Rain drummed against the tin roof of the school that night, filling the empty corridors with a steady rhythm. It was the heaviest rainy season in years. The roads of SmirnCity were flooded, and the power had been disrupted by the strong winds. The hum of radios and the flicker of television screens carried warnings about the worsening weather, with reports of accidents spreading across the news.
In the midst of the storm, a teenage girl sat on the cold, damp stone steps of the schoolyard with no umbrella. She hugged her knees tightly to her chest, her fingers digging into the fabric of her soaked uniform skirt. Her long, wet hair clung to her face and neck, dripping as the rain mercilessly poured down. She shivered, but it wasn't just from the cold.
Her gaze remained fixed at the far end of the road, her eyes slightly swollen, as if she had been crying. She was waiting. For someone who might come or might never. With every passing minute, the faint flickers of hope in her heart dimmed, replaced by the gnawing ache of disappointment.
The distant streetlights flickered weakly, their glow distorted by the curtain of rain. The city had slowed to a standstill, the usual hum of traffic replaced by the occasional roar of water rushing through the streets. No footsteps. No familiar silhouette emerging through the downpour.
A deep breath trembled in her throat.
"Where did he go, leaving me all alone?"
The thought stung more than she wanted to admit. She had told herself that it didn't matter—that she wouldn't wait long. And yet here she was, drenched, trembling, and still waiting, as if holding onto the possibility would somehow make it real.
Thunder rolled across the sky, a deep, rumbling growl that seemed to echo her own turmoil. She swallowed the lump in her throat, blinking away the raindrops—or were they tears? Her grip on her legs tightened.
Her phone, tucked inside her school bag, vibrated weakly. She hesitated before pulling it out, shielding the screen from the rain with shaky hands. A single notification blinked back at her.
Her heart pounded. "Was it him?"
But as soon as she saw the message, a bitter laugh escaped her lips. Just another news alert. Another warning about the storm. Nothing about her. Nothing for her.
She exhaled sharply, blinking up at the sky. Maybe this was foolish.Maybe it was time to go home. But her body refused to move.
"His phone is still unreachable. Just wait until I get home—I'm telling Grandpa everything. He never listens to me, always running off and causing trouble. This time, he's really done for it," she mumbled, her small fingers absentmindedly tracing circles on the wet ground.
But then, a cold shiver crawled up her spine.
What if something happened to him?
The thought sent a surge of unease through her chest. Her stomach twisted. Should she wait? Or should she go find him?
Fear clutched at her, but she pushed it down, setting her jaw. She had no choice. Even if it scared her, she had to go.
As she stepped onto the rain-slicked road, worry etched deep into her face, the distant chirping of insects grew louder, almost unnatural in the heavy silence of the storm.
She kept glancing over her shoulder, her unease growing with every step. The feeling of being watched pressed down on her like a weight.
Then—
A sudden crack of lightning split the sky, bathing the deserted street in harsh white light. She squinted into the emptiness, her heart sinking.
And then—
A voice.
"Luna!"
The voice, breathless and full of excitement, cut through the rain. "I found it!"
Her eyes narrowed. Here he comes… I'm going to punch him right in the face.
Spinning on her shoes, she turned to face him, her expression dark with fury.
A boy, two years her senior, came to a sudden halt just inches away, his chest rising and falling heavily, completely soaked from head to toe. His school uniform clung to him, soaked through, but he didn't seem to care. His hands were cupped tightly around something, shielding it as if it were the most precious thing in the world. His eyes, bright and exhilarated, paid no mind to the storm raging around them.
Her arm shot up, fist aimed straight for his cheekbone. He deserves this. But at the last second, her hand trembled, refusing to strike. Instead, her frustration erupted in words.
"Are you out of your mind?! Where the hell did you go? Do you have any idea how scared I was? Our parents must be losing their minds by now! Do you even know what time is it?!" Her voice cracked with frustration, mixing with the rain that dripped from her lashes.
