Chapter 6 A Warning No One Heeded

A cool wind passed by carrying the faint scent of rain, as if nature itself knew something was about to change forever.

All the way back, Bai Toey replayed those words again and again. Perhaps the answer they had been searching for had been closer than they ever thought.

Morning sunlight slipped through the thin curtains into the room. Birdsong from far away made the air feel too peaceful to believe that yesterday had been such a mess.

That night Bai Toey couldn’t sleep. They stared at the ceiling thinking about everything that had happened, before deciding on something that would change everything afterward.

The sky began to turn orange-pink, small clouds drifting lazily along the horizon like a painting someone had carefully touched up as a gift.

“Don’t worry. I won’t make a mistake this time.” Bai Toey murmured to themselves before stepping out to face whatever lay ahead.

Bai Toey smiled without realizing it. A strange feeling formed in their chest. It wasn’t fear, but an excitement they hadn’t felt in a very long time.

Footsteps drew closer, one step at a time, until at last they stopped before the same door. The silence that followed lasted so long they could almost hear their own heartbeat.

Everything seemed to end well, but deep down Bai Toey knew this was only the beginning of a much bigger story.

Bai Toey took a deep breath, trying to sort the tangled thoughts fighting in their head. Everything had happened too fast, so fast there had been no time to brace for it.

On the old wooden table lay a sheet of paper. The handwriting on it was strangely familiar, as though they had seen it once in a dream.