* A Kiss for Aiden, A Truth for Arin: Facing the Past

Aiden's gaze froze, then the corners of his lips curved into a small smile, but his eyes remained wide with wonder. He said nothing, simply looking at her as if storing her features in his heart, one by one.

After a few minutes of comfortable silence, Aiden stopped in front of a pet store. They both got out of the car, and he quickly found himself amidst colorful shelves filled with toys, collars, and food bowls.

While flipping through decorative collars, he paused at one that caught his eye.

"What do you think of this?" he asked, holding up a butterfly-shaped collar.

Sera burst out laughing, then said in a playful tone:

"Aiden! Look closely... Black is completely black, red would be stunning on her, don't you see?"

Aiden shook his head lightly, examining the collar with a critical eye:

"Hmm... I don't think so. Blue would be prettier, it has more tranquility."

Sera sighed dramatically, and he declared his surrender;

"Okay, okay, don't be sad... I'll take the red one."

She smiled faintly, then clapped her hands with childlike enthusiasm:

"Really?! Wonderful!"

Aiden nodded:

"Yes, and now let's choose her toys, and food and water bowls. I think she's still young, what do you think? Let's buy her cat milk and a small nursing bottle."

Sera raised her eyebrows in gentle surprise:

"A nursing bottle? Why?"

Aiden had bent down slightly to examine one of the toys, then answered in a low voice, still looking away:

"Yesterday... I saw her suckling from the lid and making small kneading movements... I looked up why, and it turns out that small kittens often do that when they've been... separated from their mothers early, either by abandonment or loss."

His voice suddenly changed, carrying something of sadness, of fear:

"I'm afraid it will leave a wound inside her... so I thought, I will compensate her. I will fill this void."

Sera's eyes widened, and her gaze towards him became full of tenderness. She didn't interrupt him, just looked at him with a new, deeper feeling.

He suddenly smiled and continued in a light, playful tone:

"And I decided... I'll buy her all the toys I like, even if I fill the house with them."

Sera chuckled with her gentle voice, then said:

"Really? You're... kind-hearted, Aiden."

In the pet store, the sound of shoes clicking on the wooden floor echoed... click... click... click. The rhythm was steady, but it seemed to him as if it was tapping directly on his skull.

Sera was talking to him, in her usual calm voice, but she suddenly stopped when she noticed the change in his expression. Strands of his hair fell over his eyes, but they no longer saw anything.

He suddenly raised his hand to his head, as if struck by lightning. His body trembled, and he leaned against a nearby shelf lest he fall.

Sera (with rising concern):

— "Are you alright?! What happened?"

But he didn't answer. His gaze was vacant, lost in a distant place... very distant.

Click... click... click...

The same sound, echoing in his head. He was no longer in the store, but in a place shrouded in fog. Then memories began to seep in slowly, blurred as if an old dream... a small child. A body lying. Small hands stained with blood. The earth swallowed his screams, and the sky watched silently.

Aiden sat on one of the elegant wooden benches lining the sidewalk,

He sat hunched forward, as if his soul was heavier than his body, and his eyes were lost in space. His hands trembled on his knees, clutching each other as if trying to grasp something lost.

Sera sat beside him in silence, her gaze never leaving him, with a faint worry and many questions she hadn't dared to ask yet. Finally, she slowly raised her hand, her movement light and hesitant, then said in a calm voice like a morning breeze:

"Aiden... I just wish I knew what happened to you in there."

He remained silent for a moment, then looked at his trembling hands as if they bore indelible marks, and said in a soft voice, yet carrying a hidden brokenness:

"I can't stand certain sounds... the clicking of shoes... dragging chains... iron doors slamming shut... these sounds aren't normal for me. They're like lightning bolts... striking my head... no, not striking it, but devouring it."

He slowly ran his hand over his temple, speaking as if describing a deep-rooted pain that cannot be seen:

"Every click... every clang... opens a hole here, a black hole in my head. And inside... there are images..."

