Tomorrow, at sunset, you will find me at the Red Café."
I couldn't sleep that night. At dawn, I still went to school, but my mother told me I looked sick and should rest. Instead, I went to meet Sara to collect the lessons.
Every step I took, my heartbeat grew louder. Fear, longing, confusion—all mixed together.
I arrived at the café and found a taxi waiting for me. As soon as I approached, the driver asked me to get in. Without thinking, I did.
We drove far outside the city until we reached a luxurious palace, like something from a fairy tale. I stepped out, and guards opened the door for me.
As I walked in, I felt something strange—this place was not unfamiliar… as if I had known it before.
In the middle of the palace, I stood trying to understand my emotions, when I saw someone descending the stairs.
Yes… it was the knight… or Malik, I didn't even know his real name anymore.
He walked toward me with a confident smile, took my hand, and said:
"Welcome to your palace, my princess."
My mind went blank. I couldn't speak.
He said, "Today you will learn everything about me. I am Malik, from the Red Jinn tribe."
I pulled my hand away and shouted, "What nonsense is this? You are the one who killed Hamza, and now you want to kill me!"
He grabbed me firmly and said:
"Rana… you are one of us too."
His words shattered my entire world.
His words struck my ears like lightning. How could I be one of them? How could an ordinary, limited girl belong to another world?
I left the palace trembling. Reality was buried under illusion. The only word repeating inside my mind was: Rana… this is just hallucination… just dreams… yes, hallucination and madness.
I don't know how I got home, but I couldn't go inside. I stood staring at the house where I had lived my entire life since childhood, watching my mother through the window as she was busy preparing dinner. I kept asking myself: do I even belong to them?
I desperately needed to talk to someone, so I went to Sara's house. I knocked, and her mother opened the door. She looked surprised that I had come at such a time, so I asked to see Sara.
Sara came out and said, "Why do you look so pale? Did you find the singer?"
I replied sadly, "I wish I never found him… and I wish I never went to that party."
She said, "Why? Anyone seeing how desperate you were to find him wouldn't believe you now."
With tears in my eyes, I said, "I've gone crazy, Sara… my life is ruined."
"Why all this? Tell me everything," she said.
So I began to tell her everything. But instead of looking surprised, I saw belief in her eyes—she believed every word I said. Then she grabbed my hand, took me into her room, and locked the door.
She whispered, "I believe you… what you are saying is real. You are a queen of the Red Kings. I don't know how, but your soul was placed into this body because you were born on the night of the blood moon. Malik was your guardian because you were a target."
I said, "How do you know this? Are you only my friend to get close to me and learn my secrets?"
She replied, "No, Rana. I am here to protect you."
I stepped back and said, "What? Are you one of them too?"
Then I ran away, not knowing where to go. I felt betrayed by the closest person to me. Even though Sara was harsh, she was the one who understood me most.
I walked until I reached home. I opened the door and found my family—who, in truth, was not my real family—sitting together at the dinner table, as if I didn't exist. They didn't wait for me or ask about me.
I went to my room, lay on my bed, and closed my eyes.
Then the whisper returned:
"I know you don't want me, Rana… I know I changed your life… but you are in danger, and I must stay by your side to protect you."
I screamed, "Stop speaking to me from the shadows! Show yourself!"
In an instant, Malik appeared.
He was wearing sports pants, shirtless. His muscular body and striking beauty were overwhelming. He sat next to me and held my hand. Strangely, I did not resist—I surrendered.
He said, "Listen to me, Rana. On our wedding day, I stole your soul and placed it into this human body because all conditions were fulfilled. The goal was to weaken you and eventually kill you. But I never gave up. I crossed all realms and dimensions to find you, and I found you on the night you were born. Since then, I have stayed by your side to protect you from every attack."
With a trembling voice, I asked, "Why are you appearing to me now?"
He said, "Because you are in danger, Rana."
My mother opened the door and said, "What's wrong, Rana? Why didn't you come to dinner?"
I fell into her arms and said, "Tell me about the day I was born."
She said, "Ah… that day… your brother Ahmed was three years old, and he had a school celebration. You were supposed to be born a week later, as the doctor said. While I was at the event, I went to the bathroom and met an old woman who touched my belly and said, 'Today, a chosen one will be born.' A few hours later, labor began. It was midnight, and there was a red moon visible through the delivery room window. The pain intensified. When you were born, you let out a strange scream, like the voice of an adult woman rather than a baby. Your birth was unusual, Rana… but you are my beloved daughter, my pride."
My mother's words confirmed everything Malik and Sara had said, pulling me deeper into a spiral of isolation.Part Three of My Story