2. An Unbreakable Bond

I haven’t been able to stop thinking about him. His voice, his eyes, the way he seemed to tear through the air between us—everything is etched into my mind like a dream I can’t wake from. But what haunts me most are his words: *“I’m a problem you don’t need.”*

Maybe he’s right. Maybe I should forget him, move on, pretend I never saw him. But… I can’t. Something inside me refuses to let him go.

I’m sitting in the town café—a small, crowded place filled with the smell of coffee and fresh bread, where conversations drift through the air like a constant murmur. My friend Danna is talking about something—a movie she saw last night, or maybe some new scandal involving a neighbor, I’m not sure, because I’m barely listening. My eyes keep wandering to the window, drawn to the forest on the other side of the street.

“Amelia, are you even listening to me?” Danna snaps her fingers in front of my face, breaking through my thoughts.

“What? Oh—yes, of course. Something about… Mrs. Rodríguez?”

She rolls her eyes.

“That wasn’t it at all, but never mind.” She studies me, tilting her head as if she can read my mind. “Are you okay? You’ve been acting weird for days.”

“I’m fine. I just… haven’t been sleeping well.”

It’s a lie, as thin and fragile as I feel.

Danna frowns, clearly unconvinced, but she doesn’t press. I’m grateful, because I have no idea how to explain that my sleepless nights have a name—and eyes that burn like liquid fire.

When we finally leave the café, I feel restless, as if something is about to happen. Danna says goodbye and heads for her house, while I walk in the opposite direction, toward the forest. I don’t plan to go in, I tell myself. I just want to… be near it. It’s a stupid excuse, but I can’t help it.

And then I feel it again—that presence. Like a shiver down my spine, a tension in the air that hums beneath my skin. My heart races as I turn, searching the trees.

“You don’t learn, do you?”

His voice is low, a whisper, but enough to make my whole body tense. I see him step from the shadows, just as imposing as I remember, hands tucked into his pockets, an exasperated expression on his face.

“Neither do you, it seems,” I reply, trying to sound composed, though my heart is pounding out of control.

His lips curve slightly into something that might be a smile, but I’m not sure. He stops a few steps from me, as if drawing an invisible line neither of us should cross.

“You shouldn’t be here.”

“Neither should you.”

His jaw tightens. For a moment, I think he’s going to argue—but instead, he surprises me with a question.

“Why do you keep coming back?”

I open my mouth to answer, only to realize I don’t have a good reason—at least not one I can say aloud without sounding insane. So I tell a half-truth.

“Because I want to know who you are.”

He watches me in silence, his gaze so intense it feels like it pierces through every corner of my soul. Finally, he exhales and shakes his head.

“Shadow.”

A slight ache tightens in my chest at the sound of his name. I don’t know why, but it suits him—strong, mysterious.

“Amelia,” I say, as if he’d asked, though he clearly didn’t.

Shadow takes a step closer, and though I shouldn’t, I don’t move away. I’m too caught in the pull of his presence.

“This can’t happen, Amelia. You and I… we’re from different worlds.”

“That’s not for you to decide.”

His laugh—low, humorless—takes me by surprise.

“You have no idea what you’re saying.”

“Then explain it to me.”

He looks at me, his eyes burning with something I can’t name. For a moment, I think he might. I think he’ll open the door and let me see the truth of his world. But instead, he shakes his head and steps back.

“It’s better if you don’t know.”

“Why don’t you let *me* decide that?”

The silence that follows is heavy, thick with something I can’t define. Shadow turns, as if he’s about to leave again—but this time, I can’t let him.

“Shadow, wait.”

My hand reaches out before I can stop myself, and when I touch his arm, it’s as if the world holds its breath. He freezes, and so do I, stunned by the heat of his skin through the fabric of his shirt.

“Please… don’t go.”

My voice is soft, but it’s enough. He turns back to me, his eyes meeting mine—and the fire in them seems less contained now, more… vulnerable.

“You don’t understand what you’re asking.”

“Then help me understand.”

The conflict in his face is clear, as if he’s fighting a war inside himself. He closes his eyes and takes a slow breath, as if making a choice he can’t undo.

“I warn you, Amelia… once you cross this line, there’s no turning back.”

I don’t hesitate.

“I already have, Shadow.”

His gaze softens, but there’s a darkness in it—a warning, a promise—that tells me this won’t be easy, that maybe I shouldn’t be here. But it’s too late.

And when his hand brushes mine, when our fingers entwine for the briefest moment, I know there’s nothing in this world that will make me turn back.