Chapter 3 Echoes of rain

The rain had stopped by morning, but Ella heard it in her head, the soft rhythm of drops against glass, the faint echo of footsteps beside her. She stirred slowly, sunlight running across the sheets, her bedroom still perfumed with the faint stench of the coffee she had not reached the night before, Nathan's words still remained, "you deserve to be seen." She hadn't realized how long it had been since anyone had said anything like that, anything very nice, unexpected, and personal. Most people told her she was fine, or strong, or holding up all right, words meant to comfort but not to see.

Nathan had pierced the calm mask she wore, glimpsed the quiet ache beneath her practiced composure. She moved through her morning mechanically,eggs, toast, black coffee, the motions of someone pretending not to think too much. The city outside was scrubbed clean by the storm, pavement gleamed and trees dripped. Even the air felt new, she sat near the window, half-watching the street below while her mind wandered elsewhere.

The bookstore.

His eyes were soft when he listened, the easy calm of their silence, she caught herself smiling and shook her head, "You're ridiculous," she murmured. Two encounters, that was all. In a city full of faces, she'd met him twice-and still, he occupied her thoughts as if he'd always been there, tucked quietly between her heartbeats. Her phone buzzed, a text from Lina,

"Open-mic night tonight, sing with me, you owe me one." Ella snorted, she hadn't played or sung for anyone since college.

"Not going to happen," she typed back.The response was immediate, "You said that last time, you need this, Also, it's at Café Lune, you'll love it."

Café Lune, she'd heard of it, small stage, low amber lights, a place where people didn't perform for attention but for release. She hesitated, thumb hovering above the screen, maybe Lina was right, maybe she did need it, a night that wasn't about work or memories, just music.

Evening fell scented with rain and cinnamon, amber spilled across the pavement from within the glowing café. Inside, a hum of chatter was low beneath the strum of a guitar; candles flickered on tables, the air soft enough to touch. Lina saw her first, "You came!" she said, smiling as she tuned up her ukulele. "Good, you'll thank me later." She rolled her eyes. "I'm just watching, not singing." "Sure," Lina said, feigning innocence. "We shall see."

The open-mic began, an older man singing blues, a nervous teenager reciting poetry, a couple harmonizing off-key but full of heart, every voice carried something raw, Ella circled her finger around her mug, allowing the honesty of each performance to penetrate. The ache in her chest lessened a little. Halfway through, Lina whispered, "I need to go get something out of my car, You'll be all right?

"Yeah," Ella said, eyes still on the stage. That's when she saw him, Nathan stood framed in the doorway, his dark jacket damp at the shoulders, his hair tousled from the weather. His eyes scanned the crowd until they met hers and then the faintest, stunned smile broke across his face. "Café Lune," he said when he reached her table, his voice laced with laughter, "didn't expect to see you here." "I could say the same," she answered, her tone warming, "do you come here often?" He slipped into the seat beside her, saying, "Sometimes, when I need to remember what peace feels like." That line, simple yet poetic, lay between them like a secret. They talked in hushed tones, the strains of the music playing behind them. He was an architect; she was a content editor who had forgotten how to create for herself. He teased her about humming in the shower, she shot back that at least she didn't overanalyze buildings. Their conversation was effortless, like music, pauses and notes in balance. When Lina returned, she smiled, immediately catching the change in atmosphere. With a wave toward the host, "Next up," he declared cheerily, "an unscheduled performance by our brave volunteer, Ella!"

"What?" Ella froze, "No, no, but Lina had already placed the mic in her hand. Nathan leaned back, smiling, "You did warn me you sang," he murmured.

"You're not helping," she hissed.

"Not stopping you, either."

She climbed onto the small stage, her heart racing, the lights of the café dimmed. A guitarist offered a soft chord, a rhythm gentle as rain, she inhaled and let the sound guide her. The first notes wavered, uncertain but with every measure, her voice found steadier ground. She sang not perfectly, but honestly, the way she used to before life became careful. The room blurred, she wasn't thinking of the audience, or of loss, or of fear, just sound and breath and release.

When the song had ended, applause rose like a tide, she looked out and found Nathan watching her, his expression unreadable yet full. As she sat, he whispered, "You have no idea how lovely that was." "It was probably off-key," she muttered.

"It was real," he said, "That's rarer."

Silence fell again, comfortable, shared. They sat that way until night started to thin, the café emptying around them. When it was time to go, he walked her to the door. It was raining again, fine and steady, "Guess the weather's got a thing for us," she said with a small laugh. "Maybe it's trying to say something," he replied.

"Something like what?"

He paused, searching her face, "That some people come back because they have a purpose."

Her heartbeat stumbled, "And what purpose is that?" He smiled faintly, eyes warm. "Maybe to make sure you keep singing."

For a heartbeat, she couldn't say anything, words hovered, then dissolved into the rain between them. She smiled instead small, real, and grateful before turning to go. She continued walking, her pulse still echoing the rhythm of her song. A thought brushed her mind, quiet but insistent, maybe you're my why, too. Behind her, somewhere, Nathan stood under the awning and watched until she disappeared into the soft silver rain, the same rain that had started it all.