That night became the night Zelia would find hardest to forget. She was still sitting on her bed, staring blankly as she tried to make sense of what had just happened.
The figure's voice still echoed in her mind.
“I've been here before.”
That simple sentence only filled her head with even more questions.
“What does ‘I've been here before’ even mean?” Zelia muttered.
She looked again at the old photo lying on the table. It looked completely ordinary now, with none of the changes it had shown before.
But Zelia knew what she'd seen hadn't been her imagination.
She had really seen that figure.
And the figure knew her.
The next morning, Zelia arrived at school looking exhausted. Even before she sat down, Rani had already realized something was wrong.
“Zel.”
“Hmm?”
“You saw her again, didn't you?”
Zelia stared at Rani.
“How do you always know?”
“Because your face is easy to read.”
Zelia gave a faint smile.
“I ran into her again.”
Rani immediately sat down beside her.
“And?”
“This time, she spoke.”
Rani fell silent.
“What did she say?”
Zelia pulled out the photo they'd found the day before.
“She said she'd been here before.”
Rani carefully took the photo.
“You mean this school?”
“I don't know either.”
The two of them studied the photo.
“There is one way to find out,” Rani said.
“What?”
“We ask someone who knows this school's history.”
Zelia thought for a moment.
“Who?”
“Mr. Darto.”
“The school groundskeeper?”
“Yeah. They say he's been working here for a really long time.”
Zelia nodded.
During recess, the two of them went looking for Mr. Darto behind the school. The old man was cleaning a small garden near the storage shed.
“Mr. Darto,” Rani called.
The man turned around.
“Yes? What is it?”
“We wanted to ask you something about the school.”
Mr. Darto smiled.
“What do you want to know?”
Zelia took the old photo out of her bag.
The moment he saw it, Mr. Darto's expression changed.
His smile slowly faded.
“Where did you get this photo?”
The question made Zelia and Rani look at each other.
“From the storage room in back, sir. Why?”
Mr. Darto took the photo.
His hands were trembling slightly.
“This photo shouldn't still exist.”
Zelia's curiosity immediately took over.
“Why not?”
Mr. Darto looked toward the school building.
“There used to be a student in this photo.”
“What was her name?” Rani asked.
Mr. Darto was silent for a long moment.
“Her name was Alena.”
Zelia immediately felt something strange.
The name felt familiar.
“What happened to her?”
Mr. Darto sighed.
“Alena was a well-known student at this school back then. She was smart, friendly, and had a lot of friends.”
“And then?”
“One day, she disappeared.”
Rani furrowed her brow.
“Disappeared?”
“Yes. No one knew where she'd gone.”
Zelia looked at the photo again.
“Did she ever come back?”
Mr. Darto didn't answer right away.
“No.”
The answer left the air around them silent.
“But why is this photo still here?” Zelia asked.
Mr. Darto handed the photo back.
“That is what I still don't understand.”
Zelia stared at the blurred face in the photo.
Alena.
The name kept spinning through her mind.
After talking to Mr. Darto, Zelia and Rani returned to class.
“I think that figure was Alena,” Zelia said quietly.
Rani nodded.
“Maybe.”
“But why did she appear in front of me?”
“That is what we need to find out.”
After school, Zelia didn't go straight home. She went to the school library with Rani.
They searched for information about an old incident connected to Alena.
After nearly an hour of searching, Rani found an old logbook.
“Zel, look at this.”
Zelia moved closer.
The book contained records of student activities from years ago.
They turned the pages one by one.
Eventually, they found Alena's name.
Beneath her name was a short note.
“Last seen in the old school building.”
Zelia stopped reading.
“The old school building?”
Rani nodded.
“Looks like this school used to have another building.”
“Then why has no one ever told us about it?”
“That is what's strange.”
As they were about to close the book, a small piece of paper slipped out from inside.
Zelia picked it up.
The writing on it looked very old.
“I didn't leave. I just haven't been found yet.”
The two of them fell silent.
Rani's expression turned serious.
“Zel...”
“I know.”
Zelia gripped the paper tightly.
Alena wasn't just a figure appearing for no reason.
She was trying to tell them something.
That night, Zelia was back in her room.
She placed the photo and the piece of paper on the table.
“What are you really trying to show me?”
There was no answer.
Only the sound of wind outside the window.
But a few seconds later, the bedroom light began flickering again.
Zelia tensed.
Slowly, she looked toward the door.
Alena appeared there.
But this time, her face was clearer.
She didn't look frightening.
Instead, she looked like someone asking for help.
Zelia steeled herself and stood.
“What happened to you?”
Alena looked at her.
Then she pointed outside the room.
Toward the road leading to a place Zelia had never visited before.
The old school building.
Zelia began to understand.
Alena wanted her to go there.
To find something that had been hidden all this time.