Soulless

Chapter 3: Likes Me Not

Elvira was shocked by the mysterious man's words. It was the first time in her life that someone could see right through her, understanding her inner turbulence without her needing to explain. Despite not acting convinced on the outside, she felt a powerful connection to him.

"That's because I am different," she murmured. "Something the outside world can never comprehend about me. I am not for this world."

The man's lips curled into a knowing smile. "Being different isn't bad, my dear," he said softly, his voice like velvet in the dark. "It just means you're special. Something normal, simple-minded humans fear."

Elvira looked up at him, her skepticism wavering. "Yeah, I guess... But I don't understand why you're here or how you appeared next to me unnoticed."

He chuckled, a sound that sent a shiver down her spine. "I'm here because you need me, obviously. To help you realize that you're not alone as you've always thought you were. You have a great potential that you yourself were never aware of." 

His words dripped with a strange allure, pulling her deeper into his orbit. "You sense what others can't sense," he continued. "Others lack depth, but you... You don't mind drowning deeper into it." 

Elvira's breath hitched as his words resonated with her deepest fears and desires. "It's not your fault for existing," he whispered. "The world is a cruel, cruel place to live. But I can show you a world beyond the ordinary." 

She hesitated for a bit. "What kind of world?" she finally asked. 

However, before the mysterious man could reply, Elvira heard a familiar voice calling her name. She looked up and saw Meredith standing in front of the bench, a puzzled expression on her face.

"Elvira... Elvira?" Meredith called out. "Who are you talking to?" she asked, looking bewildered.

Elvira glanced around, but the mysterious man had vanished, leaving her alone on the bench. The realization hit her hard; Meredith hadn't seen him at all. To her sister, it must have seemed like Elvira was talking to herself.

"I-I wasn't talking, Meredith," Elvira stammered. "I was just thinking out loud. It's truly nothing, really."

Meredith's puzzled expression softened slightly, though she remained skeptical. "If you say so, sister. It's time to go to class. Didn't you hear the bell?"

Elvira blinked, momentarily disoriented. "Oh, I didn't realize it. I got distracted."

She quickly stood up, brushing off her skirt. "Let's go to class. I didn't want to stay too long out in the heat." 

As they walked back to the school building, Elvira's mind raced with thoughts of the mysterious man. The encounter left her both intrigued and unsettled. She didn't know the meaning behind his sudden appearance in her lonely, miserable life.

The man's sudden appearance in her otherwise lonely and monotonous existence seemed almost surreal. Elvira's thoughts swirled with questions. "Who is that man to me?" she pondered. "How does he know so much about me?"

A deep sense of melancholy settled over her as she considered her own solitude. "I've been alone for too long. Why did he choose now to appear?" 

As she continued her walk, she found herself contemplating what the man might see in her that others had overlooked. "What does he see in me that others can't see?"

As much as I tried to forget about that sudden encounter with that mysterious man in red and black, I couldn't.

I wondered if he was just a fragment of my silly imagination. Maybe it was just all in my head.