1 His Perspective,

Sunday, 17th January 2049, 6:21 PM

Noah walked down the arrival lane at the airport in country S. His face was hidden behind a mask, sunglasses, and hat.

He made his way to the luggage pick-up area, where he grabbed up a backpack and hung it over his left shoulder. Its design was black, sleek, minimalistic yet sporty. The size wasn't big and didn't seem like something you would take on an overseas trip.

Now with his backpack, he made his way to the exit. His heartbeat rose with each step as he took towards the glass door. The world outside was his forbidden land, a place he had been locked out of for the past four years.

The rush of excitement flowed through his body as his steps became faster.

As he got closer he spotted a crowd of people standing with posters and cameras out the door.

There were even a few people in the airport trying to blend in with the crowd, however, their constant turning to look in his direction gave them away.

His senses had been sharpened through the frequent run-in with them- the paparazzi. In one look he counted five of them, each slowly walking towards him as if they were hunters approaching their prey.

Noah put his head down and pulled on his hat with his other hand as his stride grew faster.

Sure enough, as he neared the door. The five people sprinted to him with cameras, taking pictures and bombarding him with questions.

"Noah! Look here! Is it true that you ran away from home?"

"Previously there were rumours that you were being abused at home, although you firmly denied them, was that all a front?"

"Over here Noah, fans are still weeping after hearing your last statement. Do you have anything to say to them?"

Noah kept with his pace not bothering to acknowledge their existence. He didn't know how they found out he would be landing at this airport but since they already had, he would simply ignore them.

Seeing Noah wasn't going to cooperate with them with not many steps left till the exit, they quickly asked more questions.

"Noah what about the allegations of you being a genetically modified baby. Don't you have anything to say to them?"

"As the youngest self-made billionaire..."

The glass door parted as Noah approached. The sounds that had been blocked out, poured in.

Tumultuous cheers and screams could be heard as Noah walked out. The posters raised, incoherent words were said.

"Noah, we love you!"

"Please come back!"

"We miss you!"

Noah ducked and started to run as the paparazzi and fans would soon surround him. He quickly escaped the crowd and jumped in the nearest taxi.

"Start the car!"

The taxi driver saw the mob of fans and reporters chasing. Flashes from cameras and incomprehensible shouts quickly surrounded him.

The driver stomped on the accelerator as the car blitzed out; leaving the fans who tried to hold on to the back of the car on the floor.

Noah calmed down seeing the wall of people move further away.

He took off his hat, glasses, and mask and put them in his bag.

"So where would you like me to drop you off sir?"

"Take me to Residential area 7 in sector 4."

"Right away." The taxi driver typed on the touch screen next to him as he put in the location.

The driver looked forward, but couldn't avoid the elephant in the room, his eyes went to the rearview mirror to look at the passenger who had entered. Noah sitting in the back seat looking at his phone.

"Sir, are you a celebrity?"

"I've been in some movies," Noah casually answered as he quickly searched his social media.

"An actor? So young yet so famous! You must be talented!"

"Thank you," Noah added, he then looked at a post that was currently trending.

'Look who is also on a flight to country S!'

It was a picture of him sleeping during the flight.

Noah sighed, he had secretly left country C for country S to avoid having his father force him back to country A. He had hoped that he would be able to silently arrive here and do what he wanted.

Although it was a bit of a nuisance, that was all it was. There was nothing that could stop him now so he put his phone away. Pushed back and relaxed.

The driver felt that Noah's face was familiar but couldn't understand where he had seen him. He had this annoying feeling in him as he stared.

"Wait, I think I've seen you… You look like the boy my daughter and wife are always talking about!"

He put the car on self-driving mode and turned to look at Noah.

"You're him? Do you know how much my daughter has been crying after she heard you were quitting? You know, I swore to myself that if I ever met you I would make you pay for those tears my daughter shed." The man said playfully, he even acted the part as his eyes sharpened.

"I'm sorry, but I had my reasons. I'm sure she'll be fine after a while." Noah half heartily chuckled as he answered. Half a year ago when he had put out the statement he was leaving the entertainment industry, he heard such things daily.

The man nodded. Then turned quiet.

"So how about an autograph?" The man said after an awkward pause.

"Sure, where should I sign?"

"There should be a book and pen in the back of my seat, just sign there."

Noah lightly tapped on the back of the chair. The hard silver-back of the chair had a rectangular outline form on it after his tap. The rectangular piece pressed in and then slid down opening a small storage space.

Noah took out the book and quickly signed in it and put it back.

"Thank you so much, My daughter will be ecstatic!"

"No problem."

"What made you come to country S?" The driver asked, as he removed the car from self-driving mode.

"I'm here to meet someone."

