"Well, Elias, you look like you’re searching for something that isn't on this bench."
"The noise is fine. It’s the pneumonia that’s the problem," she replied, stepping closer. She tilted her umbrella, shielding him. The sudden cessation of rain hitting his shoulders felt like a physical weight being lifted. "I’m Clara." Im With You
"Then I’ll learn to breathe underwater," she said softly. "I'm not here because I think you're a project to be fixed, Elias. I’m here because I like the view from your ship, even when it’s taking on water." "Well, Elias, you look like you’re searching for
He felt a hand slide into his—smaller now, more fragile, but just as steady. Clara, in a yellow raincoat that had seen better days, smiled up at him. "Still a bit damp," she remarked. The sudden cessation of rain hitting his shoulders
The rain in Oakhaven didn’t just fall; it reclaimed the streets. It was the kind of relentless, silver downpour that turned the world into a series of blurred lights and heavy shadows.
That was the beginning. Over the next few months, Clara became the color in his black-and-white world. She was a whirlwind of "unnecessary" adventures: midnight trips to see the city lights from the old bridge, hunting for the best stale donuts at 4:00 AM, and sitting in silence at the back of jazz clubs.