Small lives are protected by their inability to see.
If they understood what brushed past them each day, they would not get out of bed.
So they feel instead.
And call it coincidence.
Record Three - Lia
She said his name twice before he reacted.
“Elos?”
Nothing.
She frowned slightly, fingers tightening around the edge of the table. The cafe was loud in the normal way. Machines hissing, cups clinking, someone laughing too hard near the window. But there was a strange pocket of quiet around him. Like he wasn’t fully here.
“Elos?” She tried again
Nothing.
He was staring past her. Not at the wall. Not at the door. Just slightly past the table, eyes unfocused, like he’d paused mid-thought and forgotten how to come back.
She leaned closer. Tilted her head. Then louder .
“Elos.”
That got him.
He blinked, sharp and sudden like he’d fallen from somewhere high. The tension in his shoulders eased just a bit and the cafe noise seemed to rush back in all at once.
He looked down at his latte.
She followed his gaze. The foam was barely disturbed, a thin ring forming where he hadn’t touched it.
Of course. He always forgot to drink it.
She checked the time on her phone. Looked back at him.
“You’ve been staring at nothing for like..” She glanced at the clock again, “a full minute.”
He watched the surface of the latte ripple faintly, like he was surprised it was still there.
She sighed. “It’s gonna get cold.”
He didn’t respond right away.
Typical.
She leaned one hip against the table, arms crossed. She’d noticed by now that if she didn’t fill the silence, it would just..stretch.
“I wasn’t staring at nothing,” he said eventually. Quiet. Almost apologetic.
She snorted. “That’s literally what people say when they’re staring at nothing.”
For a second. Just a second. She thought she imagined it.
But the corner of his mouth twitched. Barely there.
That was new.
Her expression softened without her permission.
This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it
“Hey.” she said, softer now. “You okay?”
He looked up at her. Really looked. And something about it made her chest do that stupid little tighten. His eyes weren’t cold. If anything, they were too calm.
“I’m fine,” he said.
She studied him for half a second longer, then decided to let go. She knew that tone. The polite one. The one people used when they didn’t want questions.
“Okay,” she said, smiling anyway.
She turned back towards the counter, already thinking about whether she should steal one of the cookies behind the glass.
Behind her, she could feel his attention linger.
Not heavy. Not uncomfortable.
Just watching.
And for some reason, that made her walk a little slower.
She grabbed a cloth, wiped down the counter and told herself again that there was nothing weird about him. Just quiet. Just awkward. Just Elos.
For some reason, she didn’t mind that he kept showing up.
“Shadow man?.”
The words brushed her ear.
She jolted with a sharp, breathless yelp. More surprise than fear, her shoulders snapping up as she spun halfway around.
“Mina..!”
Arms wrapped around her from behind before she could finish the sentence. Warm. Unavoidable.
“Oh relax,” Mina murmured, already settling in, chin pressing lazily against her shoulder like it belonged there.
“Get off.”
“No.”
She sighed, the argument already over. She shifted her weight back slightly, settling into the hold without thinking about it.
“So,” Mina continued mildly, “that’s the shadow man.”
“Hm.”
“He looks old,” Mina said
She frowned. “He’s not..” “He’s....”
Mina tilted her head. “He’s?”
She shook her head slightly. “Nothing.”
Mina smiled, slow and knowing. “You’re salivating.”
“I’m not!”
She glanced back at Elos. He still hadn't moved. Still quiet. Still out of step with the room. “ I just think he’s..weird.” she muttered.
“Mmm.” Mina hummed.
Silent.
“Get off.”
“No.”
She shifted her shoulders lightly. Just enough to test it.
Nothing.
Mina adjusted with her, seamless, like she’d anticipated the movement before lia even made it. She tried again, this time leaning forward a little, twisting her arm just enough to slip free.
Mina tightened her hold by half a degree. Not forceful. Effortless.
“Release me,” She murmed.
“No.”
She huffed quietly through her nose and tried a different angle, stepping sideways, ducking her shoulder like she might slide out. Mina followed. They stood like that for a few seconds - shifting, countering, adjusting. Two people who’d done this exact dance a hundred times before.
