WHO AM I?

𝐖𝐇𝐎 𝐀𝐌 𝐈? P.1 "who am i?

Who Am I?

The first thing Kira remembered was the sound of rain. Not the gentle kind that falls in a rhythm, soothing and soft, but a chaotic downpour, heavy and violent, like a storm trying to erase everything beneath it. She had always been drawn to rain, as if it held some unspoken secret she couldn't understand. Little did she know, the rain had carried her away from her life once before.

Kira was five when her world became a blur of confusion. The memories of her early childhood were broken, like shards of glass reflecting pieces of a life she couldn't fully grasp. An orphanage with cracked walls, rows of beds that seemed endless, and faces of people who blended into the background of her story. The caregivers spoke to her like they were speaking to a shadow, never giving her answers, only whispers that vanished as quickly as they came.

"Where are my parents?" she'd ask, her small voice echoing in the halls. The answer was always the same: silence, maybe a shrug, sometimes a smile that didn't reach their eyes. "You're just like everyone else here," they would say, patting her on the head before moving on. But Kira didn't feel like everyone else. Something was missing, something important - her past, her family, her identity. It was as if she had simply appeared in the rain one day, a child born from the storm, with no past and no future.

As she grew older, the need to know who she was gnawed at her like an itch she couldn't scratch. The other kids at the orphanage seemed content to accept their fate, blending into the background like furniture. But not Kira. She was restless, her mind always racing, always searching for clues to a life she couldn't remember.

The only thing she had from her past was a small, worn locket she wore around her neck. It had no picture inside, just an engraving too faded to read. It was the only thing she had when they found her - soaked to the bone, clutching the locket in one tiny hand, her other hand holding nothing but the empty air where her mother should have been.

By the time Kira was sixteen, the orphanage was no longer the cage it once had been. She had learned to survive in a world that didn't seem to care whether she found the truth about herself or not. But she cared. She cared more than anything.

Kira had always been different - sharper, quicker, more attuned to the world around her. She noticed things others didn't, small details that seemed insignificant but always added up to something bigger in her mind. Her reflexes were faster, her instincts stronger. It wasn't just in her head, either. The other kids noticed too, though they didn't say it out loud. It made them uncomfortable, as if Kira was something other - something they couldn't quite understand.

One night, as she sat in the small room she shared with two other girls, Kira noticed something strange. The rain had begun to fall outside, a familiar sound that always seemed to stir something deep inside her. But this time, it was different. The drops seemed to fall in a rhythm, like a code tapping against the window.

Tap. Tap-tap. Tap.

Kira's breath caught in her throat. It was almost as if the rain was speaking to her. Without thinking, she moved to the window, pressing her hand against the cold glass. The rhythm continued, more insistent now.

Tap. Tap-tap. Tap.

Her heart pounded in her chest, and suddenly, she knew-this was a message. From whom, or where, she couldn't say. But she knew she had to follow it.

That night, Kira made the decision she had always known she would make. She packed a small bag, grabbed her locket, and left the orphanage without looking back. The rain had always been her constant companion, and now, it was leading her somewhere-somewhere she was meant to be.

As she walked through the empty streets, the rain continued to fall, but Kira didn't feel lost or afraid. For the first time in her life, she felt like she was exactly where she was supposed to be.

The rhythm of the rain guided her through dark alleys and winding streets, leading her to a part of the city she had never seen before. The buildings here were older, taller, their windows dark and their doorways hidden in shadow. But the rain led her on, until she found herself standing in front of a large, wrought-iron gate.

Beyond the gate was a mansion-abandoned, or so it seemed. The windows were dark, the air around it thick with mystery and secrets. But Kira knew, deep down in her bones, that this was the place the rain had led her to.

Pushing open the gate, she stepped inside. The mansion loomed before her, ancient and foreboding. Yet there was something strangely familiar about it. She approached the front door, hesitating for only a moment before she reached out to turn the handle.

The door creaked open, revealing a grand hallway lit by flickering candlelight. Kira stepped inside, her footsteps echoing against the marble floor. The air was thick with dust, but beneath the layers of neglect, she could feel it-a pulse, like the heartbeat of the house itself.

As she explored the mansion, she found room after room filled with relics from the past: old paintings, worn furniture, forgotten books. But then, in a small room tucked away at the back of the house, she found something that made her heart stop.

It was a photograph-an old, faded photograph of a woman. Kira's breath caught in her throat as she stared at the image. The woman in the photograph was her. Or, more precisely, it was someone who looked exactly like her-same eyes, same hair, same delicate features.

The only difference was the eyes. The woman in the photo had eyes that glowed faintly, like the embers of a dying fire. Kira's hand trembled as she reached out to touch the photograph. Beneath it, there was an inscription:

"To my daughter, Kira. You will find your way back to us."

Her mind raced, trying to piece together what this meant. Could this woman be her mother? Was this house her home?

As she stood there, the rain outside intensified, pounding against the windows like a drumbeat. And then, from the shadows, a voice whispered.

"You were never meant to stay hidden, Kira. Welcome home."

Kira spun around, her heart pounding. Standing in the doorway was a figure, cloaked in darkness. But there was no fear in her now. For the first time in her life, she felt something click into place. She wasn't lost. She wasn't broken.

She was found.

And now, she would finally discover the truth.

Who was she really?

Kira stepped forward, ready to find out.