The Night is Dark,
Time is around 11'o clock.
Starts are twinkling and atmosphere is so cool,
Leah's feels emotional remembering all her sad moments like meeting with accident and everything whatever she endured pain in her old days,
Leah sits near pool and stands up,
The terrace was shrouded in silence as the midnight air settled over the water.
Leah sat quietly near the edge of the pool, leaning forward to glimpse her reflection in the dark, still surface.
She stared into the water, but to her horror, she found no shadow falling across the pool.
A wave of profound grief washed over her, and Leah began to cry, the weight of her entire tragic existence crushing down upon her lingering soul.
She remembered growing up as a child under the roof of her uncle, a man consumed by severe alcoholism and relentless cruelty.
She remembered the night she desperately tried to escape his harsh clutches, running wildly into the dark, only to meet with a devastating accident that stole every shred of her past and present memories.
She remembered waking up inside the stark, cold hospital room, gasping for breath as she screamed into the quiet air.
"DON'T KILL ME!" she had shouted.
Though her mind was fractured, Leah had gathered the strength to testify against her uncle Maddy, bringing his abuses to light and sending him behind bars.
From the tender age of six, she had grown up in an environment completely devoid of warmth, never receiving love or affection from a single soul.
Through sheer determination, she studied relentlessly, earning scholarships to fund her own education and build a life from nothing.
Yet, throughout those lonely years, she had never managed to make a single friend.
Leah remembered sitting curled up in the dark corners of quiet rooms, weeping bitterly for a affection she was continually denied.
Now, existing only as a spirit, Leah raised her trembling hand to wipe away her ghostly tears.
Her mind drifted back to the one bright light in her solitary life—the unforgettable memory of how Kayla had first entered her world.
Ten years ago...
A younger Leah sat peacefully on a wooden bench in a public park, her eyes buried in the pages of a book.
As she looked up, she noticed several young couples sitting together nearby, completely wrapped up in their own worlds and lost in romantic affection.
Leah smiled softly to herself, a gentle thought echoing in her mind.
"Love is such a beautiful thing in life," she thought.
She took a deep, lingering breath of the afternoon air.
Suddenly, a shadow dashed past her bench. Leah gasped as a frantic thief snatched her bag directly from her lap and sprinted away across the grass.
"STOP!" Leah cried out.
"COME BACK!" she screamed.
Leah bolted from the bench, running as fast as her legs could carry her, but her fragile strength quickly gave out. She slowed to a halt, panting heavily as exhaustion gripped her chest.
"THIEF!" she shouted desperately into the park.
Before the criminal could escape into the streets, a sleek black Benz screeched to a halt along the curb.
A young girl stepped out of the luxury car, dramatically pulling off her dark sunglasses. With incredible swiftness, she sprinted toward the thief and hurled her own heavy handbag with precise aim.
The bag struck the thief hard, sending him crashing onto the paved walkway.
The girl closed the distance in seconds, grabbing the thief by his arm and violently twisting his wrist until he groaned in pain.
The thief dropped Leah's bag onto the pavement and scrambled to his feet, running away into the distance to save himself.
Leah finally caught up, her chest heaving as she reached the scene.
The girl picked up the retrieved bag and handed it back to Leah.
"Thank you," Leah gasped out, clutching it tightly.
"It's okay," the girl replied smoothly.
Leah looked at her with overwhelming gratitude, her voice trembling with emotion.
"Thank you so much."
"You don't know what you just gave back to me, and I am so deeply happy," Leah said.
The girl observed Leah's intense reaction, a silent thought crossing her mind.
"There must be an incredible amount of money or valuable items inside that bag," the girl thought.
Leah looked up, her expression filled with polite concern.
"Are you okay?" Leah asked softly.
"Yes," the girl replied with a simple nod.
Disregarding everything else, Leah unzipped the pocket of the bag and frantically searched through the contents until her fingers brushed against a simple metal house key.
The girl stared in complete shock as she realized Leah was only verifying the safety of a single key.
"It's just a house key," the girl remarked, tilting her head in confusion.
