He said, "My name is Rayan."
Hearing him finally open up, I sat down beside him again, quietly.
He continued, his voice low and heavy, "I'm hiding here for a reason... but honestly, that's just one part of the mess. I come from a small family. My father's really sick these days, and I have an uncle who's… not a great man. Now, being the only man left in the family, everything's fallen on me. All this responsibility... it's crushing. And the worst part?" He paused, eyes distant. "Somewhere in all this, I've lost myself.
Am I a good son for taking on my father's burden? A man trying to uphold the family name? I feel like I've become everything—except myself. My entire world spins around these roles I never chose. And no matter how much I try to toughen up on the outside, all of it… it's tearing me apart from the inside."
I looked at him and said quietly, "What a twisted world we live in. You're burdened by the things I've never even had the chance to worry about—family, responsibility… all the things you're drowning in.
But the truth is, you have everything I don't. A family, a roof over your head, people who still expect something from you. You have a place in the world. Respect. Stability.
And yet… the one thing I have, you've lost. Myself.
I live for me. I work for me. I know who I am, and I know what I want. It's not much, but it's mine. And sometimes, that's enough to keep going."
Rayan sighed, "Yeah… the world really is twisted. I told you my story, but what about you? Why are you all alone in a place like this?"
I gave him a sad smile. "It's a simple reason, really. My parents brought me into this world… but they didn't want the responsibility that came with it. They left me here when I was five.
Since then, I've just been surviving—somehow."
Rayan said softly, "Girl… things must have been so hard for you. I can't even imagine surviving like that."
I looked at him and said, "It's Zera."
He nodded slowly. "Zera… the world must've felt like a burden to you. Don't you ever hate living? How do you even keep going like this?"
I took a breath and answered, "It's quite the opposite, actually. I don't hate living—I want to keep living.
There's no one in my family who would break down if I died, and maybe that's exactly why I want to live—for myself. I want to give myself everything I never had."
Rayan shook his head slightly. "That sounds like a joke… I mean, I have almost everything—a home, a family, even some respect—and still, most days I just feel like I exist… not really live.
So how do you feel alive, Zera? Every time?"
I looked up, my voice quiet but steady.
"Not every time. There are moments when I feel like it would've been better if I had just… disappeared. Died, maybe.
But that feeling—it doesn't last long. My will to live always comes back, stronger. I only have me, and that's enough.
So I live to my fullest. I want to feel alive every moment I can. And that's why—I am."
He looked at me, a hint of admiration in his eyes.
I continued, "And as for you—if you don't talk to anyone, don't make friends, and don't even give time to yourself, how can you expect to feel alive?
To be good at anything—a good son, a worthy heir, or even just a decent human being—you first need to understand yourself.
Only then can you truly understand the people around you, your circumstances… and your responsibilities."
He sighed, his voice low. "Yeah… you're right. But what am I supposed to do?"
I gave him a small smile. "Do something for yourself. Anything. Something you enjoy. Something you want—not what others expect from you.
And for a start… what about tomorrow? Let's go somewhere. You can't find happiness trapped within these four walls."
He said, "I'd love to… but don't forget—I'm hiding here."
I looked at him with full confidence and replied, "Do you even know who you're talking to? I'm a thief. Been one for years.
No one knows how to hide better than I do. We'll go through alleyways no one dares to walk, to a place no one's ever discovered—except me."
He let out a soft chuckle, and something about it warmed my heart.
And then, for the first time, I saw his smile—gentle, genuine—and heard his soft words :
"Yes, my little thief… let's go there tomorrow."