People stared at us in shock and rushed past. Some whispered, some pointed. I didn't care.I walked slowly toward my sister, her eyes wide, filled with tears—anger, fear, heartbreak.
"Why did you do that?" she cried out, her voice trembling.
I looked at her and said quietly, "I should've cut more of my hair."
She gasped, then suddenly ripped the knife out of my hand.
"You scared me! You're so different!" she screamed.
And then she ran.Just like that.
Now I stood there, hair tangled in my fingers, pieces of myself scattered on the wet ground.Alone.
I hadn't meant to hurt her.I hadn't meant to hurt myself.But maybe… I already was.
Someone tapped my shoulder gently. I turned around.It was him.
The stranger the man
"You're really brave," he said, eyes calm but sharp, "Just cutting your hair like that."
I said nothing.
"It's normal to argue with people," he continued, "But maybe that wasn't the best way to deal with it."
I nodded, barely holding it together.His voice softened. "I can help you, you know."
I frowned. "Help me… how?"
He studied me, then asked, "Do you remember anything?"
I shook my head slowly.
Then he smiled, slightly crooked. "Ever heard of the Rain of the Past?"
I blinked. "What?"
"Anyone who stands in that rain… sees memories. Their truth. Their past."
I stared at him, heart pounding.
He added, "There's a path. A palace, deep within the North Forest. The map is hidden there. But the way is long. And very dangerous."
I opened my mouth to respond—but then I sneezed. Great.
He chuckled. "I'm Raiden. And you?"
I sighed. "You probably heard my sister screaming it… Eloula."
He smiled. "Then maybe we'll see each other again, Eloula."
And just like that, he walked away. Calm. Silent.But something in my chest moved.
He felt… familiar.Why?
I watched him vanish into the mist.And whispered, "I hope we meet again…"
The whole day I stayed locked in my room. I didn't eat. Didn't cry. Didn't speak.Until my father came crashing in like a storm.
"YOUNG LADY, COME HERE. NOW."
I followed him silently into a small room.My sister was there, in tears. My mother beside her.
"ELOULA!" he roared. "WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?"
I said nothing.
He grabbed my arm. "You scared your sister so much!"
"I don't care," I snapped. "She embarrassed me. In front of someone important."
My sister jumped up. "You don't even KNOW him! You just met him and said, 'He seems cool.' That's it!"
I ignored her.
My father glared.
"You want to act like this? Your shoulder-length hair is not beautiful. You won't look like a lady anymore. No one wants a girl like you."
I looked into the mirror.And then something flickered.Blood. Darkness. Screams.
Not me. But me.
Suddenly I screamed.
"HOW COULD YOU LIE TO ME ALL THIS TIME?!""I WASN'T EVEN YOUR REAL DAUGHTER, WAS I?!"
They froze.
And then—my mother stood. Voice shaking.
"…Because we don't know either."
I blinked.
She continued, softer this time.
"We found you, not as a baby, but around 17. You were lying in the mud, bleeding, barely alive. We thought you were going to die. You had no memory when you woke up. We thought… maybe it was better to say you were adopted. To protect you."
My throat went dry. "So it's true…"
I was never truly part of them.Just a stranger they pitied.
I turned to my sister. "You never really wanted to be my sister, did you?"
She stared at me. Then whispered, "That's not true. I… I did care. But now I'm scared. Who even are you?"
"I don't know yet," I replied. "But I will find out."
"What does that mean?"
I looked down, then back at her."I'll find out who I am. And what my destiny is."
I turned to all of them and said one last thing.
"Thank you for sheltering me. But I'm not staying. I came from nowhere. And that's exactly where I'll return."
No one stopped me.
I packed my things in silence. My knives. Some coins. My worn-out boots.
And I left the Imperial Palace behind.
The air outside was cold. The village was strangely quiet. I walked and walked until my legs gave out.Rain started to fall.
And I cried.
For the sister I lost. For the truth that shattered everything.For the girl I once pretended to be.
I lay in the wet dirt, the cold sinking into my skin.I didn't care.
But then—
A shadow above me.
And a hand.
I looked up.
Raiden.
He knelt beside me. His voice was deep and steady.
"Don't cry, Eloula. I told you—I'll help you."
This time, I believed him.