The room, enclosed by white walls, had nine people sitting inside—me, my mom, Freya, Rhea and her parents, Magnus, Astrid, and Roy. The atmosphere was filled with laughter and chatter. However, the girl sitting beside me was shamelessly staring at the boy sitting across from her and smiling to herself.
Noticing her antics, I nudged her with my elbow and signaled, "We need to start our drama." Well, our plan was to escape from this room and go upstairs to Freya's room. But to do that, we had to act out a few things first.
When Rhea didn't respond, I nudged her hand and whispered, "Did you forget the plan as soon as the guy arrived? Come on, we have work to do!"
She looked at me and whispered back, "I…" She wanted to say something but stopped herself. Then, in a hushed tone, she said, "Okay, let's do it then."
Well, I was already pretending to be happy here, but pretending to choke and feel nauseous—especially in front of all these people? I can't! That was Rhea's job. My role was to support her and then make an excuse that she needed fresh air so I could take her outside. From there, I would lead her to the terrace.
And the others? Freya usually took along a couple of people from her house when she went somewhere, so that wasn't an issue.
I was waiting for Rhea to start her act, but… Rhea!! I was getting frustrated. I pressed my foot on hers under the table.
She immediately looked at me, startled. I made a gesture and whispered, "Are you going to give your Oscar-worthy performance after everything is over?"
She stifled a laugh but gave me a thumbs-up. I knew Rhea would pull it off—after all, she was an expert at lying and acting.
Suddenly, I heard choking sounds from beside me, followed by heavy coughing. Then, the woman sitting two chairs away (Rhea's mom) turned to her and asked, "What happened, Rhea?"
Playing my role perfectly, I added an extra touch of panic to my voice and said, "I think she's choking on her food!"
Fake nervousness covered my face, though inside, I was trying to hold back my laughter. Rhea was doing a fantastic job with her acting.
But acting aside—how were her eyes actually turning so red? She gestured towards me for water, but like a fool, I just kept looking at her and laughing to myself (Wow! What acting! That's my girl!). But suddenly, I heard Freya's voice—"Give her some water!"
Golden boy, who had the water near him, handed a glass to Rhea. When he looked at her, I feared he might forget the act and start behaving like a hidden lover instead. But thankfully, nothing like that happened.
Rhea drank the water. As she drank, her eyes shut slightly—tears sparkled in the light. I thought to myself, She could really become a big actress!
But Rhea was glaring at me—I don't know why. Then, I heard her voice, deliberately loud enough for the people beside me to hear—"Leen, I feel nauseous!"
She was saying this in a nervous voice while looking at me, but I could sense anger in her eyes. I raised my voice even more and said, "Oh really?" Then I turned my head to Freya and said, "Freya, Rhea is feeling nauseous. She needs some fresh air. Can I take her to the terrace?"
Freya looked at me and said, "But you haven't even eaten yet?"
Hearing this, I hurriedly replied, "No, I'm not hungry."
Freya and the others probably didn't notice my nervousness, but I was panicking inside! Then I heard Freya's voice—"Alright!!"
The moment I heard it, my stomach tickled, my heart started singing, but just then, Rhea placed her shoe on my foot and said, "Leen, let's go!"
For a second, I was angry, but seeing everyone around, I quickly hid it. Till we reached the room, Rhea kept acting as if she was about to die, and I kept acting as if I would do anything to save her. We continued this drama until we were a little away from Freya's room.
Freya's house was medium-sized—simple and peaceful.
We had used the word terrace, but here we were, standing in front of Freya's room. I was staring at the door, which looked exactly like the main entrance to their house. Just then, I felt a sharp pain in my waist, as if someone had punched me—and someone had.
It was Rhea.
I turned to her angrily, but she was even angrier than me. Before I could say anything, she threw a barrage of words at me—
"Leen, I was asking for water, and you were laughing to yourself, huh? I did this stupid acting for you, and you didn't even give me water? You idiot! Laughing when I was dying? Contract disrupted!"
Hearing her words, I finally understood why her eyes were red. The tears that had shimmered in the light weren't just acting—they were real. She had actually been choking.
I wanted to laugh, but instead, I looked at her with fake guilt and nervousness and said—
"Rhea, I really didn't know you were actually dying! But think—if I had given you water, how would Golden Boy have noticed you?"
The moment she heard "Golden Boy," a faint blush appeared on her cheeks, but she quickly masked it and snapped back—
"What nonsense are you talking about? Okay, fine, he gave me water, or else I would've died! And his name is Magnus, not Golden Boy!"
I smirked and teased, "But who called him Golden Boy first? Do you remember?"
I looked at her face, which had an unmistakable blush. Waving my hands dramatically in the air, I continued—
"I remember—a girl standing right next to me did!"
Rhea smacked my head and said, "We're wasting time! Let's do what we came here to do!"
Now, I became serious too. She instructed me, "You go inside, I'll keep watch here."
I nodded and reached for the door handle.
Before opening it, I silently asked God for forgiveness—it is wrong to peek into someone's room without their permission.
After my little prayer, I slowly turned the handle and stepped inside. As soon as I stepped into the room, a deep darkness enveloped my vision, for the lights were off. I turned on my phone's flashlight, stumbling here and there before finally switching on the lights.
It was a simple room, yet its walls were not white and also not decorated with colorful balloons—just like the rest of the house.
I started observing the room. It was quite ordinary, yet the walls had paintings of falling rain, as if real raindrops were cascading down. In one corner of the room, there was a figure of a boy standing amidst the rain, holding a guitar. The entire scene was in black shades.
Looking at it, I felt something strange—like a sense of familiarity, yet not entirely. My gaze remained fixed on the boy painted on the wall, evoking feelings I couldn't quite decipher.
As I looked closer, I noticed tiny words emerging from the guitar he was holding.
I moved nearer and read them—they were inscribed in white within the falling rain, as if formed from the water itself. The words read:
"Live, for life is but one—stay happy and spread it around.
We are companions in this journey till death…
Just give me your hand…"
The words were beautiful, perhaps written by a kind-hearted person. I got so lost in them that I momentarily forgot why I had come here.
There wasn't much in Freya's room—a simple wardrobe, a bed, a side table, and a tall wooden drawer. The room was filled with a sweet fragrance, as if it had been crafted from flowers.
I couldn't find anything that seemed worth hiding. Just then, I heard Rhea's voice, "Hurry up! They're talking about leaving!"
I quickly responded, "Yes, just a minute!"
I searched everywhere but found nothing. My eyes landed on the wooden drawer, which I had already rummaged through thoroughly. Still, I found nothing.
Then Rhea's voice came again, "Quickly now!"
Frustrated, I prepared to close the drawer when I suddenly noticed a hidden compartment inside. By sheer luck, it was unlocked.
I opened it and found a thick book—it looked like a mix of a novel, a diary, and a journal.
Upon closer inspection, I realized that additional pages had been inserted into it.
Hearing Rhea's voice again, I quickly grabbed the book, tidied up the room, turned off the light, and hurried outside.
We both ran up to the terrace, and I hid the book exactly where I had prearranged a hiding spot. Just then, we heard someone calling, "Come on, kids!"
Rhea and I exchanged glances and left.
Before leaving, I told her that I hadn't found anything significant, except for that strange rainy wall and the boy with the guitar.
I don't know why, but I didn't tell her about the book.
After reaching home, I took a shower, went to my room, and retrieved the book. The cover had some words inscribed in black against the blue background—
"HYMN OF THE RAIN"
Upon closer inspection, I noticed faint words, only visible in dim light. And my room always remained in low light.
The words read—
"HYMN OF THE RAIN (Freya and Sean)"