The next day, the air in Rarang felt strangely heavy.
Clouds rolled over the sky, covering the warm light that Alya loved so much.
She walked to the rice fields, hoping to see Ardan again. He was there sitting by the small bridge, staring at his camera screen.
"Hey," Alya greeted, smiling. "You look serious. Photographer mode?"
Ardan looked up, startled. "Alya! Uh no, I was just… checking something."
Curious, Alya leaned closer. "Can I see?"
He hesitated for a moment, but then turned the camera toward her. The screen showed a photo of Alya, standing by the rice field, smiling at the sunset.
Her heart fluttered. "You took this yesterday?"
Ardan didn't answer right away. He swallowed hard. "That's the strange part… I found it on my camera this morning. But I don't remember taking it."
Alya frowned. "Maybe you forgot?"
"I don't forget photos," Ardan said quietly. "Especially not ones like this."
A silence stretched between them, filled only by the wind whispering through the grass.
Then Alya noticed something in the corner of the photo, behind her shoulder, was a faint figure. A shadow.
"Ardan… who's that?" she whispered.
Ardan's face turned pale. "That's what I've been trying to find out."
He shut off the camera, his hand trembling slightly.
And for the first time, Alya realized there was something about Ardan's past that might be more than just sadness.
It might be haunting him.
Next Episode Preview:
Alya visits Ardan's house for the first time and discovers a room filled with photographs of people who no longer exist.