Rain tapped softly against the car window.
Streetlights passed one by one, leaving long golden lines across the wet road. Inside the small car, warm laughter filled the quiet night.
Arin Vale leaned his head against the window, watching the rain slide down the glass.
"Mom," he said suddenly, "do you think life gets easier when you grow up?"
His mother laughed.
Elena Vale kept one hand on the steering wheel while the other lightly tapped the radio.
"If life became easy when people grow up," she said, smiling, "then adults wouldn't complain so much."
Arin chuckled.
"That's not very encouraging."
Elena glanced at him for a moment. Her eyes were warm, the kind of warmth that made people feel safe.
"Life isn't easy," she said gently. "But it becomes meaningful."
The car moved through the quiet streets of the city. It was late, almost midnight. The rain had scared most people indoors.
They had just finished dinner at the small restaurant where Elena worked.
Arin helped there whenever he could.
Sometimes washing dishes. Sometimes delivering food.
It wasn't a glamorous life.
But it was theirs.
Arin stretched his arms.
"When I start earning real money," he said proudly, "you won't have to work anymore."
Elena laughed again, louder this time.
"Oh really?"
"Yes," Arin said seriously. "I'll buy you a big house. And a car that doesn't make weird noises."
As if offended, the old car made a strange rattling sound.
They both burst into laughter.
Elena shook her head.
"I don't need a big house."
"Then what do you want?"
She thought for a moment.
Then she said quietly,
"As long as you're safe and happy, that's enough for me."
Arin felt something warm in his chest.
His mother always said things like that.
He looked out the window again.
The rain was getting heavier now.
The road ahead looked blurry under the headlights.
"Mom," he said, "do you ever wonder what Dad was like?"
The question slipped out before he could stop it.
The car grew quiet.
Elena's hands tightened slightly on the steering wheel.
Arin immediately regretted asking.
"Sorry," he said quickly.
But Elena didn't seem angry.
After a few seconds, she spoke softly.
"Your father…" she paused.
"…was someone who loved adventure."
Arin turned to look at her.
"That's all you ever say."
Elena smiled faintly.
"Maybe someday I'll tell you the whole story."
Before Arin could ask more—
A bright light suddenly appeared ahead.
Too bright.
Too fast.
A truck.
It was sliding across the wet road, completely out of control.
Everything happened in one second.
Elena's eyes widened.
"Arin—!"
She turned the wheel sharply.
The sound of tires screeching cut through the rain.
Metal crashed.
Glass shattered.
The world exploded into noise.
Then—
Silence.
Absolute silence.
Arin couldn't feel his body.
His vision faded into darkness.
For a moment, he thought this was the end.
But then…
He heard something strange.
Wind.
Leaves rustling.
Soft glowing lights drifting through the air.
Arin slowly opened his eyes.
The first thing he saw was a sky unlike anything he had ever seen before.
It wasn't black like Earth's night sky.
It was silver.
The moonlight seemed brighter, almost magical.
He sat up slowly.
His body hurt everywhere.
"Where… am I?"
Around him stood tall trees with glowing leaves.
Small floating lights drifted through the forest like fireflies.
The air itself felt alive.
Suddenly—
A tiny voice spoke above him.
"Um…"
Arin froze.
He looked up.
Hovering in the air above him was a small girl no bigger than his hand.
She had delicate wings made of light.
Her long silver hair flowed like water.
Her glowing eyes stared at him in shock.
The tiny girl whispered,
"…Human?"
Arin blinked.
He wondered if he was dreaming.
Or dead.
The fairy slowly flew closer to him.
She circled his head carefully, studying him like a strange animal.
"I've never seen one before," she said.
Arin's brain struggled to understand.
"…What?"
The fairy stopped in front of his face.
Then she asked the question that would change his life forever.
"How did a human fall from the sky?"
Arin stared at her in silence.
Memories suddenly rushed back.
The rain.
The truck.
The crash.
His mother.
His heart tightened painfully.
He clenched his hands.
Then he whispered the only thing that mattered to him.
"I need to go back."
The fairy tilted her head.
"Back where?"
Arin looked at the strange silver forest around him.
His voice trembled slightly.
"…Home."
"My mom is waiting for me."
And far above the forest…
Hidden behind the clouds…
Something ancient had already begun watching him.