Leah looked up, her eyes wide and sincere.
"No, it's my life," Leah said gently.
"Many people care about expensive and valuable things," Leah continued.
"But I truly care about what is genuine to me," Leah explained.
"This is not just a house key, but the only single item I have possessed since my childhood," Leah said softly.
"I have always kept it safe," Leah shared.
"I know it truly belongs to me," Leah murmured.
"Whatever I feel belongs to me with a pure heart, I would never willingly abandon," Leah said firmly.
"For that, even if I had to take a massive risk that costs my life, I would risk it without hesitation," Leah declared.
The girl stared at Leah, thoroughly impressed by her raw, unyielding principles.
"Anyway, thanks," Leah added politely.
Leah turned on her heel and prepared to walk away.
Suddenly, a shadow lunged from behind the bushes. The thief had returned, his face contorted in rage as he brandished a sharp knife, aiming it directly at the girl's back.
Without a second thought, Leah threw herself forward, shoving the girl out of harm's way just as the blade slashed through the air.
The girl tumbled safely onto the grass.
Leah delivered a sharp, decisive kick directly to the thief's knee, breaking his stance, and began striking him fiercely with her heavy bag until he fell back.
Sirens blared in the distance as a police cruiser pulled up to the curb. Officers quickly stepped out, restraining the thief and taking him into custody.
The girl's driver hurried over to the scene, looking anxious.
"Ma'am, just as you instructed, I called the police," the driver reported.
Leah turned back around, her eyes widening in horror as she noticed a line of red blood trailing down the girl's arm from a nasty scrape.
"Oh my God," Leah gasped out.
"I am so sorry, please," Leah whimpered.
Tears sprang instantly to Leah's eyes, overflowing and spilling down her cheeks.
The girl looked up, genuinely startled by the intense display of emotion.
"Why are you crying, ma'am?" the girl asked, her voice laced with confusion.
Leah gently guided the girl to sit down on a nearby park bench, her hands trembling as she rummaged through her bag for a clean cloth.
"I can endure any kind of physical pain in my own life," Leah sobbed out.
"But I cannot stand seeing anyone else get hurt because of me," Leah wept openly.
Fresh tears washed across her pale face.
"It's just a small scratch," the girl reassured her smoothly.
"You don't need to worry this much," the girl added.
Leah continued to cry silently, unable to find any cloth inside her small bag.
Without a moment of hesitation, she took the fabric of her own skirt and tore a long strip from the hem.
"Hey!" the girl shouted in surprise.
"It's okay," Leah whispered softly.
Leah looked down at her dusty dress, realizing how filthy she had become from fighting off the thief on the ground.
She looked at her white house key—the key featuring a small heart symbol—which she had always considered her ultimate lucky charm from her lost family.
Using the key's attached ribbon and clean water from her bottle, she gently washed the dust away from the girl's scratch and wrapped the torn fabric carefully around the wound like a neat bandage.
"So sorry," Leah murmured in a polite, apologetic tone.
Looking down at the key she had rested in the girl's palm during the bandaging, Leah felt a sharp ache in her heart.
"This key is the only tangible thing I possess that connects me to my unknown family," Leah thought to herself with deep sorrow.
"I never knew who my real family was," Leah thought, her heart breaking.
"But..." Leah paused in her mind, tears blinding her sight as she stared at the heart-shaped key.
The golden rays of the setting sun washed over Leah's small frame, painting the park in warm hues.
"I have to leave right now, or else my weakness will force me to ask for the key back," Leah thought silently.
Leah turned around and began running away from the bench as fast as she could.
"Hey!" the girl shouted out, rising from the bench.
"STOP!" the girl yelled.
Leah kept running, her eyes fixed on the path ahead.
"Today, because of my sheer carelessness, I almost lost my bag, a kind girl got hurt, and giving away my precious key is the only way I can atone for it," Leah thought as she ran.
Suddenly, a firm hand reached out and caught Leah tightly by her upper arm.
Both girls came to a sudden halt near the edge of a quiet river, completely exhausted and gasping for air.
