Chapter 1 - The Stranger
"HEY—DON’T TOUCH ME!"
The shout sliced through the air.
Bird sounds vanished completely.
Conversations died instantly.
Heads turned toward the sudden noise.
The camera snapped to a small child standing beside a table.
He was barefoot and incredibly dirty.
He was completely out of place in a world that did not belong to him.
But he was calm.
He was far too calm.
"She has the same hair," his voice was barely above a whisper, but it carried.
The woman stiffened in her expensive dress.
"What are you talking about?" Claire asked.
Her tone was sharp at first, but something underneath it had already changed.
The child stepped closer.
His movements were slow and certain.
"My mom said I would find you here," the boy stated.
The words landed wrong.
They landed very wrong.
Around them, the crowd began to freeze in place.
Phones lifted into the air to record the strange encounter.
Eyes locked in on the bizarre scene unfolding at the charity gala.
"Your mom?" Claire asked, her voice dropping now.
She was not angry anymore.
She was careful.
The child nodded slowly.
Tears formed in his bright blue eyes, but they did not fall.
He reached deep into his dirty pocket.
He pulled something out.
It was small and terribly worn.
It was an old ribbon.
The camera pushed in on the object in his hand.
It was the exact same color.
It had the exact same shape.
It had the same tiny detail as the one tied in the woman’s hair.
A quiet gasp moved through the wealthy crowd.
The woman stepped back in sheer shock.
The color began draining rapidly from her face.
"That is impossible," Claire breathed out.
But the child did not react to her panic.
"She said you would say that," the boy replied flatly.
Silence pressed in from every single side.
The woman’s voice shook violently now.
"Where is she?" Claire demanded.
The child did not answer her question.
He just slowly turned his dirty head.
The camera followed his gaze.
Across the busy street, in the bright green light, a woman stood completely still.
She was watching them.
She was not moving.
She was not hiding.
She was waiting.
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Before Claire could even take a step toward her, the screeching tires of a black van echoed down the block.
The heavy vehicle slammed on its brakes, completely blocking Claire's view of the woman across the street.
