Chapter 1

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The sky was gray, covered by giant clouds, hiding the sun behind them. Tiny drops of rain descended slowly and quietly from the sky to the ground. Then, they quickly began to rain down at a rapid rate... as if they were spears and swords falling from the sky to stab the land of this city with all cruelty and cruelty. It's as if she has a grudge against her and her residents for a reason that people don't know but that this city knows well. The city was quiet, as if it felt the sky's guilt and wrath upon it... It was devoid of all the hustle and bustle of people... Only a few passers-by walked slowly and silently, carrying umbrellas to protect them from the heavy rain. Some were walking slowly without any activity. Their faces have a gloomy look because of this stormy weather.

On the corner at one of the sidewalks separating the street are tall buildings, even medium, of almost different shapes and colors, filled with families who live there.

She was standing next to one of the buildings quietly, a girl who appeared to be in her twenties, her hair of medium length and brown, falling freely over her shoulders, and she was wearing a relatively long cotton coat that was gray like the clouds that formed in the sky of this city. She was carrying a black umbrella that looked old. It was somewhat worn out, and yet the girl held onto it with both hands as if she was holding on to her lifeline from this volatile, raging weather that would not hesitate to strike her with a lightning bolt that would destroy her. She knew from the beginning that the weather would be like this, yet she decided to leave her house for something important or to meet someone. While she was standing in her place, looking right and left, with signs of anxiety and fear visible on her face, the place was almost empty of any movement.

Since she opened her eyes to the world for the first time, and she was here, in this city, she had never left it, not because she didn't want to, but because she couldn't do it. She thought every time about leaving or traveling in any way, whether it was legal or not. The important thing is to stay away from this miserable city, as the economic and social conditions were deteriorating, as everyone was complaining about the high cost of living and the skyrocketing prices, in addition to the interruption of some food products that were important for families to feed their children. The phenomenon spread. Monopoly. The state was not fulfilling its duties towards citizens, which worsened the situation even more.

And without forgetting the dangerous spread of corruption in all its forms and types, until this city was no longer fit to live in, it became tainted by the vices and crimes of its residents that were contained in its land and absorbed by its roots, until it withered and rotted, and it had to leave in order to live in another city whose conditions were better. Convenient to live in. However, she was always failing, because of something she did not know what, and he was always preventing her, so she gave up on that.

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The girl remained waiting for a while, as if she were waiting for someone, as she looked at her wristwatch from time to time, and continued to watch passers-by, and it seemed as if she was searching their faces for the face of someone she knew, then she looked back forward and sometimes down.

After a long wait until she almost fell asleep in her place, the girl heard the sound of footsteps approaching her, so she turned her head in an automatic movement to the side from which she heard the steps, and soon a beautiful smile and joy spread on her lips, when she saw a man approaching her, who was young. He was in his mid-twenties, with black hair and sky-blue eyes, and his facial features were calm but also attractive. When he saw the girl, he smiled as well, and the girl quickly started running towards him, with joy still written on her face.

“Edward!” The girl shouted, calling his name excitedly as she came towards him, while he walked towards her with balanced and elegant steps, still smiling.

“I'm too late, sorry.” Edward said this in a calm tone of voice while regret was written on his face for being late.

“It's okay, the important thing is that you arrived.” The girl said, still smiling at him

"Did you wait too long?" . Edward asked her, and she denied it with a false head

“No, no, not much.” She answered, and he sighed in relief and smiled, then

“I'm really sorry, Aline, for keeping you waiting.”

Aline laughed, patted him on the shoulder, and said jokingly

“I told you it's okay, come on seriously! You look like a character in a drama series.”

Edward smiled at her with a look of love in his eyes, lowered his eyes and said:

"I'm still sorry for being late. You must be tired of waiting for me."

Aline looked at him with gentle reproach and said:

“Do you intend to apologize to me all day? Apologize as if you were late for a whole day, and you were only late for a few hours.” Then she added, smiling:

"Instead of saying 'sorry I'm late' say thank you for waiting for me, okay?"

Edward smiled beautifully and said:

“Yes, you're right, thanks for waiting for me, Aline.”

Aline smiled brightly and said to him:

" You're welcome! ".

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They were walking together on the road while the rain was still pouring over Allen's black umbrella, under which they took shelter, so as not to get wet due to the heavy rain, while they talked about various general and diverse topics that occupied people in various economic and social fields, and even political ones as well. Neither of them talked about any special topic.

Edward suggested to Allen that they go to a restaurant near the area they were in, and Allen quickly agreed.

