Chapter 1: The Kiss That Should Have Killed Me
The first thing I felt was his lips.
Cold.
Not the kind of cold that comes from air or rain—but something deeper. Something unnatural. Like death itself had leaned down and touched me.
Then—
Darkness cracked open.
Air slammed into my lungs.
I gasped.
My body jerked violently as if I had been thrown back into it from somewhere far away… somewhere I wasn’t meant to leave.
Voices echoed around me.
“—she’s breathing!”
“Impossible—she had no pulse!”
“Call the doctor!”
Everything sounded distant, distorted, like I was underwater.
My eyes fluttered open.
Blinding white lights stabbed into my vision. The ceiling above me spun slowly, unfamiliar and harsh. My chest rose and fell rapidly, each breath burning like I was learning how to breathe for the first time.
Alive.
I was alive.
But I shouldn’t be.
Fragments of memory rushed back—
Rain pouring endlessly.
A screech of tires.
Glass shattering.
Pain.
Then nothing.
And then…
Him.
Those lips.
That kiss.
I swallowed hard, my throat dry and aching.
Someone grabbed my hand.
“Amara! Oh my God, you’re awake!”
I turned my head slowly. My aunt’s face came into focus—her eyes wide, her grip tight and almost desperate.
“You… you scared us,” she said, her voice trembling, but something in her expression felt off. Not relief. Not fully.
Fear.
Why did she look afraid of me?
“I…” My voice came out as a weak whisper. “What happened?”
“You had an accident,” she said quickly. Too quickly. “You were unconscious for hours. The doctors said—” She stopped herself.
Said what?
“That I would die?” I finished quietly.
She didn’t answer.
That was answer enough.
A chill ran down my spine.
I closed my eyes briefly, trying to steady myself. But behind my eyelids—
I saw him.
A shadowed face.
Sharp features.
Eyes I couldn’t fully remember, yet somehow couldn’t forget.
And those lips.
That kiss.
My heart skipped.
“Who…” I murmured, opening my eyes again. “Who brought me here?”
My aunt hesitated.
“I don’t know,” she said finally. “Someone dropped you off and disappeared.”
My stomach tightened.
Disappeared?
“Did anyone see him?” I asked.
She shook her head.
“No cameras caught his face. It’s like he was never there.”
But he was there.
I felt him.
I knew it.
A strange unease settled over me.
Something wasn’t right.
Not just about the accident.
About me.
—
Later that night, the hospital room was quiet.
Too quiet.
Machines beeped steadily beside me, the only proof that I was still alive.
I stared at the ceiling, unable to sleep.
Every time I closed my eyes, I felt it again—
That kiss.
Cold.
Lingering.
Wrong.
I lifted my fingers slowly and touched my lips.
They felt normal.
Warm.
Alive.
So why did I still feel him?
A soft sound broke the silence.
Tap.
I froze.
Tap.
It came from the window.
My heart began to race.
Slowly, I turned my head.
The curtains were slightly open, revealing the dark night outside. Rain still fell, tapping gently against the glass.
Tap.
This time, louder.
I pushed myself up slightly, ignoring the pain in my body.
“Hello?” I called weakly.
No answer.
Just the rain.
And then—
A shape moved.
My breath caught.
Someone was standing outside.
No.
That wasn’t possible.
I was on the second floor.
My pulse pounded in my ears.
The figure didn’t move closer.
Didn’t knock again.
It just… stood there.
Watching.
My chest tightened.
“Who’s there?” I whispered.
Silence.
Then lightning flashed across the sky—
And for a split second, I saw him.
Tall.
Still.
Eyes locked onto mine.
My heart stopped.
It was him.
I knew it.
Even without seeing his face clearly, I knew.
The man who kissed me.
The man who brought me back.
The man who shouldn’t exist.
The lights flickered.
I blinked.
And he was gone.
Completely gone.
Like he had never been there.
My breathing became uneven.
“No…” I whispered. “No, I saw him…”
I wasn’t imagining it.
I couldn’t be.
But deep down…
I felt something worse.
Something far more terrifying than seeing a stranger outside my window.
He wasn’t just watching me.
He was waiting.
—
The next morning, I was discharged.
The doctors called it a miracle.
I called it something else.
A mistake.
As my aunt helped me into the car, I couldn’t shake the feeling that something had followed me out of that hospital.
The world felt… different.
Too sharp.
Too clear.
Every sound was louder.
Every movement more noticeable.
Even the air felt heavier.
“What’s wrong?” my aunt asked, noticing my silence.
“Nothing,” I said automatically.
But it wasn’t true.
Something inside me had changed.
I could feel it.
And I didn’t understand it.
—
That night, I stood in front of my mirror at home.
My reflection stared back at me.
Same face.
Same eyes.
Same everything.
So why did I feel like a stranger in my own body?
I leaned closer.
Studying.
Searching.
And then—
I froze.
My reflection… blinked.
But I hadn’t.
My heart slammed against my chest.
I stepped back sharply.
“No…” I whispered.
That wasn’t possible.
Mirrors don’t move on their own.
Do they?
I forced myself to breathe.
“You’re tired,” I muttered. “That’s all.”
But even as I said it—
I knew it wasn’t true.
Because deep down…
I could still feel him.
That cold.
That presence.
That kiss.
And then—
A voice.
Soft.
Right behind me.
“You shouldn’t be alive.”
I spun around.
No one was there.
My entire body trembled.
Tears filled my eyes.
“What is happening to me?” I whispered.
Silence answered.
But in that silence—
I realized something that made my blood run cold.
I wasn’t saved that night.
I wasn’t lucky.
I wasn’t given a second chance.
No.
Something far worse had happened.
I was brought back—
For a reason.
And whatever kissed me…
Wasn’t human.