The morning light slowly spread across the river.
Everything was calm—strangely calm. As if last night's terrifying events had never happened. But inside Arian, the storm had not stopped.
He was standing at the edge of the ship.
There was no sleep in his eyes, no fatigue—only a kind of determination.
The determination to find Neela.
"You're still standing here?"
A voice came from behind.
Arian turned around.
A middle-aged man stood there—tired eyes, but a deep gaze.
"I'm looking for someone,"
Arian said.
The man slowly came and stood beside him.
"We're all looking for someone."
The words were simple, but heavy.
"Her name is Neela,"
Arian said,
"She's alive. I know it."
The man stayed silent for a moment.
Then he asked,
"How long have you known her?"
The question felt strange.
Arian paused.
"One day…"
he said softly,
"But it feels like much longer."
The man smiled faintly—but there was no joy in it.
"Some people enter our lives in such a short time… as if they were always there,"
he said.
Arian looked at him.
"Have you seen her?"
The man shook his head.
"No. But hearing you… it feels like this story is not just about searching."
The air grew a little colder.
"What do you mean?"
Arian asked.
The man looked toward the river.
"Sometimes,"
he said slowly,
"the one we search for… exists only inside our memories, not in reality."
Arian's chest trembled.
"No,"
he said firmly,
"She is real. I touched her, I talked to her—everything was real."
The man said nothing more.
That afternoon, the ship reached the shore.
The survivors began to get off one by one. Some were crying, some silent, some lost within themselves.
Arian started searching everywhere.
Hospitals.
Lists.
Names of the injured.
But—
Neela's name was nowhere.
"Are you sure?"
he kept asking.
The staff shook their heads.
"No one with that name is on the list."
Something inside Arian collapsed.
But he didn't stop.
He entered every ward.
Looked at every face.
No one.
Nowhere.
Evening fell.
Arian sat on a bench outside the hospital.
His hands were shaking.
One question kept spinning in his mind—
What if she truly doesn't exist?
Suddenly—
The sound of a girl's laughter.
Arian jumped to his feet.
He moved toward the sound.
At the end of a corridor—
by a window—
a girl was standing.
Her hair was moving gently in the wind.
Arian's breath stopped.
"Neela…"
He slowly moved forward.
The girl turned—
But—
She wasn't Neela.
Arian stopped.
An emptiness spread inside his chest.
"I'm sorry…"
he said softly.
He began to walk back.
Just then—
A voice came from behind.
"You're still looking for me?"
That voice—
he could never forget it.
Arian slowly turned around.
No one was there.
The corridor was empty.
His breathing became faster.
"Neela?"
he called.
Silence.
Then—
A whisper, very close—
"I'm always right beside you…"
Arian's body trembled.
Was this real?
Or just his mind playing tricks?
Suddenly, his eyes fell on the window glass.
There—his own reflection.
But—
Beside him, another shadow stood.
A girl's shadow.
Neela.
Arian quickly turned back.
No one.
He looked at the glass again—
the shadow was gone.
His heart was pounding.
But now, inside him, there wasn't just fear—
a realization was forming.
This story is not ordinary.
Maybe Neela is not just a person.
Maybe she is a mystery…
an unfinished truth…
that has not yet fully revealed itself.
Arian slowly whispered—
"Whatever you are… I will find you."
The air trembled softly.
As if somewhere, someone smiled.