Bruno gave a small smile, a tired look in his eyes. "Just a feeling," he said softly. "Like things are about to change. You'll see." He turned and walked away, the workshop door closing quietly behind him. Ariella felt a growing worry inside her.
Leaving Bruno's place, she found herself at the door of Samuel's bookstore.
"Another dusty shelf, another story no one reads anymore," Samuel murmured, gently touching the cover of an old book. "Come in. Don't just stand there like a ghost."
Ariella hesitated. The bookstore was warm and quiet, so different from the rough city outside. "I don't have any money," she said.
"Money? Who said anything about money?" Samuel smiled kindly, like a wise teacher. "You look like someone who needs a good story. And I have plenty." He pointed to the tall shelves filled with books. "Think of it as a library for people who are lost."
Days turned into weeks. The smell of old paper and the soft sound of pages turning filled her time. Samuel showed her worlds she never knew existed: brave heroes, tricky bad guys, and stories that felt like her own hard times. He told her to read, to ask questions, to think. "Knowing things is like having a weapon, Ariella," he said, his voice quiet but strong. "And a shield to protect you."
One afternoon, she saw him looking out the window, his face worried. "Something's wrong," she said.
He sighed. "The city is changing. The dark parts are getting bigger." He turned to her, his eyes serious. "You need to be careful, Ariella. What you're looking for might be looking for you too."
"What are you talking about?" she asked, feeling a cold shiver.
Samuel hesitated, then shook his head. "Just promise me you'll stay hidden. Don't let people notice you. Not now." He picked up a thick book with a leather cover and gave it to her. "Take this. It might help you understand." He looked at her, then away, a deep sadness in his eyes. "Just please. Be safe."
Samuel then took Ariella with him and introduced her to Damien before leaving.
"Color runs, just like pain," Damien said, shaking a can of spray paint. "But you can make it beautiful. Watch."
Ariella watched, amazed, as he turned a dirty wall into a bright picture with lots of colors and shapes. "You feel something? Put it on the wall," he told her, giving her a can. "Don't hold back."
She waited a moment, then pressed the button. A streak of red, angry and raw, shot onto the wall. "Good," Damien said, nodding. "Now, make it sing."
Ariella found a way to speak through the colors, to show the anger and hurt she had kept inside for so long. Damien taught her to see the beauty in things that were broken, the strength in scars. "The city tries to keep us quiet," he said, his eyes bright. "But we paint our truth on its walls."
He saw the strong spirit inside her, the wild part that wouldn't be broken, the artist waiting to be free. He gave her the gift of showing her feelings, a voice to shout her truth to the world, to let people know she was there.
These three men didn't just "save" Ariella in the usual way. They didn't make her problems disappear with magic. They gave her something much more important: the tools to save herself, the way to make her own future.
Bruno gave her strength, Samuel gave her knowledge, and Damien gave her a voice. They helped her see the woman she was becoming, a woman who was stronger, wiser, and tougher than she ever thought she could be.
The smell of old paper and glue was comforting, so different from the dirt and sadness of the streets. It felt like a familiar, welcoming hug. At first, she felt unsure, like she didn't belong in such a quiet, beautiful place. She would stay near the back, pretending to look at books, feeling aware of her torn clothes and dirty hands, like she was not welcome there.
Samuel, who watched quietly and was very kind, noticed her there, looking at his world with curiosity. He didn't come to her feeling sorry for her, but with a gentle interest, wanting to know more about her.
One afternoon, as she carefully reached for a worn copy of "Jane Eyre" a story that felt like her own with its hardships and strength a voice spoke softly beside her. "A classic," Samuel murmured, his tone gentle and kind, like a quiet invitation. "A story about being strong and finding yourself, about a woman who overcame tough times."
Ariella jumped, surprised by him being there, then mumbled a quiet "yes," her voice rough from not talking much. It was the first real talk she'd had with anyone in months, and her words felt strange and clumsy.
"Have you read it?" he asked, his eyes looking bigger behind his thick glasses, shining with interest, a little spark of connection there.
Ariella shook her head, her face getting a little red. "I haven't read much lately," she admitted, the words rushing out, and she suddenly felt embarrassed and open.
Samuel smiled gently. "Then," he said, pointing to the tall shelves that went all the way up to the fancy ceiling, "you have a whole world of amazing things waiting for you." The air in the bookstore felt alive with the quiet energy of all those stories. "What makes you curious?"
Ariella hesitated, looking at the spines of so many books. No one had ever asked her that with real interest before. What she liked had always been decided by the strict rules of her old life. "I'm not sure," she said, her cheeks getting even redder.
"Then let's go on an adventure of finding out," Samuel said, his eyes shining with excitement. He started carefully taking books off the shelves, each one like a door to a new place: poems that spoke of secret feelings, ideas about how the world works, stories of old times and forgotten kingdoms.
He talked about the people who wrote the books with such respect that Ariella felt it too. His excitement was real. She listened, completely interested, her mind which had been hungry for something to think about drinking in his words like dry ground soaking up rain. The world around her seemed to disappear, replaced by the vivid pictures he painted with his words.
