She just stood there, half-hidden in shadow, her dark coat blending into the dull gray of the street. But her eyes—her eyes were locked on Adrian.
Unblinking.
Waiting.
Adrian took a step forward without thinking.
“Elena!” he called out.
The name felt heavier now. Real.
Dangerous.
The girl pulled at his arm desperately. “No—wait! Don’t go to her like that!”
But it was too late.
Elena turned.
Not quickly. Not in panic.
Calm.
And that was worse.
She began to walk away.
Adrian’s chest tightened. Instinct took over.
“Stop!” he shouted, breaking into a run.
Behind him, the girl followed.
“You promised!” she cried. “You said you wouldn’t let her disappear again!”
Again.
The word hit him like a удар.
Fragments exploded in his mind—
A burning car.
Shattered glass.
A woman screaming his name.
“Elena!”
He stumbled but kept running.
“Adrian, please!” the girl yelled. “You have to remember before it’s too late!”
“I don’t understand!” he shouted back, his voice strained. “Who are you?!”
The girl’s answer came through tears.
“I’m the reason you survived.”
He stopped.
Just for a second.
Enough to turn and look at her.
And that’s when he saw it.
The bracelet on her wrist.
It wasn’t just familiar.
It was identical.
To one he had buried.
Years ago.
With a small coffin.
“No…” he whispered.
The world seemed to tilt.
“You died,” he said, his voice hollow.
The girl shook her head, crying harder now.
“No,” she said. “I was taken.”
Silence crashed between them.
And in that silence—
Elena disappeared around the corner.
Adrian turned sharply, panic surging through him.
“She’s getting away—”
The girl grabbed his hand, forcing him to look at her.
“She wants you to chase her,” she said urgently. “That’s how she keeps winning.”
Adrian’s breathing was uneven now, his thoughts spiraling.
“Winning what?”
The girl hesitated.
Then said the one thing that shattered everything:
“Your memory.”
A long pause.
Cold wind passed between them.
Adrian looked back toward the empty street.
Then at the lighter still in his hand.
His grip tightened.
“No more running,” he said quietly.
This time—
he wasn’t sure if he meant Elena…
or himself.
