𝑙𝑒, 𝑙𝑖𝑘𝑒 𝑠ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑑𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑔𝑙𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝑟𝑖𝑝𝑝𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡ℎ𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑔ℎ ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑠𝑜𝑢𝑙. 𝑆ℎ𝑒 𝑓𝑒𝑙𝑡 ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ 𝑑𝑟𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔, ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑚𝑎𝑔𝑖𝑐 𝑏𝑒𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑙𝑒𝑛 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑡𝑤𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑜 𝑠𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑚𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑠. 𝐴𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑑 ℎ𝑒𝑟, 𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑐ℎ𝑖𝑙𝑑𝑟𝑒𝑛 𝑐𝑜𝑙𝑙𝑎𝑝𝑠𝑒𝑑, 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑖𝑟 𝑙𝑖𝑓𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑠𝑠 𝑏𝑜𝑑𝑖𝑒𝑠 𝑐𝑟𝑢𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑔𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑑.

𝐴 𝑔𝑖𝑟𝑙 𝑡𝑜 ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑙𝑒𝑓𝑡, 𝑛𝑜 𝑜𝑙𝑑𝑒𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑛 𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑒, 𝑓𝑒𝑙𝑙 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑎 𝑠𝑖𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑢𝑑. 𝐸𝑣𝑒𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑎 𝑏𝑖𝑡 𝑏𝑎𝑐𝑘 𝑎 𝑠𝑜𝑏. 𝑆ℎ𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑𝑛’𝑡 𝑐𝑜𝑙𝑙𝑎𝑝𝑠𝑒. 𝑆ℎ𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑𝑛’𝑡 𝑔𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑚 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑠𝑓𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑒𝑒𝑖𝑛𝑔 ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑏𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑘.

𝑆ℎ𝑒 𝑐𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑑 ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑓𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑠, 𝑛𝑎𝑖𝑙𝑠 𝑑𝑖𝑔𝑔𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑜 ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑝𝑎𝑙𝑚𝑠 𝑎𝑠 𝑠ℎ𝑒 𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑐𝑒𝑑 ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑓 𝑡𝑜 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑦 𝑢𝑝𝑟𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡. 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑝𝑎𝑖𝑛 𝑑𝑖𝑑𝑛’𝑡 𝑠𝑢𝑏𝑠𝑖𝑑𝑒; 𝑖𝑡 𝑜𝑛𝑙𝑦 𝑔𝑟𝑒𝑤 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑠𝑒. 𝐻𝑒𝑟 𝑣𝑖𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑏𝑙𝑢𝑟𝑟𝑒𝑑, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑘𝑛𝑒𝑒𝑠 𝑏𝑢𝑐𝑘𝑙𝑒𝑑, 𝑏𝑢𝑡 𝑠ℎ𝑒 𝑟𝑒𝑚𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑑 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔.

𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑒𝑟’𝑠 𝑣𝑜𝑖𝑐𝑒 𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑔 𝑜𝑢𝑡, 𝑐𝑢𝑡𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡ℎ𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑔ℎ 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑜𝑠. “𝑇ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑜𝑛𝑒…” 𝐻𝑒 𝑤𝑎𝑙𝑘𝑒𝑑 𝑐𝑙𝑜𝑠𝑒𝑟 𝑡𝑜 𝐸𝑣𝑒𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑎, ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑏𝑜𝑜𝑡𝑠 𝑒𝑐ℎ𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑜𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑜𝑢𝑠𝑙𝑦 𝑎𝑔𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑠𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑓𝑙𝑜𝑜𝑟. 𝐻𝑒 𝑡𝑖𝑙𝑡𝑒𝑑 ℎ𝑖𝑠 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑑 𝑎𝑠 ℎ𝑒 𝑒𝑥𝑎𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑑 ℎ𝑒𝑟, ℎ𝑖𝑠 ℎ𝑜𝑜𝑑 𝑠𝑙𝑖𝑝𝑝𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑗𝑢𝑠𝑡 𝑒𝑛𝑜𝑢𝑔ℎ 𝑡𝑜 𝑟𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑎𝑙 ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑝𝑖𝑒𝑟𝑐𝑖𝑛𝑔, 𝑢𝑛𝑓𝑒𝑒𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑒𝑦𝑒𝑠. “𝑆ℎ𝑒 𝑖𝑠 𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑜𝑛𝑔. 𝑆ℎ𝑒 𝑤𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑣𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑛𝑒𝑥𝑡 𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑎𝑙.”

𝐸𝑣𝑒𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑎’𝑠 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑡 𝑠𝑎𝑛𝑘. 𝑁𝑒𝑥𝑡 𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑎𝑙? 𝑆ℎ𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑𝑛’𝑡 𝑒𝑛𝑑𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡, 𝑙𝑒𝑡 𝑎𝑙𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑤ℎ𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟 ℎ𝑜𝑟𝑟𝑜𝑟𝑠 𝑎𝑤𝑎𝑖𝑡𝑒𝑑 ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑛𝑒𝑥𝑡.

“𝑌𝑜𝑢’𝑟𝑒 𝑎 𝑚𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑟!” 𝑠ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑝𝑎𝑡, ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑣𝑜𝑖𝑐𝑒 𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑚𝑏𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑏𝑜𝑡ℎ 𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑓𝑒𝑎𝑟.

𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑒𝑟 𝑐ℎ𝑢𝑐𝑘𝑙𝑒𝑑 𝑑𝑎𝑟𝑘𝑙𝑦. “𝐴𝑛𝑑 𝑦𝑜𝑢, 𝑚𝑦 𝑑𝑒𝑎𝑟, 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑎 𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑣𝑖𝑣𝑜𝑟. 𝐵𝑢𝑡 𝑤𝑒’𝑙𝑙 𝑠𝑒𝑒 ℎ𝑜𝑤 𝑙𝑜𝑛𝑔 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑙𝑎𝑠𝑡𝑠.”