Aiden suddenly stopped speaking, as if an image had frozen in his mind, then took a long, hesitant breath, and uttered the words in a low voice, almost a whisper:

"I... I see a child, very small. But... his face is disfigured, or perhaps... erased. I can't distinguish his features. Beneath him is a pool of blood, red, wide, extending as if swallowing the ground."

He lowered his gaze to his trembling hands, and continued, his voice growing more fragile:

"And in the corner... two small hands of another child, covered in blood. They were trembling, just like my hands now."

A heavy silence fell, broken by his pale smile, as if memories were scratching his heart as he smiled at them:

"And the sound of shoes... they were circling the body as if screaming. Crazy, scared, or angry footsteps... I don't know. But their sound... it never leaves me."

He looked up at Sera, his eyes carrying a misery muddied with sorrow:

"The chains?... they were my shackles once.

And the iron door? It was a prison, haunting me, even after I got out of it."

Sera followed him with tearful eyes, trying to compose herself, but her gaze was silently bleeding. She whispered in a choked voice:

"Aiden... you shouldn't face this alone."

He shook his head, then said with deadly calm:

"I didn't face it alone, Sera... I was in it alone."

She couldn't bear it anymore. She lowered her head, her hair falling over her face, but she said with feigned bravery:

"Don't move... just wait for me, I'll be right back."

She turned quickly, walked a few steps, then stopped under a small tree. She leaned against it, and allowed her tears to fall freely. She wasn't sobbing, but crying silently, a genuine pain that had been suppressed for too long.

Then, as if she had made an inner promise, she wiped her tears with her palm, and looked forward with solid determination:

"I won't let their darkness swallow you again. I will light the way... even if I have to stand alone."

She went to the ice cream vendor, bought strawberry flavor, and a bottle of water, then returned to him. Her steps were now calmer, but stronger.

When she reached him, she bent down slightly and handed him the ice cream, smiling gently, sincerely:

"This... is the best medicine now. No prescription, no words... just a cold, sweet taste that takes you somewhere else. Try it... trust me."

He looked at her, astonished, as if she had come from a different world... Then, slowly, he surrendered to the warmth of her smile. He took the ice cream, looked at it, and this time, his smile was not pale, but alive, though small:

Sera quickly stood up and wiped the last traces of her tears before they returned, then said in a low but firm voice:

"I'll go get what we bought from the pet store... I won't be long."

Aiden nodded silently, not speaking, just looking at the ground.

But before she turned and took a step, she stopped and asked him without looking back:

"Aiden... just, how did you deal with this all this time? I mean... what you went through today?"

He said in a broken but composed voice:

"I... I just learned how to hold myself. I close the door... I put the lock myself, every time. But..."

He paused for a moment, then whispered:

"Some days, the door opens by itself... like today."

He looked at her for a long time, then smiled, a faint but warm smile, and said:

"But I'm happy... that you were here. This is the first time... I didn't have to face it alone."

Sera froze for a moment, then looked at him over her shoulder, her eyes trying to hold back a new tear, and said in a faint voice:

"And you won't have to anymore."

Then she turned and walked quickly towards the store.

In a quiet corner of the hospital, Arin sat at the desk, neatly organized papers spread before him. There were tables with the names of orphanages in Izura's capital, sorted by year, accompanied by contact numbers.

He picked up the phone and began to call, his voice calm but his tone reflecting a hidden tension:

"Hello, miss, this is Dr. Arin. Can you help me? I'm looking for your adoption records for the year 2009."

The reply came from the other end, in a formal, decisive tone:

"I apologize, sir, but we cannot share this information without official police or court approval."

Arin was silent for a moment, then said:

"I understand... Thank you for your time, sorry to bother you."

He ended the call and gently placed the phone on the table, then began tapping his fingers on the wood, a steady rhythm reflecting his racing thoughts.

He stopped, looked up at a file in front of him—Aiden's psychological report, dated 2009—where he found the name that now brought him back to square one.

He suddenly stood up, took off his white coat and threw it on the chair, lightly grabbed his car keys, and left the office without looking back.

