The sky had looked wrong since midday.
Dark clouds gathered above Silvara Province like silent soldiers preparing for battle. The wind that usually carried the peaceful scent of river water and forest leaves became colder as the hours passed, bending trees and shaking rooftops across Elden Hollow.
By evening, everyone had gone home.
Everyone except Richard.
He was still at the farmer's estate carrying heavy sacks of grain from the storage barn to a merchant's wagon waiting near the village road. His shoulders burned with pain, and his legs felt heavier with every step, but the farmer continued shouting as though Richard's exhaustion was invisible.
"Move faster!" the man yelled from under the safety of his covered porch.
"The storm is almost here!"
Richard nearly laughed.
The farmer feared rain.
Richard feared hunger.
He adjusted another sack onto his shoulder and kept walking through the muddy yard.
Thunder rumbled in the distance.
The first drop of rain landed on his face.
Then another.
Then suddenly the heavens opened.
Heavy rain crashed down violently.
Within seconds, Richard was completely soaked.
By the time he carried the final sack to the wagon, his body was trembling from exhaustion.
The farmer reached into his pocket and tossed a few coins toward him.
They landed in the mud.
"That should be enough."
Richard stared at the coins.
It barely looked like payment.
But hunger had destroyed pride long ago.
He bent down and picked them up.
As he turned to leave, the farmer shouted after him.
"If you're late tomorrow, don't bother returning!"
Richard kept walking without answering.
Rain poured against his face as he made his way through the dark village roads. Mud clung to his feet, making every step harder than the last.
Lightning flashed across the sky.
For a brief moment, the path ahead became visible.
Then disaster struck.
His foot landed on loose mud.
He slipped instantly.
Richard's body slammed into the ground before rolling down a small slope near the roadside.
Pain exploded through his shoulder.
His leg twisted painfully beneath him.
He groaned as cold rain poured over his body.
Mud covered his clothes.
He tried standing.
His injured leg collapsed beneath him.
He fell again.
For the first time in years, Richard simply laid there in the storm.
Defeated.
He stared at the dark sky and laughed bitterly.
"Even the heavens hate me."
Across the village, Lara sat inside her family's house near the river.
Rain pounded violently against the roof while her mother prepared dinner over the fire.
Her father quietly repaired fishing nets nearby.
But Lara couldn't focus on anything.
She kept glancing outside.
Her mother noticed.
"You've been staring at the door all evening."
Lara quickly looked away.
"It's nothing."
Her mother smiled knowingly.
"Does this 'nothing' happen to have a name?"
Lara immediately became flustered.
"Mother—"
Thunder interrupted her.
Lara's expression changed instantly.
Her thoughts immediately returned to Richard.
He was still outside.
Working.
Alone.
And probably walking home in this storm.
Her chest tightened painfully.
Without another word, she stood up and grabbed a lantern.
Her father looked up.
"Where are you going?"
"Outside."
"In this weather?"
"What if someone needs help?"
Her parents exchanged glances.
They both knew exactly who she meant.
Her father sighed heavily.
"Be careful."
Lara rushed into the storm.
Rain hit her immediately as she ran through village roads calling his name.
"Richard!"
No response.
She searched further toward the forest path.
Lightning flashed.
And then she saw him.
A figure lying near the muddy roadside.
Her heart nearly stopped.
"Richard!"
She ran toward him and dropped to her knees beside him.
Richard slowly opened his eyes.
Through blurred vision, he saw Lara above him.
For one brief second—
Her face changed.
A woman dressed in royal white.
Crying.
Reaching toward him.
The vision disappeared instantly.
Lara remained there.
Real.
Terrified.
"What happened to you?" she asked.
Richard forced a weak smile.
"I think the weather dislikes me."
Tears mixed with rain on Lara's face.
"You idiot…"
She helped him stand and wrapped his arm around her shoulder.
"Come with me."
"I'll dirty your house."
"I don't care."
"Your father may kill me."
"He'll survive."
Despite the pain, Richard laughed weakly.
Together, they walked through the storm toward her home.
When they entered, warmth immediately embraced him.
Firelight glowed peacefully.
The smell of warm food filled the air.
The violent storm outside suddenly felt far away.
Lara's mother gasped at his condition.
"Oh heavens…"
Her father immediately stood and helped him sit near the fireplace.
"What happened?"
"He slipped near the forest road," Lara answered.
Richard lowered his head.
"I apologize for troubling your family."
Lara's mother frowned.
"A boy nearly dies in a storm and still apologizes?"
Richard fell silent.
He didn't know what to say.
Lara's father returned with warm water.
"Go change behind that curtain."
Richard blinked.
"What?"
The older man rolled his eyes.
"You need dry clothes, not another lecture."
Lara laughed softly.
Richard gave a small weak smile.
After changing into dry clothes borrowed from Lara's father, Richard returned to the fire.
Lara's mother carefully cleaned the wounds on his hands.
He flinched.
"It stings."
"That means you're alive."
Lara sat quietly beside him the entire time.
Watching him.
Making sure he was alright.
Her father eventually placed a bowl of hot soup in front of him.
"Eat."
Richard stared at the bowl.
Steam rose gently from it.
His vision blurred slightly.
He couldn't remember the last time someone fed him without demanding labor in return.
"Why are you helping me?" he whispered.
The room became quiet.
Lara's father stared at him before answering.
"Because someone should."
Richard lowered his head.
Something inside him broke.
Not painfully.
Peacefully.
Years of loneliness met kindness for the first time.
He began eating slowly.
Then faster.
Lara's mother smiled.
"He was truly starving."
Later that night, Lara brought folded blankets and placed them beside him.
"You'll sleep here tonight."
Richard looked at her.
"I'm becoming a burden."
Lara crossed her arms.
"Then repay us by staying alive."
For the first time in years—
Richard laughed.
A genuine laugh.
Small.
Quiet.
Real.
That night he slept near the fireplace while rain continued outside.
For the first time in both his old life and new one—
He felt safe.
As his eyes slowly closed, he heard a soft voice deep within his mind.
A woman's voice.
Gentle.
Familiar.
"You found warmth again..."
Richard's eyes opened suddenly.
The house was silent.
The fire burned softly.
Lara slept peacefully nearby.
Richard stared at her sleeping face.
That strange familiar feeling returned.
As if he had lost her once before.
As if fate had returned something precious to him.
He didn't understand it.
But for the first time in a very long time—
Richard fell asleep without fear.