EPISODE 1

* Raining heavily *

'Lightning continually with a loud thud, it feels like clouds were mourning  over something.'

I woke up again in the middle of the night, winded, gasping loudly. Every time I wake up from a nightmare, I feel like I am reborn. I can't comprehend these patterns, and now it's tiresome.

Those nightmares...those vivid pictures, whispers, and those peculiar sounds coming from somewhere close to me...sometimes I can hear them coming from me, like I am not me, there is someone...and these strange patterns seem to remind me of something .

I am standing alone in my room by the window, watching the raindrops as they are falling aggressively on my window, trying to break in. This silence in my room is loud enough to wake me. So after countless tries of sleeping, I went to my bathroom to take a shower. Somehow I don't like standing in front of the mirror; my reflection never felt familiar. I can always feel like someone is staring at me right through my eyes. Setting those thoughts aside, I cover the mirror  with a cloth and continue to brush my teeth.

I got ready wearing this butter yellow top with  blue flared jeans. I seem to dress opposite of my mental state, as it makes me at ease; it covers something I am trying hard to hide.

*The phone rings. It's Lara, I say to myself.... I picked up the call.

'It's already 8:37 am; we are late for lecture,' said Lara, and I sprinted towards my door, grabbing my bag and phone. I booked a cab  and reached my university .

After attending two lectures, I headed towards the library, my comfort place. Not many people seem to be there, so it is always quiet. I went straight to my spot near the window. It feels like a place excluded from the library. It's quite lonely here, but I find it very comforting. Likewise, it reminds me of me. I grabbed a book and started reading.... Usually it's so quiet I can hear my own heartbeat, but today I can hear a different heartbeat, thumping with a different rhythm. I lifted my eyes to see the source, only to find out those pairs of eyes were staring at me.

And my heart skipped a beat.

I  am familiar with those eyes, but I was trying not to stare back...for some reason. So I kept my eyes on my book but it made him annoyed, I guess.

*Flinched*

He stroked my hair...huh!... He stroked my hair...why...would he do that? Before I could think anything, I heard him say something...what was he saying? I couldn't make it out. Then I heard him; he was asking me something.

Before I could answer that...

'Hey!( (he said with a sweet smile). 'Uh... I am Jack...and...you? 'Said Jack.

And I was...embarrassed for some reason... I couldn't say my name... It's like words weren't forming in my mouth.

I said, Hey...uh... I am... (I could see him staring at my face, wondering how someone could forget their own name) ...i I am J... Jia ..' i said .

And that was the second time i have seen those eyes....

EPISODE 2

I can feel my heart pounding crazily beneath my clothes, making loud noises, which I fear I am not the only one who can hear. I quietly peeked at him through my book as he was sitting right in front of me. He was frowning, trying to understand something, I assumed. Then he glanced at me, and I could feel my cheeks getting flushed; he hesitated.' Do you come here often?' I nodded. And for the next 20 minutes, we sat in silence; neither of us talked. I couldn't read anymore; all I knew was Jack was sitting in front of me. Before I could break the ice. He looked at me, 'I think I am disturbing your studies, mmh... I'll take my leave, and by the way, I can't stay here more than this; it doesn't suit me. So see you next time, bye.... He tossed the book he was reading and turned around to leave; I felt relieved. I needed a while to comprehend what happened 30 minutes ago, and then he stopped for a second and looked at me with that pretty face.

I could feel my cheeks getting pink... Not only that, but I was embarrassed for some reason; perhaps it was my clothes. I didn't feel pretty in front of him like other girls who come to university looking faires from their home, but why isn't he leaving? What is it now?

By the way, what was your name...uhh, Jia, yeah...with a double a? A sly grin appread on his mouth .

'I liked your face; it's pretty. I wonder where you got that ... your mother must be beautiful. Okay, enough of that, bye. He sprinted towards the door. And left.

And those words were all it needed for me to have a panic attack. Yeah... panic attack.

I started having them after my father left us one morning without a word...uhh... I mean me... Mom didn't seem to care much.

As she was busy painting her nail with that bright red nail polish while watching her favorite show on the T.V, laughing  and deliberately ignoring her 8-year-old daughter, who was crying her eyes out and calling her mom for help, or perhaps she really couldn't see me because after applying nail paint, she picked up her purse and left without saying anything and left me stranded....

I knew I was never her priority; she never talked to me nicely, never treated me like her own child. She always got annoyed when she saw my face; it bothered me, but Dad always used to console me, saying Mom was just a little sensitive ... I hated that... Everything. I never painted my nails, never liked that show, and never liked myself again, thanks to her.

I can't keep talking to myself as I was getting out of breath; I felt my head getting heavier and heavier as someone had slammed my head to the table, or maybe it was me who slammed my head into the table because I can see the table so clearly. I felt my hot breath on my face... Furthermore, I wanted to ask for help, but I could barely speak, barely form any words, and next I knew there was this warm pair of hands holding me ... I could hear my name from afar, or it was coming  from the man who was holding me. I don't know, but I felt safe...and without worrying about the fact of what could happen to me now, I let my guard down...and finally closed my eyelids.

The next thing I knew was I woke up on my bed in my room. It must be Lara who helped me after that shitty panic attack, but what about that man... It must be all in my mind, I said to myself ... it was a quiet night. I reached up to my face to tie my hair...my face was wet... Perhaps I was crying in my sleep; it might have been a nightmare.

I reached up to my phone lying upside down on the wooden nightstand next to my bed. It was buzzing. I picked up and saw a notification; I chose to ignore it. I woke up from my bed and headed towards the bathroom; I was sweaty; I needed to take  a shower.  I was mumbling to myself.