He opened the car door, sat behind the wheel, then quickly turned the key. The engine roared and responded, and without hesitation, he sped towards his old city.

His eyes were fixed on the road, but his mind was lost in possibilities...

"Does anyone still remember anything?"

The past was no longer just a distant shadow... it was now something rushing towards him with all its might.

The morning had begun to warm up, when the sunlight reflected off the pharmacy window.

Sera's eyes caught a paper hanging:

"Employee Wanted - Part-time."

She slowed down, then stopped completely.

"Aiden, there's a job ad on the pharmacy door."

She looked at him, her expression hesitant but bright with hope.

"I'll go in... who knows? Maybe I'll be lucky."

Aiden tilted his head slightly, and there was a faint sparkle in his eyes.

"Shall we go together?" he asked, as if he didn't want to be away from her for a moment.

But Sera hesitated, looking at him with understanding:

"The sounds... the door... the ringing... I'm afraid the place will hurt you."

Aiden closed his eyes for a moment as if gathering his strength, then said with a clear smile:

"I'm fine, go. I'll be here, waiting for you."

She got out of the car and he walked with calm steps towards an iron bench on the side.

On the side, two girls stood whispering, one of their voices sharp but low:

"Look at him... he's like a painting!"

"Shall we go?" the other said, looking at him as if afraid to break a precious moment.

"Maybe he has a girlfriend."

"Do you see him alone?"

Their steps suddenly stopped at a soft, eager voice, mixed with joy:

"Aiden!"

Sera ran towards him, her hair flying behind her, her face glowing as if she held the stars in her hands.

"I succeeded!" she said, laughing.

"I got the job!"

She threw herself into his arms in a spontaneous moment, then recoiled shyly, placed her hand on his cheek as if touching something sacred, and looked into his eyes with the gaze of a woman who had seen all the pain and wanted to be the cure.

"Aiden... if you'll allow me, I want to enter your heart... to be the light in your darkness."

Her eyes gleamed, but not with tears—but with a promise.

A promise that she would never leave him.

Aiden, without a word, extended his hand, gently grasped her wrist, and pulled her towards him, until there was no distance between them but shared air.

"Sera..."

"I wanted that from the first moment... I wanted you to be a part of me, of my breaths... of everything beautiful that might be written for me."

Then he slowly approached, his eyes radiating warmth, and touched her lips with a light kiss, but it spoke a thousand buried feelings—a kiss that contained the past and the future, pain and hope.

And in the background...

The world spun as usual, but for them—time stood still.

At that moment, Arin was driving at a frantic speed, his fingers pressing hard on the phone, trying to control the trembling in his voice.

Arin, in a disturbed tone, tinged with the bitterness of years:

"Mom... just answer, when? When did you abandon Aiden?"

Silence struck him like a slap. He heard nothing but her ragged breaths, as if she was choking on an old memory... breaths heavy with regret, as heavy as words unspoken for years.

His grip on the steering wheel tightened, and his eyes filled with angry tears, looking as if he was drowning in a bottomless swamp.

Arin, with painful brokenness, and a voice breaking:

"Now... now you feel regret?! After fifteen years?!

You're too late...

Regret should have come when he was placed there,

When I looked into his eyes and saw unforgivable betrayal...

When he lost his trusted wing... the warm embrace he sought and found empty."

His voice cut off, then her words finally came out, weak as a dying whisper:

Mother, in a husky voice choked with sobs:

"Thursday... the twenty-third... of December... 2009."

His hand holding the phone relaxed. He lowered it slowly as if he no longer felt it. His eyes darted, and his body froze for a moment, before the lights of a huge truck approaching at terrifying speed flashed before him.

He violently turned the steering wheel, but the brakes didn't respond.

Collision.

The front of the car was crushed, and glass shattered like broken pain in his heart.

His head hit the dashboard, and blood flowed from his forehead as thick black smoke billowed from the engine.

With ragged breaths, and fading vision, he picked up the phone with a trembling hand, and dialed Aiden's number.