THE STRANGER IN THE RAIN

Chapter 1 — Three Dollars

The night I met him, I had three dollars in my pocket.

Three dollars.

That was all I had left after paying for my mother's medicine.

I stood beneath a broken streetlamp, watching the rain slide down the hospital windows across the street.

My shoes were soaked.

My hair was sticking to my face.

And my stomach had been empty since morning.

But none of that mattered.

My mother was inside.

That was all that mattered.

I pulled my phone from my pocket and looked at the screen.

11:47 PM.

Three missed calls from the hospital.

My heart sank.

I called back immediately.

A nurse answered.

“Ms. Vale?”

“Yes?”

“We need to talk about your mother's payment.”

I closed my eyes.

“I know. I'll have it tomorrow.”

There was a pause.

“Tomorrow?”

“I promise.”

The truth was, I had no idea where the money would come from.

But sometimes a promise was all a poor person could afford to make.

When the call ended, I put my phone away and looked across the street.

That was when I saw him.

A man standing in the middle of the rain.

He wasn't holding an umbrella.

He wasn't trying to find shelter.

He simply stood there.

Motionless.

He looked completely out of place.

His black coat reached almost to his knees, and strange silver embroidery ran along the edges. His dark hair was wet, falling over his forehead.

He looked like someone who had walked out of an old painting.

I glanced around.

There were no cars.

No pedestrians.

Just him.

Something about the way he stood there made me uneasy.

I crossed the street.

“Are you okay?”

The man turned.

And I froze.

His eyes were unlike any eyes I had ever seen.

They were gray.

But there was something almost silver hidden inside them.

He stared at me as if he had been waiting for me.

“Where am I?”

I frowned.

“You're in the city.”

He looked around.

“The city?”

“Yes.”

He seemed confused.

“What kingdom is this?”

I almost laughed.

“Kingdom?”

“Yes.”

“This isn't a kingdom.”

He stared at me.

Then his expression changed.

For the first time, I saw fear.

Real fear.

He whispered something under his breath.

“No…”

“What?”

He looked toward the sky.

“How long?”

“How long what?”

“How long has it been?”

I had no idea what he was talking about.

“It's 2026.”

The man's face went completely pale.

He took one step backward.

“Impossible.”

“Are you drunk?”

“No.”

“Then maybe you're lost.”

He looked at me again.

“Yes.”

He slowly lowered his head.

“I am very lost.”

I should have walked away.

I knew that.

Every sensible instinct inside me was screaming to leave this strange man alone.

Instead, I asked:

“What's your name?”

He hesitated.

Then he answered.

“Elias.”

“Elias what?”

His eyes met mine.

“Just Elias.”

I nodded.

“I'm Elara.”

He repeated my name softly.

“Elara.”

I don't know why.

But hearing my name from his lips felt strangely familiar.

As if I had heard it before.

In a dream.

A dream I couldn't remember.

Then lightning flashed across the sky.

For a split second, the man's silver eyes seemed to glow.

I stepped back.

He noticed.

“You saw that?”

“Saw what?”

He smiled faintly.

“Nothing.”

The rain became heavier.

I looked at the hospital.

Then back at him.

“You need somewhere to stay?”

He stared at me.

“You would help a stranger?”

“I shouldn't.”

“No.”

“But you look like you need help.”

He was silent.

Then he said something that I would remember for the rest of my life.

“I was beginning to think I would never find someone like you.”

I frowned.

“Someone like me?”

He didn't answer.

Instead, he looked toward the hospital.

“Who is inside?”

“My mother.”

“Is she ill?”

“Yes.”

He nodded slowly.

“Then I will help you.”

I laughed bitterly.

“With what?”

He looked at me.

“You don't know who I am.”

“No.”

“Neither do you know what I can do.”

I shook my head.

“You're strange.”

For the first time, he smiled.

And somehow, despite the cold rain and the terrible night...

I smiled back.

I didn't know it then.

But that was the moment my ordinary life ended.

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