SEASON 2: THE AWAKENING
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The park bench felt too empty.
Sunlight warmed the wood. Birds sang. Kids laughed on the swings.
But Aria felt cold.
Something was missing.
Not a thing. A presence. Like a shadow that should've fallen beside her. A name on the tip of her tongue. Eli?
She didn't know. It just hurt.
She opened her sketchbook. Charcoal scraped the paper. Lines formed without thought
A soldier's tired eyes.
A cracked pocket watch.
A door made of golden light.
Why am I drawing this?
Her hand trembled. Tears blurred the soldier's face.
A glint of metal caught her eye.
Tucked under the bench leg.
A pocket watch.
Brass. Smooth. Perfect. No cracks. No dust. Like it was placed there moments ago.
Her breath hitched.
Don't touch it.
But her fingers reached. Cold metal met her skin.
ZAP.
Not electricity. Memory.
A flash: *Rain on her face. A stranger's rough hand. A watch with a crack. "Careful," she'd said. "Some things are too precious to break twice."
Gone.Like smoke.
The watch sat heavy in her palm. Silent. Still.
But deep inside its polished surface… she felt a heartbeat. Slow. Steady. Alone.
You found it.
Aria jumped. A boy stood beside the bench. Maybe ten. Messy brown hair. Ordinary clothes.
But his eyes
Gold. Like ancient coins. Old. Too old for his face.
"You feel it, don't you?" he whispered. His voice was soft, but it cut through the bird song. "The hole. The quiet."
Aria clutched the watch. "Who are you?"
"I watch the doors," he said, staring at the watch. "That one. it's special. It's a cage."
A cage? It was just a watch. Beautiful, yes. Sad, somehow. But… a cage?
"Who's inside?" The question fell out before she could stop it.
The boy's golden eyes locked onto hers. Sadness lived there. Deep, endless sadness.
"Someone who loved you more than time itself."
Aria's heart stopped.
Loved?
The soldier in her sketch flashed in her mind. Those tired, kind eyes…
Who WAS he?
The boy reached out. Not for the watch. He touched the tear on her cheek.
"His name was Elias," he said softly. "And he's gone. To keep you safe."
Elias.
The name hit her like a fist.
Elias.
It echoed in the hole inside her. It fit.
She looked down at the silent watch.
Cage. Elias. Gone. Safe.
The words spun in her head.
The golden-eyed boy turned to leave. "Wind it when your tears fall," he said, fading into the dappled sunlight like a dream. "It's the only way to hear him… for now."
Aria sat alone.
Sunlight warmed her skin.
Kids laughed.
The watch lay cold and heavy in her hand.
Silent.
But the hole inside her?
It had a name now.
Elias.
And the perfect, silent watch?
It felt less like metal.
More like a grave.
(END OF CHAPTER 1 )🛌