That night, the wind was crying. Not like before, when it was just soft and cold, but this time it felt like something was moving through the dark with it. Like a shadow that didn't belong. The trees shook like they was scared too, and every window in the village stayed closed, shut tight like the people inside knew something was wrong but didn't wanna say it out loud. No birds, no night bugs, not even the old dog in the street was barking. It was too quiet. Too strange. Coker felt it the moment he stepped out the house.
His red coat moved slowly with the breeze, and his eyes looked left and right like he was expecting someone to jump out. But nobody did. He held his arm, where the curse mark had burned last night. It was still sore, still warm like it had its own life inside. The shape of it was strange, like a circle broken in half and inside, tiny letters was written in a language he don't know. Sometimes he feel like the mark was watching him. Or maybe listening.
He didn't tell the silver-haired girl about it. Not yet. He didn't know how. Every time he tried to say something, she'd look at him with those calm eyes and smile a little, and his words would just disappear in his throat. He don't know why she made him feel like that, but she did. She was different from the others. She wasn't afraid of his silence. She wasn't afraid of his eyes. She never asked too many questions. Just stood beside him like it was normal.
Today, she sat beside him under the big old tree outside the healer's place. Her hair glowed silver under the sun, and she looked up at the clouds while he just looked at her, secretly. He wanted to ask her name again. She never told him. But somehow, he felt like she was waiting for him to remember it instead of telling. And that thought made him wonder: had they met before? Before the curse? Before his memory started breaking?
"You thinking again?" she said softly, not looking at him.
He looked away quick. "No… I mean… maybe."
She smiled. "You always thinking."
"I don't mean to," he mumbled.
"Sometimes thinking too much makes you blind. You don't see what's in front of you."
He didn't know what to say. The words was simple but heavy, like they was meant for something deeper. He looked at her again, and this time she turned to him, and their eyes met. Coker felt heat rise in his chest, like something waking up.
"Do you remember my name yet?" she asked gently.
He opened his mouth, but nothing came out. He felt bad. She never sounded angry, but he hated not knowing. He should know. His chest started hurting again, like the mark was pulsing with sadness.
She stood up slowly. "It's okay. Maybe you will soon. Just don't forget yourself."
Those words… they felt strange. Like she knew something about him that he didn't. He wanted to stand up and ask her what she meant, but his legs felt heavy. By the time he moved, she was already walking away, her silver hair shining like the moonlight even under the sun.
That night, the mark burned again.
But this time, it whispered.
It wasn't a voice like a person. It was like a sound inside a dream. Soft but deep. Words that made no sense. They filled his head and echoed through his bones.
"Names… names… they carry… weight…"
He held his neck and fell to the ground, sweating and shaking. His eyes turned red again, but no anger came. Just fear. Fear and something else—like sorrow. Like something was remembering him.
He saw a memory that wasn't his.
A field of black flowers. A girl in red standing far away. And a voice calling a name… his name, but not the one he knew.
He woke up gasping, covered in sweat. The silver-haired girl was by his side, holding his hand, eyes filled with fear and care. She had stayed. She stayed even though she should've ran. Even though he was cursed.
"Why… why are you still here…?" he asked in a broken voice.
"Because I remember," she said. "Even if you don't."
Then she leaned forward and hugged him, soft and warm and trembling a little. His heart beat fast, not just from the curse but from the closeness. He felt small in her arms, like a lost thing being held.
And that was when he knew—
The curse wasn't just about pain.
It was about forgetting something that mattered.
And maybe… maybe she was the key to remembering it all.
But shadows was coming. Watching. Waiting.
And next time… they won't just whisper.
They'll speak.