She saw herself.
Sofi saw Sofi — only this version wasn't quite her. The difference was small but chilling: the eyes were colder, sharper… and the smile — a smile Sofi had never worn in her life.
Fear surged through her chest. She turned and ran — but the path that took her only minutes to reach now seemed endless. Fifteen minutes of running, and still no way out.
She was trapped.
Her breath came out ragged as she pressed her back to a wall, trying to steady herself.
That's when she felt it — a presence behind her. A shadow.
A boy's shadow.
As Sofi sank down in the corner, exhausted and trembling, flashes from the past began to tear through her mind like broken film reels.
She remembered — she was younger then.
One evening, while returning from tuition, night had fallen too soon.
Her society — usually loud and full of people — was strangely empty.
All the stores were closed, shutters down, streets silent.
And Sofi was walking alone.
At least, she thought she was… until she heard footsteps behind her.
She ran — heart hammering, breath shaking — and finally reached home.
But ironically, even there, no one was waiting.
The whole house was spotless, everything in place, but there was no trace of anyone — not her mother, not her father, not even a sound.
She screamed for them — calling out, searching every room, every corner, even the bathroom.
No answer.
Her throat burned from shouting when suddenly… she saw someone pass by.
And the moment their eyes met — something inside her shattered.
Darkness.
When she woke, she was lying outside her society's gate.
But the strange part?
She had never remembered this before.
Not until now.
Why did that memory come back today?
Why did something she had buried so deep suddenly crawl to the surface?
She didn't know what she saw that night…
But the feeling — that cold, crawling sensation — was the same.
And so was the shadow.