The rain had been coming down hard since afternoon, making the city streets look darker than usual. The long lines of headlights were nothing more than blurry shadows behind the car windows. Lyra sat in silence, staring at her phone screen, which had been displaying the same message over and over.
“Don’t look for me anymore. If you still want everything to be okay, stop here.”
She had read the message dozens of times, but it still made no sense to her. Her fingers tightened around the phone, as if the little device could give her an answer.
“Why now?” she whispered.
It had been three days since Arka disappeared without a word. No calls, no messages—not even the people closest to him knew where he was. Arka wasn’t the kind of person who would just leave without warning.
Lyra had known Arka for years. She knew his bad habits, knew how he avoided problems, and knew the one thing about him she hated most.
Arka always kept everything to himself.
The car stopped in front of a small café that was nearly closed. Lyra got out, carrying a light jacket to shield herself from the rain. This was the last place Arka had been seen before he disappeared.
As soon as she stepped inside, a man cleaning a table looked up.
“Lyra?”
Lyra stopped.
“You still remember me?”
The man gave her a small smile. “It’s hard to forget someone who nearly destroyed this café while panicking over someone.”
Lyra sighed. “Dimas, I don’t have time for jokes.”
Dimas set down the cloth in his hand and walked over.
“You’re looking for Arka, right?”
Lyra immediately looked at him.
“You know something?”
Dimas was silent for a moment. His expression turned serious.
“He came here the night before he disappeared.”
“What did he do?”
“He looked scared.”
Lyra fell silent. She had rarely seen Arka afraid of anything.
“What did he say?”
Dimas took a small envelope from beneath the register.
“He left this.”
Lyra took the envelope with trembling hands.
“Why are you only giving it to me now?”
“Because he asked me to give it to you if you came alone.”
Lyra opened the envelope. Inside was only a small piece of paper covered in Arka’s handwriting.
“Lyra, if you’re reading this, it means I failed to handle everything on my own. Don’t trust anyone who tells you I left because I wanted to. Someone is chasing time, and now you’ve been dragged into it too.”
Lyra read the words over and over.
“What does ‘chasing time’ mean?”
Dimas shook his head.
“I don’t know either.”
Lyra slipped the paper into her bag.
“Is there anything else you’re hiding?”
Dimas looked hesitant.
“Lyra...”
“I know you. If you’re being quiet, it means something’s wrong.”
Dimas drew a long breath.
“Before he left, Arka mentioned a name.”
“Who?”
“Raven.”
The name changed Lyra’s expression.
“Raven?”
“Yeah. You know him?”
Lyra didn’t answer right away.
Raven was someone from her past she had spent years trying to forget. Someone who had turned her life upside down several years ago.
“That’s impossible.”
“Why?”
“Because he’s gone.”
Dimas looked at her in confusion.
“Gone where?”
Lyra picked up her bag.
“I don’t know yet. But if that name has resurfaced, then this problem is bigger than I thought.”
Lyra left the café without paying any attention to the rain pouring down even harder. Her mind was filled with one terrible possibility after another.
When she reached the car, her phone vibrated again.
Unknown number.
Lyra stared at the screen for several seconds before finally answering.
“Hello?”
There was no sound for a few seconds.
“It’s been a long time since I heard your voice, Lyra.”
Lyra’s body immediately tensed.
She knew that voice.
“Raven?”
A soft laugh came from the other end of the line.
“I thought it would take you longer to recognize me.”
“What are you doing?”
“Wrong question.”
“Then what’s the right question?”
Silence filled the air.
“The question is, how far are you willing to go to find Arka?”
Lyra clenched her fist.
“Did you make him disappear?”
“What if I say yes?”
“Then I’ll find you.”
Raven chuckled softly.
“You’re still the same. You always think you can solve everything on your own.”
“I’m going to find Arka.”
“Then you’d better hurry.”
“Why?”
“Because Arka’s time is almost up.”
The call ended immediately.
Lyra stood motionless in the rain. Raven’s last words kept echoing in her mind.
Arka’s time is almost up.
She didn’t know what he really meant, but one thing was clear.
She couldn’t wait any longer.
The next morning, Lyra began searching for every piece of information she could find about Arka. She went through her old notes, contacted friends she hadn’t spoken to in years, and even visited the places Arka used to frequent.
But the more she searched, the more strange things she discovered.
Arka had apparently been investigating something before he disappeared.
Something connected to an incident from several years ago.
“Lyra, are you sure you want to keep going?” someone asked from behind her.
Lyra turned around.
A short-haired woman stood there holding two cups of coffee.
“Nadia, are you following me?”
Nadia handed her one of the coffees.
“I prefer to say I’m making sure you don’t do anything stupid alone.”
Lyra gave a faint smile.
“You’ve always loved meddling.”
“And you’ve always loved hiding your problems.”
They fell silent.
Nadia was the only person who knew part of Lyra’s past. She knew why Lyra had become someone who found it difficult to trust other people.
“I have to find Arka.”
“I know.”
“Even if I have to reopen everything I buried back then.”
Nadia looked at her seriously.
“Then get ready. Sometimes the answers we’re looking for become the very things we most want to avoid.”
Lyra looked down at the notes in her hand.
Names, dates, and old events were beginning to form a pattern.
A pattern that pointed to one place.
A place she had never wanted to visit again.
Lyra put all the files into her bag.
“I’m leaving tonight.”
Nadia sighed.
“I’m coming with you.”
“Nadia...”
“Don’t tell me I have to stay behind. I’ve known you long enough to know you’ll go anyway, even if I tell you not to.”
Lyra smiled faintly.
“Thank you.”
That night, Lyra began a journey she had never imagined taking.
She didn’t know what would be waiting for her ahead.
She didn’t know whom she could trust.
She didn’t even know whether Arka was still safe.
But she did know one thing.
Time kept moving.
And this time, Lyra had to run faster than time before it was truly too late.