Mark POV
After the storm passed, Noctrya just did not smell the same. It was all clean and wet, sort of quiet like the city wanted to rinse off what happened before.
Those clouds hung low still casting shadows that stuck in my head no matter what.
I woke up earlier than usual. There was no heavy feeling on me this time, just this pull to go see her. Lyra. Saying her name out loud felt like wind moving through leaves. I could almost taste it.
Yesterday her hand was warm in mine and her voice shook a little. She mentioned how I made the town feel alive again. I am not sure I got what she meant exactly but it pulled me in.
When I got to the cafe she looked up and said you're early. Yeah, I told her, trying to smile back like she was. Nice to see you.
She laughed that soft way, shaking her head. I do but not from people like you. Her face turned red after that and I kind of wanted to hold onto that moment.
We walked the streets that morning just talking low. She opened up about her dad who used to run the cafe until he passed.
It became her way to keep him around in a way. Even with Noctrya being so rough and cold the place had this warmth from all those memories.
Her voice broke when she talked about him once.
Made me see she was not really strong just getting by. Kind of like how I was doing it too.
Sometimes I think people like us end up finding each other, she said quietly, because we have the same issues. I nodded along.
She had a point. All the stuff that dragged me here, my running away from the mess back home, isied into why we crossed paths. Our talk felt fragile like a bridge between two people who had been on their own for so long.
From that point on, she started leaving notes on my window each morning. I would meet her at the cafe in the evenings.
We laughed at little things, shared jokes and got to know the rough parts of each other bit by bit.
Then it was Friday. The door to the cafe swung open and this guy walked in. He seemed familiar at first but I could not place him right away. My stomach just dropped when it hit me who he was.
How are you?
I froze before I could say anything. His being there filled up the whole room heavy like he owned it. Lyra went still next to me. She had no idea about my past or my family or that name I tried to shake off.
I don't go by that anymore, I said softly. He chuckled a bit. The world doesn't forget the son of a billionaire. Lyra just looked confused, standing there, not moving, not saying a word.
I could not talk either. All that thought was buried caught up to me right then. He slid a card over. Your father's state. They have been trying to find you. Things have changed now. You might want to check it out.
Her eyes went to mine searching. Is it true? Yes, I whispered. I didn't want you to know.
Didn't want you seeing me as just money or power or some problem to solve. Her look softened. I don't care who you were before she said. I care about who you are here. But if you go back you will still be the same.
That hit me hard. I saw how I had kept things hidden, lied in a way, maybe even hurt her without meaning to. Noctrya was not safe and I could not let my past pull anyone else in.
She walked out not long after. I did not answer her question. I knew it hurt her but lying more was not an option.
That night I stared out the window at the moonlight hitting the puddles below. Stars mixed in too. Questions kept spinning through too many paths.
I could not control what came before or what was out there. Just had to get ready for whatever hit next.
The streets buzzed the next day like normal. I spotted her outside the cafe watching waiting. I walked up slowly.
I know this is all confusing, I said. Didn't tell you everything because I was scared you would see me differently. I wanted you to know me now, not the stuff I ran from.
She nodded, not saying much at first. I get that she said softly. But you have to trust me too. Simple words but they weighed a lot. In a place like this full of letdowns, it felt like maybe someone could actually get it.
We walked some more. I tried playing it normally, but that past kept pressing down quietly and steadily.
Later, while helping close the cafe, I breathed in the wet wood and coffee smell. Rain had cleared outside leaving puddles that caught the street lamps' dim light.
You don't have to hold it all by yourself she said with a small smile. I've learned that the hard way I replied.
We did not talk after. Silence worked fine on its own like its own kind of ease.
Lying there that night, thoughts of her and the stranger's old life kept coming.
Choices were closing in and I had no clue which way to go. But for once it did not feel totally empty being alone.
Noctrya still had its sharp sides. With h though, maybe I could handle them without getting lost. And trust me, it seems like something I could pick up again, sort of.