The acceptance letter arrived on a rain-soaked evening. Aiden stared at it for a long moment before opening it, as if the paper itself bore a warning. The logo of the private university was printed in bold black ink—clean, confident, undeniable. Everything his life was not.
He had passed his Grade 11 exams . Not with flying colors, nor poorly—just enough to move ahead. Or so he believed. His mother's voice faintly echoed from the kitchen, pretending not to care while genuinely caring too much. His father remained silent. Silence had always been his strongest form of communication. Akash learned early that expectations could weigh you down faster than failure.
He carefully folded the letter and tucked it into his bag. That night, sleep eluded him. Every time he closed his eyes, one thought kept resurfacing—
What if this isn't freedom?
The university loomed tall and cold against the morning sky. Its glass walls reflected Aiden's face back at him—older, sharper, unfamiliar.Students brushed past him, laughing too loudly, living too easily. He couldn't help but wonder how many of them were just putting on a show.
Inside Lecture Hall B, the atmosphere felt oppressive. Aiden selected a seat at the back, where the shadows offered some comfort. That's when he noticed it.
Someone was watching him.
He turned slowly.
Their eyes locked.
Dark. Unapologetic. Curious in a way that sent a shiver down his spine.
She didn't look away.
Aiden's chest tightened. There was something about her—something unsettling yet magnetic. Like a secret yearning to be uncovered but capable of destroying him if it was.
Then she smiled.
Not sweetly. Not kindly.
Knowingly.
The lecture commenced, but he couldn't focus on any of it. His heart raced in his ears. When he glanced back again, her seat was empty. As if she had never existed.
You imagined it, he reassured himself.
Yet when he stood to leave, he found something on his desk.
A folded piece of paper.
No name. No number.
Just three words inscribed in dark ink:
"I see you."
Aiden's fingers quivered. That night, he dreamt of falling—into darkness, into her eyes, into something from which there was no escape.
And somewhere between sleep and fear, Aiden grasped the truth:
He hadn't chosen this university.
It had chosen him...