Three Lies and a Name
Part I: The First Lie
Lena didn't tell Kian about the kiss.
That was the first lie.
She stood in front of her bathroom mirror that night, toothbrush hanging from her mouth, and stared at herself hard. Her reflection stared back, eyes wide with guilt and something darker.
Not regret.
Not quite.
The worst part wasn't that she'd kissed Riven. The worst part was how a part of her had wanted to. Wanted someone to pull her under. Wanted someone to not see her as fragile. Wanted someone to burn her alive just to see what she'd become from the ashes.
Kian was warmth. But Riven… Riven was wildfire.
And Lena didn't know which one she needed more.
Her phone buzzed.
Kian: I miss you. Can I see you tomorrow before class?
Kian: You're okay, right? You've been distant.
Lena stared at the screen. Her thumb hovered over the keyboard.
Then she locked the phone and slid it under her pillow.
She didn't respond.
That was lie number two.
---
Part II: The Second Lie
The next morning, the Watchers had blocked off the science wing.
Police tape fluttered like yellow snakes across the hallway. A bloodstain trailed down the linoleum like a signature.
Everyone had a theory.
"Maybe it was the Vanished," said one boy, wide-eyed.
"Maybe it was a student," someone whispered. "Someone like Lena Carter."
She walked by as if she hadn't heard. But she had.
Dev stood by the entrance, arms crossed, eyes sharp. When she tried to pass, he stepped in her path.
"You should be careful," he said softly.
She blinked. "What?"
"People are talking."
"They've always talked."
"Not like this. Not with fear."
She swallowed. "You don't believe them, do you?"
Dev didn't answer immediately.
And that pause—that silence—cut deeper than any accusation.
"I don't know what to believe anymore," he finally said.
Lena smiled. A sharp, bitter thing.
"Then we're even."
And she walked away.
That was lie number three.
Because she did know who she believed in.
She just couldn't admit it—not to Dev. Not even to herself.
---
Part III: A Name in the Dark
She skipped her last class.
Instead, she snuck into the school archives—an old storeroom filled with dusty records, half-broken fans, and a century of secrets sealed behind rusted cabinets.
Lena had never really thought about her school's history before.
But now, every hallway felt like a trap. Every face a mask. Every name a threat.
She needed answers.
If the Watchers knew her power… if the Vanished knew her thoughts… if Riven could touch her even in mirrors—
Then she needed to know who she was.
Because she wasn't just Lena Carter anymore.
She was something else.
A file caught her eye—thick and yellowed, stamped with the crest of the original Board of Education. The paper inside crumbled under her fingers, but the ink remained:
Project: Apsara-13
Subject: L.C.
Status: Unstable. Vanishing uncontrollably. Terminated.
Her heart dropped.
L.C.
Her initials.
But the date was wrong. It was from twenty-six years ago.
Lena blinked, breath catching.
Was it a coincidence?
Or had there been someone else—someone like her?
She flipped further into the file.
Photographs. Scans. Testimonies. The face of a girl who looked exactly like her. Same eyes. Same hair. Same scar above the brow.
Not her mother.
Not her aunt.
Herself.
Except it wasn't. It couldn't be.
The last page sent a chill through her soul.
Subject's name: Leena Chaudhary.
Classification: Dimensional Echo.
Verdict: Dangerous. Erase at all costs.
---
Part IV: The Return
That night, Lena stood by the old watchtower behind the school. The sky bled purple and orange as dusk settled in like a bruise.
Riven appeared from the shadows.
"You read the file," he said. "Didn't you?"
She nodded. "How did you know?"
"Because I put it there."
Lena turned slowly. "You what?"
"You needed to see it," he said. "The truth about who you are."
"No," she whispered. "That's not who I am. That girl—Leena—she's gone. She's not me."
"She is you," Riven said. "Or at least… the part of you they tried to erase."
His hand reached for her. She flinched—but didn't pull away.
"You're not just an anomaly, Lena. You're a Dimensional Echo. A soul born from the residue of a destroyed reality."
Her voice shook. "What does that even mean?"
"It means you're not supposed to exist," he said. "But you do. And that makes you powerful. And dangerous."
"And the Watchers want to kill me for it."
"They always have."
Lena stepped back, panic coiling in her chest.
"I'm not her," she whispered. "I'm not a killer."
"No," Riven said. "But she became one to protect the world that forgot her."
He leaned closer, eyes glinting.
"You'll have to decide what you'll become."
And with that, he vanished into the air—leaving behind only the faint shimmer of a mirror cracking in the wind.
---