“Get OFF me,” Lia hissed, trying and failing again to pry Mina’s arms away. Mina squeezed tighter just to be annoying, rocking them slightly like they were sharing one body now.
She gave up with a soft sigh. Mina smiled into her shoulder. Satisfied. Then finally, loosened her arms on her own, stepping back like she’d been bored of winning.
Lia didn’t comment. She turned her head instead.
The spot where Elos had been was empty. Her brows knit together. She scanned the cafe. Nothing. Her gaze drifted toward the door.
The bell above it was still. It hadn’t rung.
She frowned, then walked towards the table. The latte was still there. Untouched. The foam had settled completely now, smooth and unbroken.. She stared at it for a second longer than necessary. Then sighed.
Later that day.
Lia stomped down the street with a grocery bag cutting into her fingers and a bad mood clinging to her like humidity.
Watch where you’re going, bitch
The fish vendor lady’s voice replayed in her head, sharp and unimpressed.
“I was literally standing still.” She scowled at a passing bike.
The bag rustled as she adjusted her grip, oranges knocking gently against each other. By the time her apartment building came into view, her frustration had upgraded.
She stabbed the elevator button.
Nothing.
She stabbed it again.
Still nothing.
She stared at the dark panel, shoulders sagging.
The stairwell waited.
She exhaled through her nose, slow and threatening.
“Uhhh, perfect.”
Halfway up the first flight, something flew directly into her eye.
“OH… NO… NOPE…WHYY “
She stopped dead, blinking rapidly, one hand fumbling with the grocery bag while the other rubbed her face.
“Get out, get out, get OUT,” she hissed, half blind, swiping at the air like she could intimidate the bug into leaving.
Her foot missed a step.
She stumbled forward.
And walked straight into something.
Soft.
But also hard.
Warm.
She didn’t look up. Her free hand landed on it automatically, steadying herself.
She pressed lightly.
It didn’t move.
Her fingers slid a little, registering warmth through fabric. Solid. Broad. Unreasonably firm
She patted it once. Then again.
Finally she blinked the bug out of her eye and looked up.
Grey overcoat.
Plastic bags sagging, thin and stretched, water-darkened at the bottom.
Her hand snapped back like she’d touched a hot stove.
“ YOU - WHAT - “
He looked down at her.
Calm. Quiet. Unmoved.
“W..what are you doing here ?!”
She didn’t wait for an answer.
Or maybe she did, but her body had already decided otherwise.
She spun on her heel and hurried down the hall, keys already in her hand, grocery bag bumping against her leg as she fumbled with the lock. The door gave way. She slipped inside, slamming it shut behind her.
Click. Lock.
She slid down with her back against the door and stayed there.
Breathing.
Her gaze drifted to her hand.
The last ten seconds replayed in her head on a very unhelpful loop.. warmth, solidity. Her fingers curled slightly, as if the memory still lived there.
She lifted both hands and lightly slapped her cheeks.
Once. Then again.
She folded forward, forearms resting on her knees, head bowed. The kind of posture that looked dangerously close to crying even though she absolutely was not.
Outside, the stairway was quiet .
ELOS.
Elos had taken a step toward the apartment door when something tugged gently at the back of his coat.
The nudge came again, lighter this time.
An old woman stood a few steps behind him, her shopping bag resting against her leg, one hand braced on the railing. Her hair was neatly pinned back, her cardigan a soft, faded blue.
“Uuh,” she said. “Do you live here.”
“Mmm,” Elos replied. “I moved today.”
She smiled, slow and careful.
“Welcome then.“
She gave a small nod and continued down the hall, her steps unhurried, each one deliberate, the sound of them fading gradually instead of all at once.
Elos watched until the corner swallowed her.
Then his gaze turned to the apartment door the girl had fled into.
Quiet. Closed.
He could see her crouched on the floor, back pressed to the door. Shoulders drawn inward. Hands resting uselessly in her lap. Heart racing faster than it needed to.
He watched for a moment longer than he needed to.
He turned away.
His own door stood open in front of him, the apartment beyond empty and dim.
He stepped inside.
The door closed softly behind him.
And the hallway went quiet.