They arrived at a restaurant, which was in a quiet place and had a sign written in large letters, “Restaurant of Sorrows.” Aline looked at the sign in amazement, then turned her head to Edward, who was standing next to her and who was strangely calm, and asked him:

“Didn't you just find this depressing restaurant to take us to eat? Besides, doesn't it look deserted?”

Edward spoke while he was still looking at the restaurant, and in his calm voice he said:

"No, it's not like that."

“Are you sure about that?” Aline said

" Yes " . Edward turned to her and answered, then looked back at the restaurant.

Then he spoke again and said:

"Let's go inside quickly so we don't catch a cold."

Aline looked at him worriedly, then looked at the restaurant and said:

" Good ". Then Edward opened the door and they entered.

Edward and Allen chose one of the tables and sat at it. The place was completely empty, as if Allen's perception of this restaurant being deserted seemed correct.

Aline remained silent, looking at the place suspiciously, while Edward was calm as usual, looking out the window at the city that had been soaked by rain. Then, after waiting for a while, a person approached their table. It seemed that the waiter had come to take their orders as he gave them the menu, and Aline was truly amazed at the presence of a waiter in such a strange restaurant.

Edward looked at a menu and pointed with his finger at what he had chosen and said to the waiter:

"I'll take this"

" Good " . The waiter wrote down Edward's order, then turned to Aline, who was still looking at the menu, and asked her:

“And you, miss?”

Aline said to the waiter:

"I will choose this"

“Okay.” The waiter asked for Allen and then left.

After a while, the waiter returned carrying the two plates of food they had ordered and left. Edward and Allen began to eat in silence, and after Edward finished eating, he spoke after silence and said:

“I was thinking about traveling and getting away from this city.”

Aline stopped eating after Edward's words, looked at him in shock and said:

" Why ? "

Edward looked at her, then lowered his gaze to his hands clasped together and said:

“You know that this city is becoming more and more tense day by day. From a social standpoint, almost every day we hear in the news about crimes being committed everywhere: a man killing his wife, a child being found hanging with a rope in his room, a group of young people doing illegal work.” Related to promoting prohibited items and many other things, and other things...

Aline was surprised by Edward, who spoke “unusually” a lot today. Since she had known him, he had always spoken little. She rarely saw him express his opinion on any subject, as most of the time he was silent and quiet, and his nature tended to be isolated. And stay alone in any place as long as it is quiet and away from noise and others. Yes, he had always been like this, the Edward she had known since her childhood, the boy who had been in the same school as her, and who had also been in the same class with her.

He did not like to make friends with anyone, and if one of his colleagues tried to get close to him, he would stay away, and communicating with him would be almost impossible, which everyone gets tired of trying, and this is what prompted Allen to try to pull him out of his “shell,” and that was really difficult. However, it worked and they are friends now.

Edward Shroud Allen had no luck, so he tapped his finger on the table to bring her attention back to him, and said:

"Aline "

Aline woke up from her distraction at Edward's voice, looked at him in confusion, and said:

" Oh yes ? "

“Are you okay?” Edward asked her, and she replied:

"Yes, fine"

Edward looked at Aline, then lowered his head slightly and seemed to be thinking, then raised it and said to her:

“You can travel with me, if you want.”

Aline looked at him in surprise and asked:

" truly ? "

Edward nodded smiling and said:

" Yes"

Aline felt joy inside her, she could travel with him. You can hardly believe it.

Edward kept looking at her while waiting for what she would say, while she had decided to agree to this idea, and when she was about to open her mouth to say “yes”, she was struck by a sudden, sharp pain in her stomach, and she felt that her stomach was on fire, so she put both of her hands on it, and She started moaning in pain. Edward was surprised when he saw her in that state of pain, and he asked her with clear concern:

" Are you well ?"

Aline couldn't take it anymore, so she quickly got up and told him that she was going to the bathroom. He nodded, still worried about her, while she quickly went to the bathroom.

Aline went into the bathroom and closed the door. She kept pressing her stomach in pain and moaning softly:

“Ah…ah, what a serious pain, it’s like there’s a fire burning in my stomach.”

She realized something, and remembered that she had a tattoo on her stomach, which had been there since she was a child, and she did not know why. Aline thought that maybe this pain was due to him, maybe it had become infected or something like that.

She looked at her reflection in the mirror, and the pain started to get worse, but at least she knew where it was coming from. Aline lifted her shirt from the bottom slowly, with anxiety, anticipation, and fear...and she was shocked by what she saw! The tattoo on her stomach was glowing with a faint, golden light... Then the light began to intensify little by little until it flooded the entire bathroom, then it began to fade little by little until it disappeared and Aline disappeared with it. ..

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