A Summer That Slipped Away
Rhea went back home, letting the hot shower wash the alcohol off her skin, but her mind only grew sharper. She kept replaying Evelyn’s soft words—“Get some rest”—and that faint, distant look on her face under the dim car lights. As the haze of alcohol faded, those little details floated back even clearer.
Late at night, she lay in bed staring at the ceiling. Her body was tired, but sleep wouldn’t come. She tossed and turned, caught between two forces pulling at her—reason, telling her not to overthink, and a secret fire that slowly burned its way up from inside.
Eventually, she drifted into a half-conscious sleep.
She dreamed of sitting with Evelyn on a rooftop high above. The night breeze swept through their hair. In the distance, the Ferris wheel at the Copper Valley fairground rose into the sky, its neon lights flickering like a heartbeat. Rhea turned to look at her, wanting to say something, but the wind and the city noise swallowed her words. Her lips moved, yet no sound came out. Evelyn just stared quietly into the distance, her profile cool and untouchable.
The scene shifted suddenly.
Rhea was standing in a downpour, holding a bright yellow umbrella. Rain hammered against the fabric, scattering in bursts of silver spray. Not far away, Evelyn stood beneath the eaves, sheltered, her expression impossible to read. Ripples spread across the puddles, circles upon circles. Rhea tilted her head back, rain mixing with tears, streaming past her lashes until the whole world blurred. Through the curtain of rain, she saw Evelyn’s silhouette outlined against the light—then fading, little by little, until she was gone.
Rhea’s chest tightened. She suddenly realized she was standing in a pool, cold water lapping past her knees. On the surface, shifting light and shadows wavered. A figure was walking away into the distance. Panic jolted through her, and she instinctively reached out, grabbing the person’s wrist.
The figure snapped around—it was Evelyn. Her gaze was still icy, but for a split second, a sharp, piercing light flickered in her eyes, as if she could see right through Rhea.
Rhea held her breath, but before she could speak, the vision shattered, plunging her into endless darkness. She woke with a start, chest heaving, her palm still tingling with the trace of that cold touch from the dream.