He only grinned, his teeth flashing in the darkness, completely unfazed by her outburst. Then, ever so slowly, he opened his hands.
Nestled in his palms, a tiny firefly flickered weakly, its golden glow pulsing against the night.
"You went for this?" Luna pouted, her voice laced with exasperation. "You scared me half to death! I thought something terrible happened to you!"
He grinned again, still cradling the fragile creature in his palms. "But look," he whispered. "You love these, don't you? I wanted to catch one for you. See the magic?"
The irritation in her eyes softened as she watched the tiny firefly flicker, its golden glow pulsing against the night. A small smile tugged at her lips.
"Let's take it home," he said eagerly. "We can keep it in a glass jar and hang it in your room."
Luna hesitated, her gaze lingering on the delicate creature. "It won't survive."
"But what if it does?" His brown eyes shimmered with hope, as if willing the firefly to defy its fate.
Luna sighed, shaking her head. "Are you dumb?… if we close the lid, it will die. And if we leave it open, it'll just fly away. No matter how much I love them, I can't keep something like this forever."
He opened his mouth to say otherwise, but before he could utter a word—
A sharp horn sliced through the night.
Too loud.
A car.
Too fast.
Too close.
Luna barely had time to gasp before he shoved her aside, his body taking the full force of the car's impact. The sickening crunch of metal against flesh tore through the night, followed by the hollow, bone-chilling sound of his body hitting the pavement.
A brutal thud.
Then—nothing.
For a moment that felt like an eternity, the world stood still. Luna's vision blurred, her breath caught somewhere between her ribs, refusing to move. The ground beneath her swayed as if rejecting the horror unfolding before her.
Raindrops mixed with the blood pooling beneath him, washing crimson trails down the pavement. Luna's trembling hands pressed against his chest, feeling the warmth slip away too fast, too soon. Her breath hitched, her body shaking violently as reality crashed down on her.
"Jae…"
Her voice barely came out, her throat tight with fear.
"Wake up, please. You're scaring me", with desperation as she shook him. No response.
His eyes—half-lidded, unfocused—searched for her, but the light in them was already dimming. His lips parted slightly, as if he wanted to say something, but only a weak gurgle escaped, the blood stealing his words.
"No… No, no, no." Luna shook her head, tears streaming down her face.
Her chest tightened, a crushing pain suffocating her. "Jae, wake up! Please!" Tears blurred her vision, mixing with the relentless rain.
"You promised me.
You said you'd always be with me.
You lied."
The words echoed, a cruel reminder of the promise he had made, but now… it seemed impossible.
The firefly—its glow flickering—rested against his palm for a fleeting second before the rain carried it away, swallowed by the night.
His hand twitched.
Once.
Then nothing.
She kept shaking him, willing him to wake up, but her strength was slipping away. A searing pain shot through her body, a harsh reminder of her own wounds, causing her knees to give way. She collapsed beside him, her trembling fingers barely managed to brush against his cold hand.
"Jae... wake up..." her voice fractured, barely more than a breath, lost in the relentless downpour. The rain struck her skin like needles, seeping through her clothes, but she barely felt it. All she could feel was the crushing weight of despair.
Her limbs grew heavy, numbness creeping in as exhaustion swallowed her whole. The world blurred, shapes and sounds blending into an indistinct haze. She fought to hold on, to stay awake, to do something—anything—but the pain was merciless.
Her mind reeled, grasping at the moments before the crash, desperately trying to relive them, as if doing so could change their outcome. But the memories felt distant, slipping through her grasp like grains of sand. The silence pressed in around her, thick and suffocating.
"He can't be gone… not like this…" Luna's voice trembled, barely audible. "Somebody… please… help him…" But her cries were swallowed by the storm, vanishing into the night.
Her vision dimmed, the last of her strength fading. As the world around her dissolved into blackness, her fingers curled weakly around Jae's lifeless hand.
The last thing she felt was his heartbeat, faint and flickering—until even that was lost to the storm.