They stood side by side, panting heavily from the intense sprint.
"The sunset looks so remarkably beautiful from here," the girl observed, looking out over the glowing water.
"Yes, I love sunsets," Leah replied softly, her voice still breathy.
Leah shifted her weight, preparing to run away once more.
The girl, still catching her breath, raised her voice to stop her.
"You said this key was your absolute everything," the girl pointed out.
"Are you really running away from it now?" the girl asked directly.
"When that thief ran off with your bag, I truly believed you only cared about money or expensive valuables inside," the girl admitted.
"Yet you bypassed everything just to check on a simple key," the girl noted.
"You clearly value this key beyond words," the girl added.
The girl held up the white key, examining the heart symbol and the small name "Leah" neatly engraved upon its side.
"It's very nice," the girl remarked softly.
"Are you really going to abandon something you love and care about this deeply?" the girl challenged.
Leah froze in her tracks, keeping her back turned to avoid showing her tear-stained face.
"Oh, hello!" the girl shouted cheerfully.
"Aren't you even going to face the person who just preserved the key you value so much?" the girl asked.
Leah slowly turned around, lifting her head to meet the girl's gaze.
"Yes, I value it beyond my own life," Leah said in a quiet, melancholy tone.
"You may keep it, as you were injured entirely because of my mistake," Leah added, her voice laced with profound sorrow as the words hurt her deeply.
A warm, bright smile spread across the girl's face.
The girl took a step forward, extending her right hand open for a warm handshake.
"I'm Kayla," she introduced herself clearly.
Leah hesitated for a moment before reaching out, lightly placing her hand in Kayla's grip.
"I'm Leah," she offered softly.
Without warning, Kayla stepped in close and wrapped her arms firmly around Leah in a tight, comforting hug.
Leah gasped slightly, caught completely off guard by the sudden display of affection.
"I will return your key to you the moment my injury fully heals," Kayla promised softly while holding her in the embrace.
A tiny, genuine smile finally touched Leah's lips.
The vivid memory dissolved, fading away as Leah's spirit returned to the quiet night near the pool.
Meanwhile, inside the dark guest house on the other side of town...
Kayla was trapped in the exact same memory, dreaming of that fateful day in the park.
"It's all my fault," Kayla whispered to herself as she slowly woke up.
"I am so sorry, Leah," Kayla whimpered into the empty room.
Kayla sat bound securely in the center of the room, her hands and legs tied tightly to a wooden chair with thick ropes.
She turned her head toward the broken windowpane, watching the final orange rays of the setting sun dip below the horizon.
"God, please save my dear friend Leah," Kayla prayed softly, staring directly at the fading light.
Tears welled in her eyes once more as the echo of Leah's reassuring promise filled her mind.
"I'm there for you..."
Kayla wept silently, the tears falling freely onto her chest.
Inside Leo's quiet bedroom...
Leo sat upright on the edge of his mattress, his mind consumed entirely by thoughts of Leah's tragedy.
"I have to make a final decision," Leo declared firmly to the quiet room.
He raised his hand and forcefully wiped the remaining moisture from his cheeks.
"I won't cry for anyone ever again in my life," he vowed quietly to himself, stepping off the bed.
Across the city, at the residence of Leo's aunt...
Aunt Maggi sat in her living room when her phone suddenly chimed with an incoming call from a dangerous mafia mob boss. She quickly answered it.
"WHEN ARE YOU GOING TO PAY, MADAM?" the mafia boss demanded in a menacing, gravelly voice.
Maggi smiled slyly, her eyes gleaming with cold ambition.
"I have an extraordinary deal for you," Maggi proposed smoothly.
"As you already know, we are business partners in several ventures," Maggi reminded him.
"And I know you are desperately searching for a person with an AB-positive blood group," Maggi stated.
"I have the ultimate deal for you," Maggi added confidently.
The mafia boss paused on the other end, his voice dripping with absolute authority.
"COME TO THE PARADISE," he ordered coldly before disconnecting the line.
Maggi lowered her phone, her face twisting into a sinister smile of pure satisfaction.