Over the next few weeks, Ariella was always in the bookstore, quietly watching in a world of words. She would spend hours looking at the shelves, her fingers touching the worn covers, getting lost in the complicated stories and ideas inside. Samuel became her guide, a patient teacher, suggesting books that made her think differently and talking about what they meant in a way that made her own thoughts grow.
He saw how smart she was, the clear hunger for knowledge that was like his own. He saw someone who wanted to understand things, just like him. One day, they were reading a difficult book about ideas, their voices going up and down as they quietly argued about what truth and reality really were. Ariella, thinking hard, her eyebrows, said something new, something Samuel hadn't thought of. He stopped, his eyes widening in surprise, a little admiration shining in them. "That is a truly amazing thought," he said, his voice full of real wonder. "You have a very clever mind, Ariella."
Ariella blushed, surprised by the nice words. "I've always wondered about things," she murmured, her voice very soft. "About the world, about why things are the way they are."
Samuel nodded, looking right at her. "That," he said, his voice soft but firm, "is what it means to really want to learn. A mind that asks questions, a heart that wants to understand."
In that moment, surrounded by the comforting smell of old books and the quiet sound of them both being curious, Ariella knew that she and Samuel had found something special, something rare. They were alike in spirit, two people connected by a strong need for knowledge and wisdom.
They had made a connection that was stronger than their very different lives, a bond made because they both loved learning. In that shared love, Ariella found not just a friend, but someone who could teach her, someone she could trust, and someone to travel with on the never-ending journey of learning about the world and herself.
Ariella's quiet way and her obvious love for learning had really caught Samuel's attention. He liked her gentle spirit and the small spark in her eyes when she talked about books or ideas. He admired how strong she was inside, even when things were hard. He saw a natural beauty in her, something that went beyond all the tough times she had been through. He had fallen in love, slowly but surely, but the words felt stuck in his throat, blocked by his shyness and not being sure. He was scared of her saying no, not because of her current situation, but because it would show how vulnerable he was. He was a man of books, not big romantic actions.
Meanwhile, Ariella had her own secret, something deep inside that she didn't dare show.
The knowledge and wisdom she had weren't new, just learned from reading lately. She had been taught a lot, very well, in her old life. Her family, even though they seemed shallow, had made sure she had the best teachers. She had studied books, ideas, science, and art, not just to look good, but because she truly loved learning.
"Don't," Ariella said, her voice tight. "Don't look at me like that."
Samuel's eyes stayed on hers. "Like what, Ariella?"
"Like I'm someone I'm not." She moved away a little, her voice barely a whisper. "Like I know things."
"But you do," Samuel replied, his eyebrows. "You understand these books better than anyone I've ever met."
Ariella shook her head. "It's a lie. A hidden part of me."
"Hidden?" Samuel asked, his voice soft. "Why hide how brilliant you are?"
"Because," she said, her voice shaking, "it's dangerous."
"Dangerous?" Samuel's eyes widened. "How?"
"My past," she said, her voice low. "It's not what you think."
"What do you mean?" Samuel asked, his voice worried.
"I was taught," Ariella said, her voice strained. "Everything. Ideas, books, science everything. But I hid it. I had to."
"Why?" Samuel asked, his voice gentle.
"Because they hate it," she said. "They hate a woman who thinks."
"Who is 'they'?"
"The people I used to know." Ariella looked away. "The world I left behind."
"And you think I'd hate it too?" Samuel asked.
Ariella hesitated. "I don't know," she said. "I don't know what you'd think."
"Ariella," Samuel said, his voice firm. "I value your mind. It's one of the things I admire most about you."
Ariella's eyes met his, a little bit of hope shining in them. "Really?"
"Yes," Samuel said. "But why did you leave that world?"
Ariella froze. "That is a long story."
Samuel looked at her, his eyes full of admiration.
"Your hand's cold," Samuel said, his fingers gently touching the lines on her palm. "Are you sure you're ready for this?"
Ariella looked at him, her eyes shining. "Ready for what?"
"For everything," Samuel said, his voice low. "For leaving. For us."
"I am," Ariella whispered, her voice full of feeling. "More than ready."
Samuel smiled, a soft, tender smile. "Good. Because we need to go. Now."
"Now?" Ariella's eyebrows. "Why the rush?"
"It's just a feeling," Samuel said, his voice tight. "A sense of needing to be somewhere else."
"Somewhere else?" Ariella repeated, her heart beating a little faster. "Where?"
"That doesn't matter right now," Samuel said, his eyes showing a quiet urgency. "What matters is we leave. Tonight."
"Tonight?" Ariella asked, a hint of worry in her voice. "But we haven't even packed properly."
"There's no time," Samuel said, his voice firm. "Just the important things. We can get the rest later."
"But Samuel," Ariella began, her voice shaking slightly. "What if"
"No 'what ifs'," Samuel interrupted, his voice strained. "Just trust me. We have to go. Now."
He pulled her to her feet, his eyes quickly looking around the room. "Please hurry, we need to be gone before sunrise."
"Before sunrise?" Ariella asked, her voice full of confusion. "Why sunrise?"
Samuel grabbed her hand. "Just trust me," he repeated, his voice barely a whisper. "Something isn't right."
He looked at the window, a worried look on his face. "We need to go. Now!" he said, pulling her towards the door. "Before it's too late."