“But… it is about vampires,” Piya murmured.
She didn’t share Lily’s disappointment.
Instead, a strange sense of curiosity washed over her as she stared down at the cover, completely captivated by it.
“Wow, Piya, it’s a vampire storybook! I love it!” Lily squealed, her eyes lighting up with dramatic excitement.
She clasped her hands together.
“Just imagine… I am walking down a silent road at night, and someone is stalking me in the dark. Then, suddenly, a handsome vampire appears out of nowhere, rescues me, and says, ‘I love you, Lily’…”
Piya looked at her and shook her head, unable to hold back a small laugh.
“Lily, please, come out of your dream world. In this world, vampires are just in stories; they are not real. Things like that only happen in movies and reel life. In real life, it doesn’t make any sense.”
She gently held the book out toward her friend.
“Here, if you like this book so much, you can take it. It is of no use to me.”
“But Piya, it is a gift for you! How can I take it?” Lily protested, pushing the book back toward her.
“And by the way, vampires “are” living in this world…”
“Have you ever actually seen one?” Piya challenged, raising an eyebrow.
“Well… no,” Lily mumbled.
“Then why do you believe in them? Vampires are just characters in stories; there is no validity to them in real life,” Piya stated logically, shaking her head.
“Anyway, I am getting late. If I miss my flight, I won’t get my admission into Mount College.”
Suddenly, the caretaker walked into the room.
“Piya, are you ready? Let’s go, it is time to leave.”
Piya picked up her luggage and slung her bag over her shoulder.
She stopped at the doorway, her gaze sweeping over the room where she had lived since childhood.
Her eyes welled up with tears as a flood of warm, beautiful memories hit her all at once.
She turned and pulled her friends into a tight, emotional hug.
Lily, who had been playfully teasing her just moments ago, burst into tears.
“Piya, I am going to miss you so much! Please call me every day.”
“I will call you every day, I promise. Please don’t cry,” Piya whispered, holding her best friend closely.
Lily sniffled, wiping her eyes, and managed a wobbly smile.
“And… please tell me all about the handsome college boys.”
The entire room erupted into laughter, the heavy sadness of the goodbye instantly lifting.
Piya smiled brightly, her heart completely full.
“Lily… you will never change.”
Piya stepped out of the airport doors, and a soft gasp escaped her lips.
Soft, white flakes were gently falling from the sky—snowfall.
Coming from a warm environment, she had never seen anything like this in her life.
She reached out her hand, a wide smile spreading across her face as she enjoyed the breathtaking scenery for a quiet moment.
Realizing she needed to move, she approached a stranger nearby.
“Excuse me, could you tell me how to get to Mount College?”
The person looked at her with a polite, slightly surprised smile.
“Mount College? Oh, it’s quite far from here. Your best bet is to catch a bus.”
“Thank you!” Piya replied warmly.
Instead of waiting for the bus in the freezing cold, she decided to flag down a nearby taxi.
Piya slid into the back seat, loaded Mount College into the navigation app on her phone, and settled in.
As the car pulled away, Piya leaned her head against the cool glass, mesmerized by the snowy city passing by.
But as the minutes ticked on, a uneasy feeling crept up her spine.
Looking up, she caught the taxi driver’s eyes staring right at her in the rearview mirror.
Piya quickly looked away, trying to ignore it and convincing herself she was just being paranoid.
But every time she glanced up, those cold, intense eyes in the mirror were still locked onto her, watching her every move.
Instead of heading toward the bus station route, the driver suddenly swerved and took a sharp turn down a dark, unfamiliar path.
Piya’s heart skipped a beat.
“Hey! Where are you going? This is not the right path!” she demanded, her voice rising in panic.
The driver completely ignored her, keeping his eyes dead ahead on the dark road.
“I said stop the taxi right now!” Piya shouted, lunging forward.
But he didn’t even flinch, accelerating the car even faster.
Panic turning into a fierce survival instinct, Piya’s hand slowly slipped down toward her bag.
Her fingers brushed against a small, sharp utility knife she had packed.
Grabbing it, she leaned over the seat and pressed the cold blade sharply against the driver’s neck.
“Stop the car right now,” Piya warned, her voice trembling slightly with adrenaline, “or you will lose your life!”
The driver’s eyes widened in sudden terror as he felt the cold steel against his skin.
“O-okay, okay! I’m stopping!” he stammered, slamming on the brakes.