I Was Hiding From The World, Until I Captured A Stranger

Lira has never left her home. Not because she cannot. Because she absolutely should not. The forest she lives in is not on any map. People who wander too close forget why they came. Some forget who they are. A few never make it back at all. Lira thinks it is perfectly normal. After all, she has flowers that glow, birds that talk back when she sings, and a very strict rule she has followed her entire life. Do not go outside. Do not let anyone in. She has been doing a great job. Until something falls out of the sky. Kael does not remember how he ended up falling from that height. He does remember screaming. He also remembers hitting something invisible, bouncing, and then waking up tied to a chair in a place that looks like a dream. There are glowing trees. Floating lights. And a girl standing in front of him, staring like she just discovered a new species. “Are you broken?” she asks, poking his cheek. “I just fell from the sky,” Kael says slowly. “You tied me to a chair.” She nods, thoughtful. “Yes. I was being careful.” Lira was supposed to erase his memory and send him away. That is what she has always been told to do. Instead, she gives him food. Then she asks questions. A lot of questions. Why do people lie What is money Why do you look tired all the time Why do you keep trying to escape Kael quickly realizes two things. One, the girl is completely serious. Two, leaving might be harder than staying. Days turn into something strange. Lira follows him around like he is the most interesting thing in existence. She gets excited over things like fire, bread, and the concept of shoes. She laughs too easily. She trusts too quickly. She also accidentally bends reality when she gets emotional. Just a little. Kael starts fixing things around her home. He tells himself it is temporary. He tells himself he is leaving soon. He tells himself a lot of things that stop making sense the longer he stays. Because Lira is not just hiding. She was hidden. Very carefully. Very intentionally. And outside the forest, people are searching. Not for the boy who disappeared. For the girl who was never supposed to be found. The day the barrier begins to crack, Lira is smiling, holding Kael’s hand like it is the most natural thing in the world. “Stay,” she says softly. Kael looks at her. At the girl who does not understand how dangerous she is. At the place that was never meant to exist. Then he sighs. “Yeah,” he mutters. “I’m definitely going to regret this.” A soft, magical romance filled with humor, chaos, and heart, where curiosity is dangerous, trust is fragile, and the girl who feels the most innocent might be the one thing the world cannot survive.