In Elena's room, Ryo stood frozen. He stared at the empty space where she had been standing only moments before. His hand was still outstretched, reaching for a vacuum. Everything was unnaturally silent.

  He touched the bed, his mind racing. Perhaps this is a glitch in my mind, he thought. A hallucination. He checked under the bed, his eyes darting frantically across every corner of the room. His stunned eyes could no longer hold back the tears.

  Finally, the reality set in.

  He took a deep breath and slapped his face to wake himself from the nightmare. Wiping his tears away quickly, he opened the door slowly and cast one final glance at the room before heading downstairs.

  He found Elena's mother, Rosie, sitting in the living room. She was sipping her coffee and scrolling through her phone with an air of calm. She looked up and asked, "Oh, leaving so soon?"

  Ryo looked at her for a few seconds. Despite the storm raging inside him, his voice remained steady. "She said she's tired and wants to sleep."

  He gave Rosie a smile that appeared warm on the surface, while his mind screamed from within. Then, he turned and left-without answers, without a destination.

  He got into his car and drove aimlessly. Eventually, he pulled over to the side of the road, where the trees stood like silent walls embracing his solitude. Dawn was approaching. The sky was a deep, bruised blue, speckled with fading stars.

  He leaned his head against the steering wheel, trying to process what had just occurred. But no matter how hard he tried, it defied logic. Was it a dream or reality? How could one explain a disappearance so absolute that it offended the rational mind?

  In a moment of desperation, he asked himself: Can this actually happen? What is life without her? What does it even mean for a person to just... vanish?

  His eyes widened, and sweat began to bead on his forehead. He wiped it away with a trembling hand. Could it be true? Is she even human?

  He had known her his entire life. He had held her hands, run through fields behind her, shared laughter, and held her close. He had seen her tears and her deepest fears. All of it had been more real than anything else in his world. So, what was happening now?

  A cold breeze filtered through the warmth of his chest, but it did nothing to fill the growing void within him. He remembered her face, her voice, her words... and he remembered the very first day they met.

  Ryo was the only son of a wealthy family of Asian descent. All their business interests were rooted in England. He had spent his life within cold walls and magnificent halls filled with servants, yet he had never felt like he belonged. His parents were always preoccupied with their business, leaving him alone for weeks, sometimes months, without a second thought. He often felt like an unnecessary detail in their lives.

  School offered no sanctuary. He was the only child with Asian features among his peers, and that did not go unnoticed. On his first day of kindergarten, a group of children gathered around him, mocking his narrow eyes and the color of his skin, treating him like an alien intruder.

  But he didn't have to defend himself.

  Elena was there. She had charged toward them in a fury, standing firmly between him and the bullies. She was small, but in that moment, she seemed more powerful than anyone in the room. She struck them with sharp words that silenced them instantly. She stared them down until they retreated, then turned to Ryo with a radiant smile.

  "Do you know what beauty is?" she asked.

  He looked at her and nodded slightly, barely able to speak.

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  She smiled, life shimmering in her eyes. "Beauty is being different from others. It's standing out because of what makes you unique. But true beauty... is having a kind heart that matches your face."

  Wise words for a four-year-old. She had never been an ordinary child. In that moment, Ryo felt something he had never experienced before: a sense of belonging. For the first time in his life, he wasn't alone.

  From that day on, he never left her side. He couldn't even imagine a single day without her.

  And now? What if she never came back?

  The sun rose on a new morning, announcing the end of a long night that felt eternal. Inside his car, Ryo had fallen into a deep sleep, finally surrendering to the exhaustion that had drained him. It wasn't a peaceful sleep; it was an escape from reality. Deep down, he knew that upon waking, he would have to face the truth he refused to believe: Elena was gone. And to him, that was more painful than death itself.

  Suddenly, his phone rang. The device vibrated on the dashboard, but Ryo ignored it. He wasn't ready to face the world. But the phone rang again, with a nagging persistence.

  He sighed heavily, lifted his head slowly, and glanced at the screen. The name made his heart contract: it was Rosie, Elena's mother. He rubbed his face and finally answered in a low voice.

  "Hello, Mrs. Rosie. How are you?"

  Her voice, however, was laced with panic. "Ryo, is Elena with you?"

  He froze. It felt as if a knife had been driven straight into his heart. He tried to feign confusion. "I'm not sure what you mean."

  Her response came with heightened fear. "Elena isn't in her room. It's already noon. I thought she was still sleeping, but when I checked her room, everything was in its place. Her phone... her things... it's as if she simply vanished."

  Ryo felt the breath catch in his throat. He had expected this moment, but not so soon. Trying to maintain his composure, he said softly, "I'm coming over. Don't worry."

  He hung up and gripped the steering wheel so hard the veins in his arms bulged. He wondered how he could face Rosie without exposing himself. She knew him too well; she would notice. And if he told her the truth, he would sound insane. Or worse-she might accuse him. Even if he explained what happened, who would believe that a girl vanished into thin air before his very eyes?

  Time passed as his mind spun in circles, but he finally made his decision. He had no choice but to remain strong. He started the car and sped off, but the road felt longer than usual. His head was a cacophony of questions.

  Finally, he arrived at Elena's house. Inside, Rosie was speaking with the police, trying to convince them that this wasn't an ordinary disappearance. Her voice trembled under the weight of a mother's intuition.

  "I know she's an adult," Rosie said. "And I know it hasn't been long enough to take official action... but Elena isn't like other girls her age."

  The officer sitting on the sofa, Mark, spoke in a calm voice, trying to reassure her. "She's a young woman. Perhaps she just went out for a walk."

  Rosie replied, her voice breaking, "I know you came as a favor because of our old friendship, Mark. But what you don't know is that my daughter consults me on everything. Even if she's just a little late, she calls me. My daughter feels my emotions deeply... she wouldn't just disappear like this."

  Mark looked at her with sympathy. "Have you called her boyfriend or any of her friends? Maybe she's with one of them."

  Rosie answered, her eyes welling with tears, "My daughter doesn't have a boyfriend. She's private. And while she has a few friends, she only ever spends her time with Ryo..." She added with a quivering lip, "Even when she goes shopping, he's with her. They are like shadows of one another... inseparable."

  Ryo stood behind the door listening, his heart thumping against his ribs. He gathered his courage and knocked. Rosie rushed to open it, clutching his arms with trembling hands, her eyes filled with a mix of plea and despair.

  "Ryo... tell me Elena is okay. She wouldn't do this to me. She couldn't hurt me this way."

  Every cell in Rosie's body as a mother was screaming that Elena was gone. Ryo looked into her eyes, but he found no words. He couldn't even offer her a shred of comfort. He stood there in silence, trying to look strong while on the verge of total collapse.

  Days passed, then weeks. But the search for Elena yielded nothing. No trace... no evidence... not even an explanation. It was as if she had never existed.

  As for Ryo, he became a prisoner of her absence. He rarely left his apartment unless absolutely necessary. His mind never stopped churning. He replayed the events over and over, trying to find a link, trying to remember any detail he might have missed-but it was all in vain.

  He sat on his sofa in the living room, staring at a photo of him and Elena hanging on the wall. Days went by where he barely ate. His face grew gaunt, and his clothes were disheveled. He called Rosie daily to ask if there was any news and to check on her. Her condition was no better. Sometimes she would break down in tears; other times she would try to appear strong. But in the end, she chose to believe that Elena was okay... just so she could keep going.

  As for Ryo, the same question continued to haunt him:

  Where did she go? Into the void? Where is she?