"Oh, they must be important to come such a long way for."

"They are, I haven't seen them for years now, so I hope they're doing well." As Noah said this his right hand slid to his chest, near his heart to feel the locket he was wearing underneath his clothes.

He looked at the time displayed on the screen in the taxi and saw that it would take an hour to reach his destination. It was like the ending of a long marathon, he could finally see the finish line, it was so close. For the last 4 years, he hadn't been able to contact her, or even see her. He wanted to come to country S then but his parents had locked him down in country A.

Noah felt the excitement building. It felt real now. He would finally be able to see her.

He looked out the window as they crossed a bridge.

Streaks of yellow, orange, red were painted across the sky. Clouds of cotton danced around and let the rays of light through. Sparkling water glistened from the sinking red sun. Its glory and magnificence were coming to an end as it gently disappeared across the horizon.

The sunset had mesmerized him.

He wondered if it was because of how great his mood was today, even something he had seen frequently was breathtaking to him. The sunset before his reunion with her, he would never be able to forget it. The feeling of finally being able to see her, the happiness brimming in him was affecting his outlook of the world around him.

'I wonder if she's watching it with me.'

Noah gripped the locket harder as he watched the sun completely disappear.

…

Sunday, 17th January 2049, 7:29 PM

Dropped off at the area. Noah took a deep breath as his old memories resurfaced. This was the area where he lived six years ago, to finally be back made him nostalgic.

He walked around taking in the ambience. The area was very different from what it used to be, it felt so much brighter.

Noah reached his destination, He rang the bell as his heart began to race. He held on to the locket he wore.

The door opened, a middle-aged lady, platinum blond hair wearing a light coloured summer dress opened the door.

She wasn't who he wanted to see. He had no idea who this lady was.

Noah was hoping to find Alice, his fiance and soulmate. He had gotten engaged to her at a young age with the approval of their parents. But four years ago, which was two years after he had left country S for country A, he couldn't contact her or her parents anymore.

His parents told him Alice and her family had shifted to another country and the situation required them to keep away from technology. Although he believed them at first, he later found out they hadn't left the country through one of his friends. So he came here, the place where they lived before he left.

"Hello, I'm someone who knows the Rhinehart, the people who used to live here, do you have any way to contact them?"

"Rhinehart? I think they were the previous owners, they moved out 4 years ago. Sorry, I can't help you, we didn't buy the house directly from them."

"Thank you." Noah politely said trying his best to hide his disappointment. He turned away from the door and his mind began to churn as he felt his happy reunion start to fall apart.

'I left the country 6 years ago, last time I was able to video-call Alice was 4 years ago. She was still living here, which means something happened after that. Otherwise, why would they move and cut all contact with me?'

He made his way to the nearby houses and stopped and at one that looked familiar. It was like entering the past standing in front of the gate. Everything had changed but this one house had stayed the same.

He rang the bell. An elegant black-suited man opened the door. Noah recognized him as the butler of the house he had seen when he used to live here.

The butler also recognized Noah even after all this time.

"Come in, Master is the Garden having tea, you can join him." Although the visit was sudden it wasn't unwelcomed.

Noah walked in followed the butler to the garden. He then saw an elderly man reading as he had tea with his three dogs, all Tibetan mastiffs. The three sat on custom chairs and ate from their plates.

All three dogs turned and looked at Noah as he approached. They all jumped off their chairs and ran to him barking. Noah stayed calm, they looked much fiercer than the waves fans he had just run from but he still walked forward. The dogs stopped a few feet away and sniffed. As Noah got closer they recognized his smell. Noah bent down, put his backpack on the ground, and gave the Black and Tan Tibetan Mastiff a hug.

"Beauty, did you miss me? What about you Harmony?" The two dogs simply barked in his arms and went back to their chairs."

The third one was the youngest and was completely white. She was the one he had played with the most.

"Symphony!" The white half-meter tall fluffy beast jumped into his arms and gave him a lick on his face as it looked at him with excitement.

Noah hugged back and laughed, "I missed you too."

Running his hands through its soft fur, Noah played with this loving dog. Symphony also enjoyed the reunion, as she barked in affirmation.

The elderly man put his book down next to his teacup and got up with the support of a walking stick as he walked towards Noah.

"Boy, you left six years ago and not a single phone call. What made you remember this 70-year-old fossil now?"

Noah was embarrassed he cleared his throat and hid his face in Symphony's fur.

He then turned back and laughed, "Fossil? You, look like you could live another 50 years! I think you look even better than when I last saw you, are you sure you aren't getting younger as years go by?"

"Haha! Flattery won't get you anywhere. I won't be living too long so come visit more often, you know how pitiful I am, all I have is Samuel and my three babies."

