The college hallway buzzed with noise. Students rushed past one another, books in hand, headphones in ears, laughter echoing off the lockers. Some leaned against the walls chatting about nothing important, others stared at their phones like the outside world had stopped existing.
Addie moved through it all like a ghost.
Her headphones were plugged in, but no music played. She wore them like armor to avoid small talk, questions, attention. She didn't hate people, but she didn't quite connect with them either. It always felt like she was watching life happen around her, like a film playing on mute. Present, but not involved.
She slipped into her literature class and took her usual spot the last row, next to the window. Always the window. That small view of the world outside made her feel grounded, like something real still existed out there.
Kaisi slid into the seat beside her, smiling as always. "What's up, bub?" she asked, her tone playful.
"Nothing," Addie mumbled, not looking up.
Kaisi leaned in. "You better be ready for tonight. We're going out late it's Ryaan's party, remember? His birthday?"
Addie nodded, forcing a smile. "I'm ready."
Kaisi clearly noticed the lack of enthusiasm but chose not to comment. She had known Addie long enough to understand when not to push.
At the front of the class, Miss Clara scribbled on the board. "Romeo and Juliet," she said. "Tragic love. Endless fate. Poetic nonsense wrapped in deep pain. I want a 500-word essay by Friday."
Groans filled the room. Addie said nothing.
Her gaze drifted out the window. The sky was cloudy today. Not stormy just heavy. Like it was holding back something big. Something unspoken.
A light tap on her hand pulled her back.
"He's here," Kaisi whispered with a smirk.
Addie looked up.
Ryaan had just walked in warm smile, calm energy, the kind of presence that could make chaos settle down without a word. Her heart tensed, then softened.
He took the empty seat in front of her and turned around. "Hey. You okay?"
"I'm fine," she replied quickly.
"You look like you fought a demon in your dreams," he joked, eyes filled with concern even through his light tone.
Addie hesitated.
What if I did?
"Just bad sleep," she said instead, brushing it off.
But her mind wasn't with the class anymore. It had wandered far back to her strange dream.
The voice of a little girl calling, "Mommy, come back…"
A glowing feather in her hand.
A man with silver eyes whispering things she didn't understand.
A reflection in the mirror that didn't feel like hers.
***
After class, Ryaan walked beside her on the way to the canteen. Kaisi had disappeared somewhere else.
He talked about weekend plans. She didn't respond. He offered her a drink. She declined. He held the door open. She walked through without noticing.
Finally, he stopped. "Okay. What's going on?"
Addie blinked. "What do you mean?"
"You're not really here," he said, looking her straight in the eyes. "You look like you're stuck between this moment and… something else."
That was exactly how she felt.
"I'm just tired," She was telling the truth she was tired.Tired of the dreams, tired of the weight pressing on her chest, tired of waking up with the aching sense that she was missing someone. Or something.
Someone important. Someone she had forgotten.
She didn't understand what this feeling was just that it clung to her like fog, always there, always heavy. And all she wanted now… was to escape it. Even just for a while.
"You always say that."
She felt sorry.Sorry that she couldn't tell him the truth not because she didn't trust him, but because she didn't even understand it herself.
How could she explain the thing the dreams, the voice in her head, the feeling that a whole other life was calling her from somewhere she couldn't reach?
So she stayed silent.
And that silence… hurt her more than any lie ever could.
She looked away.
How could she tell him?
"I see dreams I can't explain.
I miss a child I've never met.
My soul feels older than my body."
It sounded crazy. Unbelievable.
Even to her.
"Are you coming tonight?" Ryaan asked, quieter now. He meant it he didn't want to celebrate without her. She was the only person who truly mattered to him.
Addie nodded. "Of course."
He studied her face, like he could see through the lie, but he didn't argue. He let it go.
***
Later that evening, after the last lecture, Addie slipped away to the garden behind the library a quiet, hidden place where no one usually went.
She sat under the old tree and touched the pendant around her neck the feather charm. She unclasped it and held it in her palm.
It shimmered again.
Brighter this time.
A soft breeze brushed her skin — strange, because the air was still.
Then, the voice came again. Not from outside… but from inside her mind.
"Your power is sealed."
Addie's eyes widened. She stood quickly, looking around. No one was there.
Just silence.
Then something soft brushed against her cheek. Like the touch of a wing.
"Who's there?" she whispered.
No reply.
Only a single white feather, drifting down from nowhere… landing in her hand.
Her heart pounded.
"Addie?"
She turned sharply. It was Ryaan.
"What are you doing here?" he asked, confused, breathless.
She looked at him, caught off guard. "I was just…"
Before she could finish, he stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her.
A tight, trembling hug.
She froze.
"Why are you ignoring me?" he whispered, his voice breaking. "I feel like you're slipping away from me…"
Addie didn't know what to say.
She didn't want to hurt him. She didn't mean to. But something inside her was changing — something she didn't understand.
Still… she hugged him back.
They stayed that way for a moment, breathing the same air, lost in their own thoughts.
Then… slowly, their eyes met.
He leaned in and kissed her.
Softly.
Gently.
Like she was something precious he didn't want to break.
And Addie kissed him back without hesitation.
Their lips touched, hesitant at first, then warmer.
The world around them kept moving.
But for them time had stopped.