In a city shrouded by shadows, where the sun rarely pierced through the grey clouds, lived a young man named Nael. His life was ordinary to the naked eye, a life intertwined with the mundane routines of the city, yet there was an underlying mystery that clung to him like a second skin. It wasn't his appearance, nor his actions, that drew attention; it was the unspoken weight in his eyes—the silent questions no one dared to ask.
Nael had always known there was something different about him, something that made him stand apart. His existence, though simple, was marked by an inexplicable restlessness, an inner voice urging him to search for answers he could neither articulate nor fully understand. The feeling was like a whisper in the depths of his soul, a whisper that spoke of things he couldn't quite grasp.
The city he called home was an old, forgotten place, where the buildings leaned against each other as if sharing secrets that only the wind could hear. Streets lined with cobblestones stretched like veins through the heart of the city, leading to nowhere in particular. But for Nael, the city was both a prison and a sanctuary—its shadowy corners hiding more than just physical darkness.
For as long as he could remember, strange dreams had haunted him. Dreams that felt too real, too vivid to be mere fantasies. Faces he had never seen, places he had never visited, and events that seemed far too significant to be ignored. In the quiet of the night, he would wake with a start, his heart racing, his mind spinning with questions. He couldn't shake the feeling that these dreams were more than just the creations of a restless mind. They were fragments of a reality that was waiting to reveal itself.
But life in the city went on as usual. Nael worked at a small, nondescript shop in the heart of the town. The owner, an elderly man named Mr. Hadi, had taken him in when he had no place to go. The shop was quiet, filled with relics of the past—books, old trinkets, and objects whose significance had long been forgotten by most. It was in this shop that Nael would spend most of his days, waiting for something he couldn't quite name.
One evening, as the sun dipped below the horizon, Nael found himself walking through the narrow alleyways of the city, lost in thought. The streets were empty, the air thick with the scent of rain that was yet to fall. It was then that he noticed something strange—a figure standing at the far end of the alley.
At first, Nael thought it was just his imagination playing tricks on him. But as he stepped closer, he realized it wasn't. The figure was a woman, her silhouette barely visible in the dim light. She stood still, as if waiting for him, her eyes locked on him with an intensity that sent a chill down his spine.
"Nael," the woman whispered, her voice soft but clear. "I've been waiting for you."
Nael froze. How did she know his name? He had never seen this woman before in his life. Her eyes were deep and black, like an endless abyss, and in them, he saw something—a recognition, an understanding—that unsettled him.
Before he could respond, the woman vanished, dissolving into the shadows as if she were never there. Nael blinked, his mind reeling from what had just happened. Was he losing his mind? Or had something far more significant just occurred?
He looked around, but the alley was empty. The silence hung in the air, broken only by the distant sound of wind rustling through the trees. Nael's heart pounded in his chest, and the whispers in his mind grew louder. This was no coincidence. He felt it deep in his bones—something was about to change.
As he turned to leave the alley, a faint echo of her voice reached his ears, just a whisper carried on the wind. "Your journey begins now, Nael."
With that, the world around him seemed to shift. The alleyway, once familiar, now felt foreign and unsettling. The air grew colder, and the shadows seemed to grow longer. Nael knew that the path ahead was uncertain, but one thing was clear: his life was about to take a turn he could never have imagined.