And then I heard a breaking sound from my kitchen; it's probably a glass, but that's not relevant ... The vital point is that what made that glass fall, it would have been more natural to me if I kept those glasses on my kitchen counter, but that's not the case here because I keep them on the top right shelf, and they can't get out of it on their own unless someone takes it out, and I am sure it was not me in the morning ... Then who was in my kitchen  ... I would have convinced myself that it was Lara.... Maybe she is resting in the living room; it has happened before, but I can't anymore because I have just gotten a text from her saying if I am home or not......

If Lara was at her home, then... who is this person in my living room?

AND WHY IS THIS BLACK FIGURE COMING IN MY DIRECTION???

EPISODE 3

I see the black figure approaching my room, so before the panic kicks in, I grab the vase sitting on the nightstand and gather every ounce of courage left in me to smash it on the head of whoever it was. I quietly take small steps towards the door; so does he, and then ... I hear the doorbell; someone is at the door.

Yes, someone is at the door. I felt relived, and then it rings again, but what do I do now?

Whoever that person is, if he broke into my house with wrong intentions... obviously he has wrong intentions because why would you enter into someone's house without an invitation, especially at night? No one does that unless they have some dirty business.

I have to think of something...but what can I possibly do with an intruder inside the house and a stranger outside the door?

Cops....oh yeah, I should definitely call them. I look for phone.. phone, its on the nightstand i remind my self .

I pick it up to call the cops and tell them about my situation and then..I heard a sound and then again .

I possibly cannot be mistaken .

It is the door , its opened , it make sound because it's an old apartment and the door is quite crooked , it makes this creaking sound when opened.

The vase nearly slipped from my hand . My pulse slammed against my ribs so hard it hurts. I tightened the grip           on the vase and forced myself to breathe slowly , clinging to a single thought-

"if i miss...i am dead."

I stay motionless behind the half opened door of bedroom .

Blood rushed to my ears.

I tried to breathe slowly .

Quitely.

As quitely as possible.

Then i waited.

The silence in the apartment was so sharp it almost felt unreal, as if I were completely alone in the house. For a moment, I began to think what if nothing had happened at all—that maybe I had been hallucinating from the very beginning. Maybe it was just the stress......Or my medical condition.

It was hard to tell what was real anymore.

Then I heard it.

Faint footsteps.

Coming in my direction.

They were so soft that I almost thought I had imagined them too, but then I heard the rustle of clothes. My fingers tightened around the vase, and I slowly raised it, ready to hit whoever stepped through that door.

Then a terrifying thought struck me.

What if he had a weapon?

What if the second I swung, he did something worse?

Sweat trickled down the back of my neck. Suddenly, the room felt too hot, too small, too suffocating.

Then I heard someone breathing.

It wasn't me.

Someone was standing just behind the door.

Oh God.

What do I do??

I lifted the vase higher, ready to bring it down before whoever it was could hurt me.

And then--

“Jia?”

I froze.

That voice.....that voice...

I pushed the door open in a rush.

Lara stood there at the doorframe, staring at me with a confused expression that quickly turned into horror when she saw my face.

Before she could ask me anything, all the strength drained out of my body.

The vase that had been there in my hand almost glued, slipped from my trembling hand and shattered against the floor as my knees gave out beneath me. I collapsed right there, unable to stop the tears burning in my eyes.

“Jia—hey, hey, look at me,” Lara said, dropping to her knees in front of me. “It’s okay. You’re okay. Don’t cry.”

But I couldn’t stop.

I wasn’t even making any sound. The tears just kept sliding down my face, hot and endless, while my chest rose and fell in uneven breaths. Minutes passed like hours before I finally stopped shaking enough to breathe properly.

By the time I calmed down, I was sitting on the couch with my knees pulled to my chest, trying to make sense of what had just happened....and somehow i just couldn't.

If Lara had been here the whole time.

Then what about the text?

I looked toward the kitchen as Lara searched through the drawers for my medicines and a glass of water, muttering under her breath when she couldn’t find them. I wanted to tell her they were right behind her on the counter, but my eyes were fixed on the floor.

The shattered glass.

I was not hallucinating ..it was the same glass i heard when i was in my bedroom . I felt a sudden rush in my body , i was ready to ask about this to Lara.

Finally, Lara came back with the bunch of diffrent pills and water. She was sacred , i can see her hand trembling ,, trying to find the pills. I took them from her , while she sat beside me, still worried, still asking what had happened.

I could hear her voice.

I just couldn’t focus on it.

My mind was too busy trying to understand what in this house had been real—and what hadn’t. In that silence , her phone rang. The sound made us startle . She looked at me with the look of asking ,if it's okay to pick it up or not . I gave her an assuring look .

" You can pick it up it's fine , i am okay now " i said , she felt relived . She picked up her phone and started talking to someone .  I could hear someone appolizing reapdily , It felt like a guy .

I looked at the wall-clock , it was past 3. I said to myself it's time , she should she go now , i am fine now and it's already dawn.When i turn around to look at her she had already hung up the call.

Lara looked at me and hesitated for a second, she looked at me as if she had just remembered something important.

“Jia… there’s something I forgot to tell you.”

I frowned.

“When you blacked out in the library, it wasn’t me who brought you home.”

My body went still....it was not her.

“What?”

“It was Aaron. My high school friend. He happened to be at the university that day, and when he saw what happened, he helped you. He called me, asked for your address, and I gave him the apartment code too. He stayed here with you until I arrived, but then he had to leave because of something urgent. And… the broken glass? That was him. He is sorry about it.”

Aaron.

The name settled in my mind like something dangerous.

A man.

A stranger.

The one who had carried me home.

And suddenly, the memory of those familiar eyes in the library didn’t feel so distant anymore.