My name is Luciana Aldrick.
I am seventeen years old.
An ordinary teenager.
At least…
That was what I had believed since childhood.
I had long black hair that reached all the way down to my waist, naturally falling around me before curling softly at the ends.
It was something I had never thought much about.
It had simply always been there, growing with me through the years.
My eyes were a blue-silverish shade, a strange color that sometimes looked more blue beneath the daylight and more silver beneath the moon.
I had never considered either feature particularly special.
To me, they were simply part of who I was.
I was born in a peaceful little village called Cresent Roseville.
It wasn’t a famous place.
There were no magnificent castles, no grand temples that attracted travelers from distant kingdoms, and certainly no legendary heroes wandering through our streets.
Cresent Roseville was simply a small village surrounded by forests, hills, and a beautiful lake.
It was quiet.
Warm.
And, to me…
It was home.
I had never known anything else.
In another three days, I would turn eighteen.
Just thinking about it made the corners of my lips curl upward.
Eighteen.
It sounded strangely grown-up.
I had spent the last few weeks pretending that I wasn’t excited about it, but whenever someone mentioned my birthday, my eyes would light up before I could stop myself.
I was terrible at hiding my emotions.
“Three more days…”
I whispered to myself while sitting beneath the shade of an old tree.
My fingers played absentmindedly with a small flower growing beside my skirt.
Three days until I turned eighteen.
Three days until I finally left Cresent Roseville.
Not forever.
At least, that was what I told myself.
I had decided to travel beyond the village after my birthday.
I wanted to see the world outside.
The cities.
The forests.
The mountains.
Perhaps even the great kingdoms I had only heard about from travelers.
I wanted to know what existed beyond the familiar roads I had walked my entire life.
Of course, everyone in the village already knew about my decision.
And surprisingly…
Nobody had tried to stop me.
Instead, they had given me the same advice over and over again.
“If you become tired, come home.”
“Don’t force yourself to continue if the journey becomes dangerous.”
“And Luciana…”
“Don’t forget that Cresent Roseville will always be your home.”
Every time I heard those words, something warm tightened inside my chest.
The villagers had raised me.
Not one family.
Everyone.
When I was five years old, they found me crying near an abandoned house at the far end of the village.
According to the villagers, I had been trapped around the chimney area of that old house.
I had been terrified.
I had cried until my throat hurt.
And when they found me, I apparently refused to let go of the first person who reached for me.
I didn’t remember much about that day.
In fact…
I barely remembered anything about my life before the age of five.
The villagers told me my mother had been killed by bandits.
They never knew where my father was.
So, after that day, Cresent Roseville became my family.
I ate at one house.
Played at another.
Helped whoever needed me.
And whenever night came and I didn’t feel like returning to the small room where I lived…
Old Grandma Martha would open her door without even asking.
“Again?”
She would always pretend to be annoyed.
But there was never any real anger in her eyes.
I’d simply grin.
“Your bed is more comfortable.”
She would snort.
“Little brat.”
Then she’d move her blanket aside for me.
That was how I grew up.
Surrounded by people who had no blood relation to me…
Yet somehow loved me as if I belonged to them.
Perhaps that was why the thought of leaving was becoming harder than I had expected.
I had dreamed about traveling for years.
But now that the day was approaching…
I wasn’t so sure anymore.
I lowered my head and sighed.
“Maybe I’m more attached to this place than I thought.”
A breeze moved through the village.
The leaves above me rustled softly.
I looked toward the road.
Somewhere beyond those hills was a world I had never seen.
And somehow…
I wanted to see it.
Even if it frightened me.
Even if I had to leave everything familiar behind.
So I had made a decision.
My eighteenth birthday would become something I would never forget.
The villagers had already planned a celebration.
A grand farewell.
They insisted it was both my birthday party and a celebration for the beginning of my journey.
I had protested at first.
“You don’t have to do all that.”
They had ignored me.
Completely.
One of the village women had practically dragged me toward the market while discussing food.
Another had already started planning decorations.
Old Grandma Martha had even threatened to personally check my luggage because she was convinced I would forget something important.
I had laughed until my stomach hurt.
But when I heard them talking about preparing everything for me…
I almost cried.
I had turned away quickly so nobody would see.
It was embarrassing.
But it meant so much to me.
I didn’t know how long I would be gone.
Perhaps months.
Perhaps years.
Or…
Maybe a lifetime.
The last thought made my smile disappear for a moment.
I quickly shook my head.
“No.”
I wasn’t going to think like that.
I would come back.
Of course I would.
I had to.
Still…
If I really did return after many years, I wanted to have something beautiful to remember this time by.
So I accepted their celebration.
I wanted to treasure it.
My first and perhaps most precious memory before beginning my journey.
