Zavian was still holding Alena's letter. He had spent nearly five minutes just staring at the paper without moving.
That short sentence felt heavier than any long letter.
If you've found this letter, it means the rain has finally brought you back to me.
For some reason, those words made his chest feel tight.
As if someone who had been waiting for him for a long time still believed that one day he would come.
"Zav."
Damar's voice brought him back to himself.
"Hmm?"
"You okay?"
Zavian slowly folded the letter.
"I don't know."
Raina watched his face.
"Are you feeling something?"
Zavian was silent for a moment.
"I feel strange."
"What do you mean?"
"It's like... I've sat somewhere like this before. I've heard someone talk about the same thing."
Raina looked at him seriously.
"Maybe your memories are starting to come back."
"But why only a little?"
"Because memories aren't something you can force."
Zavian looked toward the window.
The rain was still falling without end.
"I hate this feeling."
Damar frowned.
"What feeling?"
"Feeling close to something, but not being able to touch it."
No one answered.
The three of them simply listened to the sound of the rain.
After a while, Raina picked up her bag.
"I have to go."
Zavian looked at her immediately.
"Wait."
Raina stopped.
"I still have a lot of questions."
"I know."
"And you're just going to leave like that?"
Raina gave him a small smile.
"I know what you're like, Zavian."
"What do you mean?"
"You used to be the same way. Always wanting to get all the answers at once."
Zavian fell silent.
"Used to?"
Raina nodded.
"You've really forgotten a lot."
Zavian stared at her.
"Then help me remember."
Raina looked hesitant.
"I'll help as much as I can."
"Then what should I do?"
Raina glanced at the letter in his hand.
"Read everything you find. Go to the places that were once part of your story."
"Places?"
"Yes."
"What places?"
Raina pulled a small piece of paper from her bag.
An address was written on it.
Zavian took it.
"What is this place?"
"The first place you and Alena met."
Zavian read the address.
A small park on the outskirts of the city.
A park he hadn't visited in a long time.
"When should I go there?"
Raina looked at the rain outside.
"Tomorrow."
"Why tomorrow?"
"Because tomorrow is the same date as the day everything changed."
Zavian looked at her at once.
"The day everything changed?"
Raina didn't answer.
She simply stood up and left them.
Damar stared at the cafe's closed door.
"She's so mysterious."
Zavian was still looking at the address in his hand.
"But she knows a lot."
"Do you trust her?"
Zavian thought for a moment.
"I don't know."
"Then why do you want to go there?"
Zavian clenched the paper.
"Because maybe it's the only way."
That night, Zavian couldn't sleep.
He kept taking out the old things from the wooden box and looking through them.
A photograph.
A bracelet.
A letter.
Everything felt like an incomplete puzzle.
He picked up the small notebook he'd found at Damar's old house.
Several pages were blank.
But on one of the last pages, there was writing that was barely visible.
Zavian held it closer to the lamp.
The writing looked rushed.
If I forget, don't let me stop searching.
Zavian froze.
It was his handwriting.
He was sure of it.
His hand slowly touched the page.
"What really happened to me?"
There was no answer.
Only the night growing quieter.
The next morning, Zavian was already standing in front of the park Raina had told him about.
The place looked simple.
There were several large trees, old benches, and a narrow path covered in dry leaves.
Strange.
The moment he entered the park, his head began to feel heavy.
Several shadows appeared.
A boy running beneath the rain.
Someone's laughter.
Someone calling his name.
"Zavian!"
He stopped immediately.
That voice.
For a moment, he almost recognized it.
But the shadow vanished again.
"Zav!"
Damar ran over to him.
"What's wrong?"
Zavian held his head.
"I heard a voice."
"Whose voice?"
"I don't know."
Damar looked around.
"Are you sure this is the place?"
Zavian nodded.
"I feel like I've been here before."
They walked farther in.
Near a large tree, Zavian stopped.
Something had caught his attention.
A small carving on the tree trunk.
Two names.
Zavian.
Alena.
Damar saw it immediately.
"This isn't a coincidence."
Zavian touched the carving.
And suddenly, another memory appeared.
He and a girl were sitting beneath that tree.
The girl smiled while holding a cloth bracelet.
"Promise me?"
"What?"
"If I ever leave, you'll still remember me."
Zavian in the memory laughed.
"There's no way I'd forget."
The girl smiled.
"Everyone says that."
"I'm different."
"Why?"
"Because I'm Zavian."
The memory disappeared.
Zavian opened his eyes.
Tears had nearly fallen before he even realized it.
Damar panicked.
"Zav?"
"I remembered a little."
"What?"
Zavian looked at the carved names.
"She was here once."
"Alena?"
Zavian nodded.
"I made her a promise."
"What promise?"
Zavian tried to remember.
But that part was still blank.
"I don't know."
Damar sighed.
"At least you're starting to remember."
Before they could say anything else, an elderly man approached them.
"Are you looking for someone?"
Zavian and Damar turned around.
The man carried a broom and looked like someone who had been taking care of the park for a long time.
"Why do you ask?" Zavian said.
The old man looked at the carving on the tree.
"Because hardly anyone stops there."
Zavian stepped closer.
"Do you know about this carving?"
The man gave him a small smile.
"I do."
"Who made it?"
The man looked at Zavian.
"You did."
Zavian fell silent.
"What?"
"You made it with a girl."
"Alena?"
The man nodded.
"So you knew her?"
"I did."
"Where is she now?"
The old man's expression changed slightly.
"I don't know."
"Why not?"
"The last time I saw the two of you, you were arguing."
Zavian immediately fell silent.
"Arguing?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
The old man shook his head.
"I don't know. But after that day, only you came back to this park."
"Alena didn't?"
"No."
Zavian felt his chest grow heavier.
"What happened after that?"
The old man gazed at the rain that had begun falling again.
"You came back a few days later."
"Alone?"
"Yes."
"And?"
"You sat beneath this tree for hours."
Zavian held his breath.
"What did I do?"
The old man answered quietly.
"You cried while repeating one thing over and over."
"What?"
The man looked at him.
"You said, 'I promise I'll wait through the rain until she comes back.'"
Zavian froze.
The sound of the rain grew clearer.
And for the first time, he began to realize something.
All this time, he hadn't only been searching for Alena.
He had been keeping a promise he'd once made.
A promise even he had forgotten."}