A Stranger's Hands

The air felt colder than usual that morning.

Elena walked to her lecture with her cardigan pulled tighter around her shoulders, but it wasn't the wind that made her uneasy — it was the silence behind her.

It had become a strange comfort, that quiet.

For weeks now, she had felt it like a breath on the back of her neck. Like the shadow of a thought just out of reach. But today, the silence felt… hollow. Not protective.

Empty.

She tried to shake it off, but her chest ached — that same hollow pressure that had become familiar. She didn't understand how someone she never really met could make her feel so watched and yet so alone when absent.

She passed the library stairs and saw a girl struggling to carry a stack of books, teetering dangerously toward the edge of her arms. Elena stepped forward to help just as the top book slid. But before it hit the ground, a hand caught it.

Not hers.

Not the girl's.

A man's.

Strong, veined, quick — too quick.

By the time Elena looked up, no one was there. Just the book safely resting back on the pile and the girl blinking, confused.

"Did you see—?" Elena asked.

The girl shook her head, too surprised to speak.

Elena did see.

Sort of.

Or maybe she only felt it.

That familiar chill again.

That presence that refused to leave her alone, even when invisible.

That night, she sat at her desk with her laptop open, eyes staring blankly at the screen. A soft ping from her email broke her trance.

She clicked.

Her university portal had updated.

> "Outstanding balance: cleared."

Her hands froze.

The loan she had applied for again— to cover the remaining tuition she had been slowly saving toward — was gone. Not reduced. Not delayed.

Cleared.

The exact amount she'd been owing. Down to the last naira.

She stared at the screen until her eyes blurred.

No name. No explanation.

No call from the finance office.

Nothing.

Her fingers hovered over her mouse as she whispered to herself, "Why?"

No one was supposed to know she'd even applied for the emergency loan. She hadn't told Liam. Not even her roommate.

She stood up and walked to her window again, pulling the curtain aside quietly.

Darkness.

But it wasn't just darkness.

A man stood near the end of the street again. Far. Still.

Watching.

Not moving. Not even trying to hide.

She didn't know if he could see her from there. But her heart told her he did.

And somehow… she didn't feel afraid.

She felt chosen.

But why? Why her?

Why a girl from a quiet orphanage who never had anyone looking out for her?

No family. No protector.

Until now.

She backed away slowly, her hand over her mouth, emotions spinning between awe and confusion. Her heart beat so hard it hurt.

She sat on her bed, shaking, whispering to herself, "Who are you?"

No one answered.

But outside, he still watched.

Like always.

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