There was only one problem.
Lately…
I had been having a strange dream.
The same dream.
Every night.
At first, I thought nothing of it.
Dreams were strange.
People dreamed about ridiculous things all the time.
But when the same dream appeared again…
And again…
And again…
I began to feel uncomfortable.
That evening, I found myself sitting beside the lake of Cresent Roseville.
This was my favorite place in the entire village.
The lake was calm during the day, reflecting the sky like a giant mirror.
But at night…
It became something else.
Silver roses sometimes bloomed along the edge of the water.
They were rare.
Beautiful.
And strangely delicate.
The villagers had many stories about them.
Some said they only bloomed under certain moonlight.
Others believed they were connected to an ancient blessing.
Old Grandma Martha had once told me that they had bloomed much more often when she was young.
But lately…
I hadn’t seen them bloom at all.
I rested my arms over my knees and stared across the darkening lake.
“The moon will be full around my birthday…”
My eyes wandered toward the empty patches where the silver roses sometimes appeared.
“How nice would it be if they bloomed that night?”
I smiled at my own thought.
“That’s ridiculous.”
I gave a small laugh.
“Why am I wishing for flowers?”
But secretly…
I really hoped they would bloom.
It would make the farewell feel even more special.
The sun slowly disappeared behind the hills.
Orange faded into purple.
Purple faded into deep blue.
And eventually, the first stars appeared.
I should have gone home.
Instead, I remained there.
Because I knew what would come next.
The dream.
The strange dream that had been haunting me for days.
I closed my eyes for a moment.
Then opened them again.
The lake was still.
The night was quiet.
And yet…
Something inside me felt uneasy.
I couldn’t explain why.
I had no reason to be afraid.
Nothing was happening.
Nothing at all.
But my fingers slowly tightened around the fabric of my skirt.
I swallowed.
“Why am I feeling like this?”
I whispered.
Then the memory came.
Not a memory.
A dream.
A vision.
It always began the same way.
Darkness.
A distant place.
I could never tell where it was.
I could never hear what anyone was saying.
Everything was blurred, as though I were watching something through thick fog.
But I could see a woman.
She was falling.
No…
She had already fallen.
Her body lay motionless at the center of something I could never identify.
Two figures stood before her.
I couldn’t see their faces clearly.
They simply stood there.
Watching.
My chest always tightened whenever I saw them.
I didn’t know why.
I didn’t know who they were.
Then the two figures turned away.
They left.
Just like that.
The woman remained alone.
Then…
Someone else appeared.
A figure dressed entirely in black.
I couldn’t see his face.
I couldn’t even tell what he looked like.
But somehow…
I always knew that he was a man.
He rushed toward the fallen woman.
There was desperation in the way he moved.
He dropped beside her.
His hands trembled as he carefully lifted her body.
Not roughly.
Not carelessly.
But with a tenderness that made my heart ache.
As though the woman in his arms were something more precious than his own life.
And then…
The dream always stopped.
I opened my eyes.
My breathing was uneven.
For several seconds, I simply stared at the lake.
My heart was beating far too quickly.
Again.
The same dream.
Again.
I rubbed my temples.
“Why?”
My voice came out quieter than I intended.
Why was I dreaming about a woman I had never seen?
Why did the sight of her make my chest hurt?
And why…
Why did that black-clad man make me feel like I was about to cry?
I shook my head.
“No.”
I pressed both palms against my face.
“This is ridiculous.”
I lowered my hands and stared at the water.
“How can the same dream repeat for days?”
There was no answer.
Only the gentle sound of water touching the shore.
I stood.
My legs felt slightly weak, so I remained still for a moment before brushing the dirt from my clothes.
“That’s enough.”
I forced a smile.
“Tomorrow I’ll wake up and forget about it.”
I turned toward the village.
The moon had already risen.
Stars glittered across the dark sky.
It was time to go home.
I took several steps.
Then stopped.
For some reason…
I looked back at the lake.
The surface remained perfectly calm.
No silver roses.
Nothing unusual.
I sighed.
“Goodnight.”
I didn’t know whether I was saying it to the lake…
Or to the strange dream.
Then I walked away.
My footsteps gradually disappeared along the path.
I never noticed the figure standing among the trees.
He had been there for some time.
Silent.
Motionless.
Watching.
His dark eyes followed Luciana until she disappeared beyond the trees.
For the first time in a thousand years…
Something inside him moved.
A familiar presence.
A soul he had searched for across centuries.
His fingers slowly curled.
He didn’t call her name.
Not yet.
He simply stood there beneath the shadows.
Watching the girl who had once been someone he could never forget.
And after waiting for a thousand years…
He finally found her.
Luciana had returned.
And this time…
He would never let her go again.