The girl sat on the ground, hugging her knees tightly as if they were her only anchor in the entire world. Only her eyes — those water-like, haunting eyes — stayed locked on me. She stared, unblinking, as if her gaze alone could pin me in place.
I'm sorry, I don't know how else to describe it — her eyes held a sorrowful familiarity, a tragic weight that seemed to transcend time. As I squatted there beside her, fear took hold of me. My legs started to go numb.
Just as I was frozen, unsure of what to do next, her eyes suddenly rolled back, her eyelids fluttered shut, and her body began to tip over.
Thud!
She collapsed right in front of me — onto the cold asphalt road.
I was so shocked I jumped several steps back, looking like a complete coward. After collecting myself, I hurried forward again, trying to shake her awake.
"Hey! Hey! Wake up! You can't sleep here!"
Looking back, my actions were ridiculously naive — I actually thought she had simply fallen asleep!
The night was bone-chilling. My blood surged from fear and adrenaline, but my mind remained crystal clear: This is too strange. Don't get involved. You'll only bring trouble upon yourself.
I spun around, hopped on my bike, and pedaled hard, disappearing into the vast darkness.
My heart was in turmoil as I fled that mist-covered intersection, leaving her behind. The road ahead was blanketed in fog — I could barely see a thing. The icy wind kept slapping my face, and the howling in my ears sounded like an omen, as if whispering of danger yet to come.
I thought I could escape. But the farther I rode, the heavier the bike pedals became.
"Can I really just abandon her like that? What if some creep finds her? What if she freezes to death? Or worse…"
I knew these were all just excuses — flimsy justifications for the truth:I wanted to go back and see her again.
Suddenly, my foot slipped — the bike gave a loud clank, and for a second I thought I was going to crash. The chain had come off!
Standing there in the pitch black, I was completely stunned.Why… why was her face the only thing in my mind?
Three minutes later, panting heavily, I pushed the bike back along the same path… retracing my steps to the place I had left her.