Buried Alive

My name is Rukaya.

It was midnight when I regained consciousness after being unconscious for a long time. My head was pounding painfully, and my whole body felt unbearably heavy, as if I had been carrying stones.

I tried to breathe properly…

But I couldn’t get enough air.

The darkness around me was suffocating. The smell of fresh soil filled the space. My trembling hands touched the sides around me and met hard wood.

My heartbeat began to race.

“No… no…”

I started banging hard.

“Help! Somebody help me! There’s someone in here!”

My voice hit the wooden walls and echoed back at me. No one answered.

I banged harder until my nails began to hurt.

“Please! I’m alive!”

Silence.

A terrifying silence.

Then the horrifying truth struck me like lightning.

I was inside a coffin.

Tears streamed down my face. My whole body shook with fear. I tried kicking, but there wasn’t enough space. The air inside kept getting thinner.

My chest tightened painfully.

“Help me…” I cried weakly.

I felt like my end had come.

Suddenly…

I heard the sound of soil being removed from above the coffin.

Kwang… Kwang…

I froze in shock.

Someone was digging.

A few moments later, the coffin lid was forced open.

Fresh air rushed into my lungs.

I coughed violently while trembling uncontrollably. Quickly, I sat upright inside the coffin, gasping for air like someone who had returned from hell.

When I lowered my eyes…

I realized I was wrapped in a white burial shroud.

“What is this…?”

I tore it off in panic as tears rolled down my cheeks.

But what terrified me most was that the person who had saved me was nowhere to be seen.

I looked around in fear.

There was no one.

I was completely alone.

In the cemetery.

A cold wind blew through the graves with a terrifying sound. Tree branches danced in the darkness like shadows of the dead. Night birds cried out with chilling sounds that pierced straight into my heart.

I began to cry.

“Who saved me…? Please show yourself… I’m scared…”

No one answered.

My legs trembled as I tried to stand. I needed to leave that place immediately, but every step I tried to take filled me with even more fear.

Then I started hearing laughter.

Strange laughter.

Terrifying laughter.

It echoed from every corner of the cemetery.

I couldn’t even move.

“My God…” I cried, closing my eyes tightly. “Please protect me…”

I began reciting every prayer I knew with a trembling voice.

Suddenly…

A blinding light appeared in front of me.

It shone so brightly that my eyes burned. I tried to shield myself, but my body lost all strength.

Everything went dark.

When I regained consciousness again…

I found myself at home.

The living room was filled with people dressed in black. Cries and sorrow filled every corner.

My mother was crying bitterly.

My father sat silently, his eyes red with tears.

Neighbors whispered to each other in grief.

I stood there in confusion.

“What’s going on?”

Slowly, I looked toward the wall.

My heart stopped.

My picture was hanging there with a black ribbon around it.

My legs started shaking.

“No… this can’t be…”

I ran toward my mother.

“Mom!” I cried while holding her shoulders. “Please don’t cry… I’m alive, Mom…”

But she didn’t look at me.

She couldn’t hear me.

I tried again.

“Mom, please look at me… I’m right here…”

No response.

Then I realized something terrifying.

No one could see me.

Tears slowly rolled down my cheeks as I turned to look at everyone in the room.

That’s when my eyes landed on my stepmother.

She sat quietly in the corner.

But unlike everyone else…

She wasn’t crying.

And on her face was a secret smile.

My heart pounded violently.

Memories slowly started returning to me.

The glass of juice she gave me that night…

Its strange taste…

The dizziness that made me lose consciousness…

And her voice…

“Rukaya is dead…”

My eyes widened in horror.

“This can’t be…”

My stepmother was behind everything.

But one painful question kept burning inside me…

If I’m alive…

Why can’t anyone see me?

I stood in the middle of the living room, staring at Shamim Bakari with eyes filled with pain and anger.

Everyone was mourning my death…

But she remained calm.

She wasn’t crying.

She wasn’t shocked.

And on her face was a small secret smile that made my heart tremble.

Suddenly…

Memories slowly began returning to my mind.

Before all this happened, my life was beautiful.

I, Rukaya Bakari, was the only daughter of billionaire Hassan Bakari, the owner of Bakari Holdings, one of the most powerful companies in the country.

I was a cheerful, intelligent, and hardworking young woman.

Many people loved me because I never bragged about my family’s wealth. I respected everyone, rich or poor.

I loved helping people in need.

I often donated to orphans, beggars, and struggling families. Many times, I visited orphanages to provide food, clothes, and school fees for children.

That was why so many people loved me.

And my father…

He loved me more than anything in the world.

“Rukaya is the pride of my life,” he always said proudly in front of the company employees.

I worked at Bakari Holdings like a young boss. Even though I was still young, I managed many important responsibilities within the company.

The employees respected me because of my intelligence and hard work.

But behind all that happiness…

There was someone who secretly hated me.

Shamim Bakari.

My stepmother.

On the outside, she pretended to be kind and loving. She smiled at me in front of people, gave me gifts, and called me her daughter.

But inside…

She was a poisonous snake.

She was filled with jealousy.

She wanted all of my father’s wealth and the company to belong to her own son.

And I was the biggest obstacle to her plans.

That day…

I was extremely exhausted after working all day at the office.

Night had already fallen, but I was still inside my office reviewing important company documents.

I held my head in exhaustion.

“My God… I’m so tired…”

That’s when the office door slowly opened.

Shamim walked in holding a glass of juice.

She was smiling.

“Sorry, my daughter,” she said softly. “You work too hard. Drink this juice and regain your energy.”

Because I trusted her…

I had no suspicion at all.

I took the glass and drank it.

A few moments later…

My head began spinning.

