The Stranger

It was a rainy Saturday afternoon in July, the kind of day where the sky turned dark gray and heavy drops fell hard on the streets of Davao, turning the roads shiny and wet, making the whole city smell of wet pavement and rain-washed trees and fresh earth. Elara had just finished buying new canvases and tubes of paint from her favorite art supply shop downtown, her arms loaded with supplies, and was walking slowly through People’s Park, holding a small umbrella over her head, enjoying the cool breeze and the quiet of the empty paths, when she saw him. Her breath caught in her throat instantly, and her feet stopped moving right there on the sidewalk, her heart pounding so hard she could hear it ringing in her ears, her hands turning cold and shaky around the handle of her umbrella, her paints almost slipping from her grasp.

Under a large black umbrella, standing near the central fountain where they had taken so many photos together years ago, where they had shared so many happy moments, was Kael. He wasn’t wearing his formal work clothes, wasn’t looking tired or stressed or busy like he always told her he was. He was smiling—bright, genuine, happy, a soft, tender smile she hadn’t seen directed at her in months, a smile she thought she had forgotten what it looked like. He was leaning slightly toward a woman standing close to him, almost pressed against his arm, sheltered completely by his umbrella, a woman Elara had never seen before in her life.

She was beautiful in a way that made Elara feel small and plain immediately, a beauty that felt distant and unreachable: she had soft, wavy blonde hair that fell past her shoulders in perfect curls, fair, smooth skin that looked like it had never been touched by the sun or hard work, delicate elegant features, and big, soft eyes that shone like glass. She was dressed in a light, expensive-looking coat and heels, looking like something out of a fairy tale book, something refined and rare that didn’t belong in their busy, warm, ordinary city. She laughed lightly at something Kael said, a soft, musical sound that carried through the rain, and he reached out, gently brushing a strand of wet hair from her face, his touch so tender, so familiar, so full of affection and care, that it made Elara’s chest ache so badly she almost doubled over right there, almost dropped everything she was carrying and fell to her knees. He held the umbrella entirely over her, shielding her completely from the rain, while his own left shoulder got soaked through and dripping wet, and he didn’t even seem to notice or care at all, like getting wet was a small price to pay just to keep her dry and comfortable.

As they turned to walk away hand in hand, their fingers laced together tightly like they belonged that way, Elara noticed something that broke her heart all over again, leaving her cold and shaking and empty inside, like something vital had been torn right out of her chest. Around the woman’s neck was a thin silver chain, holding a small star-shaped pendant. It was the exact same design Elara had picked out three months ago, the one she had saved up for weeks to buy, skipping her own meals and coffee just to afford it, hoping to make him happy, hoping to give him something he would treasure, something that would remind him of her. She remembered clearly how he had frowned when she gave it to him, put it aside without even looking at it properly, and said, “It’s too plain, El. Not really my style. Why did you even waste your money on this? You should have saved it for something useful.” Now she saw it, shining bright and beautiful around another woman’s neck, worn like the most precious treasure in the world, like something worth protecting and cherishing above everything else.

She wanted to run to them, to shout, to cry, to ask why, to demand an explanation, to ask who that woman was and what was happening, to beg him to tell her it wasn’t what it looked like. But her legs felt heavy as lead, rooted to the ground, her voice stuck in her throat, her whole body frozen in shock and pain and disbelief.

She stood there in the rain, cold and alone, watching the man she loved walk away with someone else, laughing like he had never been happier, and for the first time, the terrifying thought crossed her mind, sharp and clear and undeniable: Seraphine wasn’t just a memory anymore. Seraphine was here, and she was everything Elara was not. She was everything Kael had ever wanted.