Chapter 1

Wet from the rain, feeling the coldness of the weather permeating her bones, unable to see properly as the steam emanating from her mouth tinged her glasses every time she breathed, and running towards the bus station. Thankfully, the bus arrived just after she reached the station, protecting her from getting wet more. The same bus, the same driver, and the same long road that she got used to a long time ago

Taria had to stand up for an hour since the bus was full as usual, but that didn't stop her plans of studying on her way back home. She was struggling to hold her heavy book with only one hand, especially while trying not to fall down, but she had no other choice as her exam was after only three days.

When she got home, she could barely change her clothes and she laid in her bed, exhausted after another long day at school. Taria wished that she could sleep, but she had to eat something quickly and head to her night shift at the store. She felt like crying, but she formed a ring with her forefinger and thumb, pointing it towards the light above her, then she jumped out of her bed.

Taria got ready to go to her work after she ate some noodles, but before she could head out, a knocking sound at her door stopped her. She felt scared since having visitors wasn't something that happened a lot, or to be exact, it was something that rarely happened, however, she got more scared when she opened the door. When Taria opened the door, a strange man with a wounded leg came in before she could even see his face, then he sat on the chair while leaving his injured leg outstretched in front of him. The man looked at Taria with a sharp but calm look as if he wasn't feeling the pain at all, then he said "bring me the first aid kit", with a steady deep voice.

Taria wasn't the type of person that would do anything she was told to, yet for a reason she didn't know, she didn't argue with that man and brought the first aid kit without hesitation. Once she gave it to him, he stood up and took his pants off, making her face red and forcing her turned around. "wha..what are you doing? please put your pants on", she said with a shaky voice, but the man didn't even pause, and said "how am I going to bandage my leg if I was wearing pants?". She slowly turned around again, and she saw how he was bandaging his wound perfectly as if he does this all the time, while his face was expressionless, then the man stood up and looked around him.

"Is that the only room here?" he said, pointing towards her room, but when she said yes, he said "I will be using it for tonight, you can sleep on the sofa", then he walked towards the room as if it was his own house. "Wait wait wait, who gave you permission to sleep here? Get out" Taria said after she gathered her courage, but he gave her a cold look with his black eyes and said "listen, young girl. My leg is wounded as you can see, I don't have my phone, and it's raining outside", then he rolled his eyes over her and said "and you are not my type so don't worry". Taria's face turned red again, because of anger this time, but before she could say anything, the man was already inside her room.

"He can't even walk properly so letting him sleep here won't be dangerous, will it?" she said to herself, then she canceled her night shift which wasn't that hard since it was the first time in three years, and she stayed awake studying. However, a voice calling for help interrupted her.

Taria went to her room and knocked on the door, but no one answered, so she opened the door with a shaky hand and entered. The man was sweating to the point his black hair got wet, his temperature was so high, and he was calling for help while sleeping as if he was having a nightmare. Taria put her hand on his forehead to feel his temperature, but just after her hand touched his skin, he opened his eyes widely, and he flipped her on the bed while breathing hard. "You were asking for help at your sleep and I was just trying to see if you had a high fever since you are sweating a lot. Please get off of me, it hurts" Taria said, closing her eyes to not see his half naked body that was above hers. The man gathered all the strength left in him and got up. He wore his clothes again, and he walked towards the door while swaying like a feather in the wind

"It's none of my business. It's none of my business. It's.. Ugh '' Taria said out loud, trying to prevent herself from getting involved with that man any more, but her good side didn't allow her to let him walk out swaying and helpless. She went after him and helped him to walk, then she stopped a taxi for him and asked the driver to take him to the hospital, nevertheless, the taxi driver didn't let the man get in alone as he was about to lose consciousness, so Taria had to go with him. The man grabbed her sleeve and said "No .. hos.pital .. home", with a voice that could barely be understood, then he told Taria his home address with the same voice, and she asked the taxi driver to take them there.

When Taria and the man reached his home, she suddenly remembered that she didn't bring any money with her.

"I'm really sorry, sir. I didn't bring my wallet with me, can you give me your number so I can pay you back once I go home?", Taria said.

"No need, I can see the man's condition", the driver said

"No no. I have to pay you", Taria said

"Well, I can take your earring as a payment. I'm going to visit my daughter who just gave birth to my first grandchild, and she really loves sky blue as your earring, so I can give it to her as a gift", the taxi driver said while smiling gently.

Taria touched her earring with a sad look in her eyes, but when she looked at the man who was hardly breathing, she sighed and took the earring off. "Sorry. There is only one earring. Please take care of it", she said with a smiley lips but hurt eyes, then she helped the man to get out of the car.

Taria looked at the huge building where the man's apartment was located, and her jaw dropped two feet, then she walked him to the elevator and pressed 21. When they reached his house that was open, she laid him on his bed that was larger than her bedroom, and tried to find his phone to contact his family. "No father, no mother, oh brother, let's call him" she said talking to herself. When the brother took the call she said "Hello, my name is Taria and, mm, your brother isn't in a good condition right now. I tried to take him to the hospital but he refused, and we are at his apartment now", but the brother ended the call without saying anything.

Taria looked at the man who was almost unconscious, then she took a deep breath and said "I already went this far", and she started putting wet compresses on his forehead after giving him medicine to lower the temperature. After a while, the apartment's door opened. Taria went out of the bedroom to see who was there, and she found another copy of that man, but older, colder, and scarier.

"There is a driver waiting for you down there. Go home now", the man said while walking to the bedroom.

"I think you must take him to the hospital", Taria said

"Why?", the man asked with cold eyes that made it harder for her to speak

"Well. It's just a small probability, but, I think that your brother got poisoned", Taria said

The man looked at Taria as if she said something he already knew, then he told her to go home again. She walked down, but she didn't go with the driver since she preferred walking home to clear her mind after that crazy night, even if it was raining.

Taria was walking slowly, expressionless, and wobbling, then she stopped, touched her ear, and felt a heavy feeling in her chest. "Sorry, mom. I lost your earring" she said, and her warm tears started getting out of her eyes, and mixing with the cold rain on her cheeks. She hated the rain, but she was thankful that it would make if hard for others to realize that she was crying, then she started walking again.

That night, Taria didn't sleep. She was tired, physically and mentally, but she spent the night drowning in her tears instead of sleeping.