𝐵𝑒𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝑠ℎ𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑 𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑝𝑜𝑛𝑑, 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑖𝑔𝑖𝑙 𝑏𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑎𝑡ℎ ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑓𝑒𝑒𝑡 𝑓𝑙𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑑, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑠ℎ𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑙𝑙𝑎𝑝𝑠𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑔𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑑. 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑟𝑖𝑡𝑢𝑎𝑙 ℎ𝑎𝑑 𝑒𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑑, 𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑣𝑖𝑛𝑔 ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑔𝑎𝑠𝑝𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑏𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑡ℎ, ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑏𝑜𝑑𝑦 𝑤𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑘𝑒𝑑 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑝𝑎𝑖𝑛.

𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑔𝑢𝑎𝑟𝑑𝑠 𝑚𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑑 𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑐𝑘𝑙𝑦, 𝑑𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑔𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑢𝑛𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑐𝑖𝑜𝑢𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑑𝑒𝑎𝑑 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑡ℎ𝑒 ℎ𝑎𝑙𝑙. 𝐸𝑣𝑒𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑎 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑙𝑒𝑓𝑡 𝑙𝑦𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑜𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑙𝑑, 𝑢𝑛𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑔𝑖𝑣𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑛𝑒. 𝐻𝑒𝑟 𝑣𝑖𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑏𝑙𝑢𝑟𝑟𝑒𝑑, 𝑏𝑢𝑡 𝑠ℎ𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑 𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑚𝑎𝑘𝑒 𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑒𝑟’𝑠 𝑓𝑖𝑔𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑎𝑠 ℎ𝑒 𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑛𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝑎𝑑𝑑𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑓𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛.

“𝑃𝑟𝑒𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑛𝑒𝑥𝑡 𝑝ℎ𝑎𝑠𝑒,” ℎ𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑚𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑑.

𝐸𝑣𝑒𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑎 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 “𝑊𝑒 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑓𝑎𝑟 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑓𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑠ℎ𝑒𝑑.”
𝑆ℎ𝑒 𝑤ℎ𝑖𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑠 "𝑤ℎ𝑦 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑦 𝑑𝑖𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑡𝑜 𝑢𝑠? 𝑊ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑦 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑦 𝑤𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝑎𝑓𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑐𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑢𝑙𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑤𝑖𝑡𝑐ℎ?" 𝑇ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑠𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑞𝑢𝑒𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑖𝑛 ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑑 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑠𝑤𝑒𝑟𝑠 𝑠ℎ𝑒 𝑑𝑜𝑒𝑠𝑛𝑡 𝑘𝑛𝑜𝑤.

The night air was cool as Jenna stepped into the bar. Her black shift dress clung to her figure effortlessly, her red lips a striking contrast against her soft complexion. A delicate necklace sparkled faintly under the dim lights. Her eyes scanned the room until they settled on him. He was sitting calmly, his presence commanding attention without even trying. He had the kind of kindness in his eyes that made her pause.

Summoning her courage, Jenna walked over and slid into the seat across from him. He looked up, a warm smile spreading across his face.

“Hi,” he said gently, extending his hand. “I’m Nathan.”

Jenna hesitated for a moment, then reached out, her fingers brushing his. His handshake was firm yet comforting, and it sent a warmth up her arm she hadn’t expected.

“You already know my name,” she said softly, her lips curving into a small smile.

Nathan nodded. “I do, but I think introductions are still important. It’s nice to officially meet you, Jenna.”

She chuckled, her cheeks flushing slightly. “How did you even find me here?”

Nathan leaned back slightly, his eyes steady on hers. “The work certificate. It had your address. I hope it wasn’t intrusive.”

“No, not at all,” she said quickly, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “Actually... thank you. For coming.”

“It’s my pleasure,” Nathan said, his voice rich with sincerity. “I felt like I needed to check on you after last night. You seemed... upset.”

Jenna’s face fell slightly, her fingers tracing the edge of her glass. “Yeah, about that,” she began hesitantly. “I’m sorry for being so rude. I was drunk and... it’s just my past relationship. It messed me up.”

Nathan leaned forward, his gaze soft but unwavering. “You don’t need to apologize. We’ve all been there. I’m just glad you’re okay.”

For a moment, Jenna didn’t know what to say. She looked down, trying to gather her thoughts, but her eyes kept flickering back up to his face. There was something about him—his calmness, his care—that felt different.

“No one understands me,” she finally admitted, her voice barely above a whisper. “Not really.”

Nathan’s brow furrowed slightly, his expression thoughtful. “Maybe they just didn’t try hard enough,” he said quietly. “Or maybe they weren’t meant to.”

Jenna looked at him then, really looked at him. His words were simple, but they carried a weight that hit her heart in a way nothing else had in a long time.

“I feel like you understand,” she said, her voice wavering just slightly.

Nathan smiled, his hand resting lightly on the table. “I’d like to try.”

Jenna couldn’t help the small smile that broke through her sadness. She leaned forward slightly, her fingers brushing the chain of her necklace as her gaze softened. “Thank you. I mean it. For tonight, for showing up... for just being here.”

“You don’t have to thank me, Jenna,” Nathan said, his voice warm. “You deserve someone to be there for you. Always.”

Her heart skipped a beat. The way he looked at her, like she was worth something, made her feel like she could finally breathe again.

As they talked, the tension in Jenna’s shoulders eased, replaced by a feeling she hadn’t felt in years—hope. Nathan listened intently, his eyes never leaving hers, and for the first time in a long time, Jenna felt seen.