_Chapter Begins_
The sound of pouring rain echoed through the cityscape, pounding against the tall buildings. On the streets below, a group of homeless people huddled together, clinging to each other for warmth in the freezing cold. Lightning flashed across the sky, making them all flinch and squeeze even closer together. But while everyone sought comfort in the arms of another, there was one boy sitting alone, completely exposed to the elements.
His name was William.
He sat beside a trash can, clutching what looked like a photograph in his trembling hands.
"This is all your fault," William muttered, his voice quiet but laced with anger.
His appearance was, to put it mildly, dreadful. His black hair was messy and caked with dirt. His white T-shirt and black pants were full of holes and soaked through with rain. He had no shoes on — his bare feet were cut and bleeding from bits of glass he'd stepped on while running to find shelter. Yet he didn't seem to care.
"I hate you so much."
He kept murmuring small phrases like that, over and over, his eyes fixed on the photo in his hands. But as time passed, his muttering grew quieter and quieter, until there was nothing left but silence.
The rest of the homeless group continued hugging each other tightly, too preoccupied with surviving the rain to notice the boy sitting off to the side. No one spared him a glance — no one except one girl.
"Why is he just sitting there in the middle of a storm?" she said, staring at William with her piercing blue eyes.
The girl's appearance was odd. Like the others, her clothes were dirty and torn, but her face and hair were strangely clean. Her deep red lips looked freshly painted with lipstick. And despite sitting close to the huddled group, she didn't seem part of it. She sat apart, arms resting on her knees, refusing to lean back against the wall — likely to keep her blonde hair from being ruined.
She kept glancing at William again and again. And finally, after nearly half an hour of silent watching, she stood and walked over to sit beside him. Without looking at him, she spoke.
"Hi. My name's Elsa. What's yours?"
William didn't respond. He kept his head hanging forward, hands still clutching the photo. His muttering had stopped some time ago.
Elsa wasn't annoyed by his silence. Since it was clear he wasn't going to answer, she decided not to press him with questions. Still, just because he wouldn't talk didn't mean she couldn't learn something about him. So she turned and began scanning him from head to toe. At first, he looked like a typical homeless boy. Nothing strange. But then she noticed the photo in his hands.
"Huh... what's that?" she thought.
Leaning in slightly, Elsa tried to get a clearer look at the image. Her previously distant, glazed-over eyes suddenly sharpened with focus.
The photo showed a pitch-black background — a kind of empty abyss. In the middle stood five people, posing together like in a family portrait. In the center were two older figures, a man and a woman. To their right stood a young man with black hair, a white shirt, and black pants. It didn't take long for Elsa to realize that was William, and the couple in the middle were likely his parents. But what caught her attention most were the two figures on the left — a young woman with short black hair in a black dress, and a young man about William's age, with brown hair and a pair of glasses. He wore a business suit with pants identical to William's.
Everyone in the photo wore big, happy smiles — everyone except William, who looked visibly angry to even be there.
"I wonder what happened between him and his family for him to end up like this," Elsa thought.
Just as the thought crossed her mind, the storm — which had seemed endless — stopped abruptly. At the same moment, William raised his head and slipped the photo into his pocket.
The homeless group sprang up in celebration as the rain stopped and the clouds began to part. Elsa didn't join them. Her attention was fixed on William — especially when he suddenly turned to her and made direct eye contact.
The gesture caught her completely off guard. Her face flushed red, and she struggled to hold his gaze. William, on the other hand, now wore a wide smile — totally different from his earlier, broken expression. And then he spoke.
"My name is William. It's nice to meet you, Elsa. Would you like to help me with something in exchange for a sweet reward?"
Elsa stopped blushing, now more confused than anything. His sudden confidence and cheerful tone felt unnatural — and more than that, his smile looked... sinister. His eyes gleamed with a crazed intensity that made her uneasy. Still, despite the red flags, she didn't move away. She stayed seated beside him, and replied to his offer.
"Sure. If the reward's good enough, I'll do whatever you want."
William nodded, clearly pleased with her answer.
_Chapter Ends_