Morning came slowly.
Soft light spilled through the tall windows of Arman's living room, turning the marble floor pale gold. The city outside was beginning to wake up the distant traffic, the hum of life returning after the quiet of night.
But inside the house, neither of them felt peaceful.
Arman hadn't gone back to sleep.
He sat at the kitchen counter with a cup of coffee he hadn't touched, his eyes fixed on Samantha.
She stood near the window again, staring outside like she was trying to see something that wasn't there.
The memory from the night before still hung between them.
The Uber.
The driver.
The road that led away from the city.
"You said the city lights disappeared," Arman said quietly.
Samantha nodded.
"Yes."
"And the driver didn't answer you."
"No."
Arman leaned forward, resting his elbows on the counter.
"Try again," he said gently.
"Remember everything you can."
Samantha closed her eyes.
For a moment, nothing happened.
Just silence.
Then slowly, she spoke.
"It was quiet."
Her voice sounded distant.
"Too quiet."
Arman didn't interrupt.
"The car smelled strange," she continued.
"Like… cleaning chemicals."
He frowned slightly.
"Bleach?"
She hesitated.
"…maybe."
Her brows pulled together as the memory pushed forward.
"I remember looking outside," she said.
"But the buildings were gone."
"What do you mean gone?"
"The tall ones," she said.
"The lights."
She slowly opened her eyes.
"It was darker."
Arman's stomach tightened.
"Like suburbs?"
Samantha shook her head.
"No."
"Then what?"
She looked at him.
"Empty."
The word made the room feel colder.
Arman stood up slowly.
"Empty how?"
"Like… unfinished roads."
Her voice trembled slightly.
"Construction areas."
He felt something click in his mind.
"Did you see anything specific?"
Samantha pressed her fingers against her temples again.
The memory flickered.
Pieces sliding together.
"I remember the road turning."
"How?"
"A long curve."
"To the left."
Arman walked closer.
"What else?"
Her breathing slowed.
"I saw water."
His eyebrows rose slightly.
"Water?"
"Yes."
"Like a river?"
She shook her head.
"Bigger."
Arman's heart skipped.
"A lake?"
"No."
She looked at him again.
"…the sea."
The word hung between them.
Arman felt the pieces beginning to shift.
"You were near the coast."
Samantha nodded slowly.
"I think so."
The memory grew sharper now.
"The road ran along the water," she whispered.
"And there were yellow lights."
"Streetlights?"
"No."
Her expression tightened.
"They were taller."
Arman's mind raced.
"Industrial lights?"
Her eyes widened slightly.
"Yes."
"Yes, that's it."
Something about that word triggered another flash.
The memory slammed into her suddenly.
The car slowing.
Gravel under the tires.
The sound of waves hitting something hard.
Metal.
The smell of salt in the air.
And in the distance.....
Huge shadows.
Buildings.
Tall.
Square.
Like giant boxes stacked near the water.
Her chest tightened.
"I remember cranes," she whispered suddenly.
Arman's head snapped up.
"What?"
"Big ones."
Her hands moved slightly, trying to describe the shape.
"Like metal arms."
He stared at her.
"Shipping cranes."
Her breathing quickened.
"Yes."
"Yes, that's it."
The memory grew darker.
More vivid.
"I remember containers."
"Rows of them."
Red.
Blue.
Stacked high.
Her voice began to shake.
"And the car stopped."
The room went completely silent.
Arman felt the air leave his lungs slowly.
A port.
The driver had taken her to the docks.
He stepped closer.
"What happened after the car stopped?"
Samantha's face went pale.
The memory tried to push forward again.
But something blocked it.
Like a door slamming shut inside her mind.
Her eyes squeezed shut.
"I can't see it," she whispered.
"Something happened there."
"What happened?" Arman asked softly.
But she shook her head.
"I don't know."
Her voice trembled.
"It's like my mind refuses to show me."
Arman gently placed a hand on the counter beside her.
"Hey," he said quietly.
"It's okay."
Samantha opened her eyes slowly.
Fear lingered there.
"But I know one thing."
"What?"
She looked straight at him.
"That place wasn't random."
Arman nodded.
"I know."
The driver hadn't gotten lost.
He had driven somewhere specific.
Somewhere quiet.
Somewhere no one would see.
Samantha's gaze drifted back toward the window.
"The sea was loud," she said softly.
"I remember that."
Arman stared at her.
"You heard waves."
"Yes."
"Strong ones."
That narrowed it down even more.
Ports.
Docks.
Industrial areas near the water.
Arman's mind was already mapping the city.
And there weren't many places like that.
Samantha looked back at him.
"You know somewhere like that."
He nodded slowly.
"Yeah."
"Where?"
He took a breath.
"The cargo docks."
Her expression darkened.
"Then that's where he took me."
Arman's jaw tightened.
"And that's where we're going."
Samantha blinked.
"We?"
He met her gaze.
"You said you wanted answers."
"Yes."
He grabbed his keys from the counter.
"Well," he said quietly.
"Let's go find them."
For the first time since her death, Samantha felt something unfamiliar stirring inside her chest.
Hope.
But neither of them noticed something else.
Something strange.
As Samantha stood near the window.....for just a second...
Her reflection appeared in the glass.
And then vanished.