As the sun poured through the window, it felt like a gentle apology for a new day.
Niah stirred beneath her blanket, her arm shielding her eyes from the brightness. The cereal box from last night lay open on the side table, the air of her apartment filled with the unmistakable scent of overcooked food.
Yet it wasn't the chaos that weighed on her mind, but it was that word surfacing again.
Rain.
It echoed in her dreams, those whispers trailing her like ghosts. It felt as if a door awaited her opening. She didn't even grasp what she was supposed to fear, which somehow made her more unsettling.
With a heavy sigh and reluctance, Niah braced herself to start the day.
* * *
The air felt strange at Greenbell Bookstore.
As Niah stocked the shelves with books, her body was there, but her mind floated elsewhere; even Maria couldn't help but notice.
"You look a bit pale," she said, adjusting the antique leather-bound book display.
Then, without a hint of hesitation, she asked, "Are you pregnant?"
Niah nearly dropped the book in shock. "Wha—no!" she exclaimed, her wide eyes and flushed face turning a shade alarmingly close to crimson.
"Then take a seat and drink some water, or you'll drop dead and haunt this place, forcing us to start a ghost tour." With a warm smile, Maria casually walked towards the back shelf.
Niah let out a half-hearted laugh, then slumped behind the counter chair. She reached for a glass of water, hoping it would steady her nerves.
By then, Jules rushed in, her scarf twisted and cheeks bright red from the cold. She glanced at Niah's dreary face and remarked, "You look like a spooky house today."
Niah blinked, caught between confusion and mild offence. "Thanks?"
Leaning closer, Jules usual teasing tone was filled with curiosity. "What happened?"
Niah hesitated. "I heard something strange last night. Near the chapel on my way home."
Jules froze mid-action, blinking rapidly. "You walked past the chapel?"
Niah nodded slowly.
In a lowered voice that edged on caution, Jules responded, "You're not supposed to go there, you know. They say strange things happen there."
"I know… but—", Niah stammered
"But?"
Niah exhaled, uncertainty lingering in the air, the memory gathering like a relentless chill. "They murmured something like… 'Rain walks among them again.'"
Jules playful demeanor vanished, and seriousness replaced it in an instant.
"Rain?"
Niah nodded tighter this time.
"Yeah. I have no idea what it means. But when I heard it… I could feel it. Like a string tugging at me. I can't explain why."
Jules parted her lips, momentarily at a loss for words. Then softly replied, "That's… weird."
Clutching her water like a lifeline, Niah felt her heart race.
"Exactly," she muttered back.
"It seemed like it wasn't meant for me, like it was something I shouldn't have heard. But somehow, it still found me."
Outside, rain hammered against the glass door in relentless sheets, the first true storm Eldermere had seen in weeks, showing no signs of letting up.
For a brief moment… it felt as if it was more than just a coincidence.
* * *
The rest of the day crawled by. Customers drifted in and out like leaves falling from trees in autumn. Niah strove to shake off the weight that clung to her, an essence as casual as the scent of ageing books and whiskers of unanswered questions.
That evening, on her way home, Niah found herself approaching the chapel again. Unintentionally, she slowed her steps. The door stood ajar, just enough for someone to have slipped in recently. Rather than step closer, she peered cautiously from the path.
Up on the tower, the old iron bell shifted. A small and deliberate sway. What caught Niah's attention was that there was no wind or any reason for it to move at all. Yet it danced, as if a breath brushed through it, or as if someone had given it a gentle push.
Her throat tightened, and she instinctively began to back away.
Then, from inside the chapel, a sound floated out, a soft laugh, twisted at the edges, like a memory surfacing that shouldn't have been forgotten.
Without waiting to hear more, Niah turned and fled towards her home.
Yet beneath the chapel's looming shadows… Zaire stood quiet, eyeing Niah's vanishing figure while gazing up at the bell.
"It's starting," he murmured to no one in particular. And behind him, the door creaked open.
* * *