The walk home from Greenbell bookstore was always the same.
A left turn at the dented lamp post. Move past the rusted mailbox shaped like a duck. A shortcut through the tangled path behind the chapel.
It may not have been the quickest route, but it was certainly the most peaceful.
And Niah cherished that peace. It whispered the secrets of a world she felt she could grasp.
Wrapping her scarf tightly around her neck, she braced against the wind that danced through the narrow streets of Eldermere, swirling the rich scents of moss and damp stone around her. Ahead stood the chapel, tall and bent with the weight of years, its bell long absent, yet its looming presence echoed loudly.
Typically, she wouldn't give it a second thought. Just another piece of Eldermere's history.
But today… today felt different.
As she strolled by the arched window along the chapel's side wall, muffled voices caught her attention, two distinct tones as though they were upto something big.
She instinctively slowed her pace, becoming conscious of the gravel crunching unpleasantly beneath her feet.
She leaned closer and heard a man's deep and steady voice.
"I've told you, he's already among us. Rain walks among them again." The other voice was aged and whispered almost too faintly for the wind to carry it. "And what about the girl?"
A brief silence lingered.
"At present, she doesn't remember anything. But she will, sooner than we expect."
Niah halted in her tracks.
Rain?
The name echoed within her, sending an unsettling ripple through her heart.
She pressed closer to the frigid stone wall, catching her breath, her ears straining to detect the gravity of the conversation weaving through the twilight.
The older voice returned with caution, each word resonating with warning. "The ties are growing fragile. It's time… we cannot afford to fail."
Just then, she heard a soft rustling and then footsteps walking closer to her.
Niah's eyes went wide and a wave of panic engulfed her; it felt like fire in her veins.
Without looking, she crouched low as her instincts was on high alert, and darted past the chapel, her heart pounding like a drum against her chest.
It beat so loudly that she feared it would give her away.
* * *
Once reaching her building, she fumbled with her keys at the door, her hands shaking.
That line echoed again, like a whisper stitched into the wind.
Rain walks among them again.
Why did that word stick with her? Rain…was it a name? Or maybe it was something else? Something deep down, too subtle for her to grasp
* * *
Once inside, she dropped her bag, took a deep breath, and steadied herself for a minute to let go of all the unwanted thoughts and took on the challenge of making dinner, as a diversion.
As expected, it went Horrible.
Half-burnt rice, something that started as a dal and turned into a yellow puddle due to excess water, and an aggressive kitchen fire alarm that Maria had personally gifted her because she knew Niah too well that she would need it.
So, here she was, munching on cereal on the balcony, her hair pulled back in a messy bun, wearing mismatched socks and loose Pyjamas.
She chuckled to herself, thinking, "If my life were a TV show, it would've been cancelled halfway through the season."
Above her, the stars twinkled softly.
Little did she know, the world she thought, which was just made up of books, memories, and burnt meals was starting to shift.
Somewhere else in Eldermere, someone else had picked up on those same whispers.
And he was not surprised.
* * *