Crimson Bloom

Chapter 3: Petals in the Wind

It rained that morning.

Not heavily. Just a soft drizzle, like the sky was unsure whether to cry or not.

Aria Solenne held her umbrella close, watching reflections shimmer in puddles as she walked toward the bookstore. Her boots tapped gently on the cobbled path. No one else was out.

The silence felt strange.

Even the usual stray cat that napped near the bakery was gone.

⸻

When she reached the shop, the door was ajar.

Not broken. Just slightly open. Waiting.

She paused.

"…Mrs. Yune?"

No answer. Only the quiet rustle of paper. Her heart picked up its pace, barely. She stepped inside.

Everything looked untouched—except the back room.

The lights flickered. One… two…

Then went out.

She didn't investigate.

She made tea instead.

⸻

That afternoon, a woman collapsed on the street.

People gathered. Someone called for an ambulance.

Aria stood at the edge of the crowd, heart fluttering. The woman's skin was pale. Lips bluish. Her hands twitched like something was wrong in her veins. Aria caught a glimpse of her face and felt a chill crawl down her back—

Because the woman looked straight at her.

And smiled.

Blood slipped from her mouth.

Aria took a step back. No one else noticed.

⸻

The news that night showed nothing.

No panic. No reports.

But the flower in Aria's room now had three heads.

And on her mirror, written in fog, were words she didn't write:

"She awakens where others fall."

⸻

That night, in her dreams—

A city burning.

A sea of infected eyes.

A girl standing barefoot in a lake of ash, her white dress stained crimson.

And that voice again, wrapping around her like silk dipped in wine:

"Run, little bloom. Or become the fire."

⸻

She woke up crying.

And outside her window, the sky had split.

Just a little.

A thin line of red light cut through the clouds like a wound.