My eyes grew heavy.

My body started losing strength.

“Mom… I don’t feel well…”

I remember looking at Shamim with fearful eyes.

But instead of helping me…

She smiled.

A terrifying smile.

“Rest, Rukaya…” she said coldly.

That was the last time I saw everything clearly.

I lost consciousness.

I don’t know how many hours passed…

But I remember hearing the voices of men.

“Madam said we should dump her far away…”

My body felt heavy.

I could feel myself being carried.

But I couldn’t even open my eyes.

Two days later…

My body was found.

And people believed I was dead.

That was why they buried me.

Tears rolled down my cheeks as I remembered everything.

I looked at Shamim with burning anger.

“You did this to me…”

But she still couldn’t hear me.

I clenched my fists painfully.

“No… this won’t end like this.”

I wiped away my tears slowly as I looked at my father, who was crying in deep pain.

“Father must know the truth.”

“Mother must see me.”

“And everyone who did this to me… will regret it.”

I took a deep breath.

“I am alive.”

“And I will protect my people…”

“And my father’s wealth and company.”

My eyes burned with anger.

My journey for revenge had just begun.

I remained standing in the middle of our massive living room, feeling my world changing more with every passing second.

No one could see me.

No one could hear me.

The sound of mourning filled every corner of our luxurious mansion. Golden chandeliers hanging from the high ceiling cast a dim glow that only deepened the sadness inside the house.

My mother was still crying in pain.

My father sat silently with his head lowered, his hands trembling with grief.

But me…

I stood right in front of them like air.

I wanted to scream.

I wanted to tell them that I was still alive.

But no one could see me.

Tears slowly rolled down my cheeks.

“What is happening to me…?” I whispered to myself. “Am I… a ghost?”

My body trembled with fear.

I tried touching my mother again, but my hand slowly passed through her shoulder as if I wasn’t real.

I jumped back in terror.

“No… this can’t be…”

My heartbeat raced wildly.

I turned around the living room desperately searching for answers I didn’t have.

Who saved me in the cemetery?

Why was I alive, yet invisible to everyone?

And why did I feel like something dark was following me?

Suddenly…

I felt someone’s presence behind me.

A cold chill ran down my spine.

I quickly turned around.

My eyes met a young man I had never seen before in my life.

He stood calmly near the staircase leading upstairs, staring directly at me.

My heart pounded hard.

The young man was tall, with smooth brown skin glowing under the dim light of the room. His face was sharp and handsome, carrying a dangerous kind of charm that made it impossible to look away from him.

His black hair was perfectly styled.

He wore an expensive black suit that fit his body flawlessly, as if it had been made specifically for him. The silver watch on his wrist reflected faint flashes of light whenever he moved his hand.

But what shocked me the most…

Were his eyes.

Dark.

Sharp.

And they were looking directly at me.

Not through me like everyone else.

But at me.

I stood there speechless.

“You… you can see me?” I asked in a trembling voice.

The young man smiled slightly.

His smile was calm, yet mysterious.

“Yes,” he said in a deep and attractive voice. “I can see you, Rukaya.”

My entire body shivered.

“That’s impossible…” I whispered. “No one else can see me…”

He slowly began walking toward me.

Every step he took was filled with confidence.

The scent of his expensive perfume spread through the air as he approached me.

I instinctively stepped back in fear.

“Who are you?” I asked cautiously.

He stopped in front of me and extended his hand.

“My name is Samiri.”

I stared at him in shock.

“Samiri…?”

He slowly nodded.

“And I’m the one who saved you that night.”

My eyes widened.

“You?!” I exclaimed in disbelief. “But I didn’t see anyone in the cemetery!”

Samiri smiled again.

“You couldn’t see me.”

“Why?”

“Because the time had not yet come.”

My confusion only grew stronger.

“I don’t understand anything!”

I raised my voice slightly as tears filled my eyes.

“My family is mourning my death… no one can see me… and now you suddenly appear claiming you saved me!”

Samiri looked at me calmly, as if he already knew everything about me.

“Rukaya…” he said softly. “You don’t have just one enemy.”

His words made me freeze.

“What do you mean?”

“You have more enemies than you can imagine.”

My heart pounded harder.

Samiri slipped his hands into the pockets of his suit while continuing to stare at me.

“And for you to defeat your enemies…”

He paused for a few seconds before continuing.

“They had to believe you were dead.”

A cold sensation spread through my body.

“So… all of this…”

“Is protection,” Samiri said.

I stared at him without understanding.

“You’re the reason they can’t see me?”

He slowly nodded.

“Yes.”

“Why?”

For the first time, his smile disappeared.

“Because I was searching for you.”

“Searching for me for what?”

Samiri stepped closer to me until I could feel my heartbeat growing faster.

“I am the heir of a powerful bloodline.”

My eyes filled with shock.

“And I was searching for a woman strong enough to stand beside me…”

He looked directly into my eyes.

“And you are my chosen one.”

I stood there speechless.

“What?!”

Samiri smiled faintly.

“I want you to become my wife, Rukaya.”

I laughed in disbelief and confusion.

“This is not the time for jokes!”

I shook my head hard.

“I don’t even know whether I’m alive or dead… and you’re talking about marriage?”

Samiri’s expression didn’t change at all.

“Do you think it was luck that I saved you?”

I fell silent.

“Rukaya…” he said in a low, heavy voice, “your return from the grave was never normal.”

A cold shiver ran through my body.

“Samiri…” I whispered weakly, “who are you really?”

His eyes glowed faintly beneath the living room lights.

“There’s still so much you don’t know.”

He stepped even closer and whispered:

“And this is only the beginning of your powers…”