The bus moved through the dark highway, its engine humming in a steady rhythm. Most of the passengers were asleep, their heads resting against the windows or slumped over their seats.
He stared out the window, his breath fogging up the cold glass.
"How long have I been here?"
The thought drifted lazily through his mind, but he didn't bother answering it. The time didn't matter anymore.
Only the fact that he was leaving.
Leaving behind the remnants of a life that had crumbled in front of him.
Smoke. Gunfire. Shouts drowned in chaos.
He squeezed his eyes shut, shaking the memory away.
"No more."
A soft vibration in his pocket snapped him back to reality. He pulled out his almost-dead phone.
[1 New Message]
Mom:
"Did you eat before leaving?"
He exhaled, his fingers hovering over the keyboard.
He hesitated. Then.
Me:
"Yeah."
It was a lie. He hadn't eaten all day.
A moment later, another message arrived.
Mom:
"I packed something in your bag. Eat when you can. Stay safe."
His grip tightened around the phone.
"Stay safe."
That was all she could say. No long messages. No desperate pleas for him to turn back. Just quiet acceptance.
Because she knew.
There was no turning back.
The phone dimmed, the last bit of battery flickering away before it shut off completely.
He leaned against the window, his fingers gripping the strap of his bag. His eyes grew heavy, the exhaustion finally pulling him under.
And then
A vision.
Blurry. Indistinct.
A place he didn't recognize. A figure standing alone.
The details slipped through his fingers like grains of sand.
The wind. The sky. The faint sound of something crashing in the distance.
Who was it?
Where was this?
His chest tightened, a strange sense of familiarity washing over him.
And then.
Darkness.
The dream slipped away before he could grasp it.
The bus rumbled forward, the journey far from over.
- Somewhere Else -
The wind howled against the cliffside, carrying the scent of salt and distant storms. Waves crashed against jagged rocks far below, restless and wild, as if mirroring the turmoil within.
A lone figure stood there, motionless, gaze locked onto the endless ocean.
The sky stretched above vast and dark, sprinkled with faint stars that flickered like dying embers.
This place had always been an escape. The only place where breathing felt possible.
But tonight, it felt different.
Tonight, it wasn't just about standing at the edge.
It was about leaving it.
Fingers tightened around a crumpled envelope. The words inside had been read over and over. Not an invitation, an expectation.
A choice made by others. A future already decided.
A place she had never set foot in before.
A world beyond this island.
She had never known the feeling of being unseen.
Of being unknown.
Would it be terrifying? Or freeing?
She took a slow step forward, the edge of the cliff mere inches away. The wind was stronger here, pulling at her clothes, whispering something she couldn't quite understand.
"What if—"
A sudden sound.
She froze.
A rustling behind.
Not the wind. Not the sea.
Something else.
Someone else.
Her grip on the envelope tightened as she turned, slowly, cautiously.
And then.
She saw it.
A shadow.
Standing just beyond the reach of the moonlight.
Watching.
Waiting.
Her pulse quickened.
The waves crashed louder.
The wind howled against her ears.
And in that moment, as the ocean stretched before her and the unknown loomed behind.
She realized.
She wasn't alone.