The old man made a cup of tea for Noah and set it on an empty seat.

Noah sat down with him and took a sip.

"I came back to see Alice, I haven't been able to contact her for a while. So I came back from Country A to see her."

"You haven't been in contact with her? When she came to visit a few months ago she said everything was fine between you two. Looks like something did happen, she looked so down, you two should quickly make up already."

"Do you know where she lives? I want to see her as soon as I can."

The old man pauses, "I do know where she lives." The old man picked up a pen jotted down something onto a notepad and tore it off.

"Here this is where she currently lives, so are you moving back or are you here just to visit?"

"Although I haven't completely decided yet, I'll probably leave after a few days."

"Quickly makeup, I know you have a lot of pride but you should be more compromising knowing her circumstances, the poor girl I only wish the best for her." The old man said with a sombre look.

Noah furrowed his brows. He looked at the location and saw that it was quite far from here. He was familiar with the area, it was more into the city compared to where they currently were, but it wasn't as expensive as the houses here. But what really confused him was that they had moved into an apartment.

"Why did father-in-law and mother-in-law move? Did something happen?"

The old man's face contorted into shock.

"Boy, don't tell me you don't know what happen to her parents?"

"Did something happen to them?" Noah started to get nervous seeing how worried the old man was. Before he left, Alice's parents cared for him as if he was their own son. He naturally treated them back as his parents. Even after not contacting them for so long he still greatly cared for them.

"I didn't think I would be the one to tell you this. Boy, Anderson and Lillian... they both died four years ago."

Noah stopped for a second then laughed like he had heard the most absurd thing in his life.

"I almost believed you! So what actually happened?"

The old man stayed silent.

Noah stared him dead in the eye as he felt his greatest fears come to life.

"No way, that's impossible, you're really not joking?"

The old man shook his head.

"They both were found dead in their room, they're deaths were recorded as suicide."

"Impossible… I need to see Alice."

Noah got up and felt his legs go weak for a moment and stumbled. He knew this wasn't the time to sulk so he grabbed his backpack and ran to a dark red and silver motorcycle parked in front of the door.

He calmed down and shouted, "Old man I'll be borrowing this bike for a while."

The keys were hung on a nearby wall, he grabbed them and mounted the bike. He revved it up and as he got ready to leave the old man shouted.

"I don't know why your parents didn't tell you this, but you should know they were the ones providing for Alice for the last few years."

Noah felt a bomb go off in his mind as he heard that but his face was expressionless.

"Thank you, I'll visit again."

Alice's current living area would take two hours through the normal route, but if he drove like a madman he could reach in less than an hour.

The motorcycle blazed out as Noah pulled out everything he could from the engine.

At this moment he was extremely worried, shocked, and still in disbelief.

Buzzz! The phone in his pocket vibrated, Noah came to a stop at a red signal and pulled the phone out. It showed a warning for a sudden thunderstorm. Clouds had already started layering the sky, so it would soon start to pour. A sense of foreboding filled him, he looked around seeing no cars he stopped waiting for the signal, speeding up.

He wanted to see Alice, he didn't know what had happened in the last few years but he knew it wasn't good. He couldn't begin to imagine what she had gone through the last four years. Being orphaned at such a young age, yet he knew nothing about it.

The death of his father and mother-in-law was beyond his comprehension. Naturally, anyone could die at any time, but his parents-in-law weren't normal people.

They both were extremely healthy and loving parents. They both had retired early from their jobs after giving birth to Alice. They lived a simple life of giving as much care and support to their daughter.

Father-in-law was his martial arts teacher and an extremely strong one at that. He was a retired general of the army. He was someone who had shaved past death multiple times and was known as a national hero, it simply did not make sense that he would kill himself.

Mother-in-law as well wasn't the kind, she was a famous retired chef who loved nothing more than her daughter.

But even knowing them well and how things were he didn't think it was staged because if someone knew how strong father-in-law was, it was him. Father-in-law had broken through human boundaries, it was impossible for anyone to kill him. Although he couldn't believe they killed themselves, oddly he felt it was more impossible for someone else to kill them.

From that reasoning, Noah's heart quivered as a terrifying thought popped up.

'What could have happened for them to think it was better to kill themselves.'

The rain started to fall.

…

Sunday, 17th January 2049, 8:23 PM

With the thoughts swallowing up his mind Noah drove at full speed in the rain. Luckily all cars had a crash avoidance feature, so even at this speed, it was unlikely for him to crash.

The bike was of retro style and had been heavily modified. But to keep it true to its theme no automated system had been added, so it was completely manual.

Noah finally could see the building down the road. He quickly parked in front of the entrance and entered the building.

The elevator door opening felt like a century. As the elevator rose and brought him to his floor, all his excitement had disappeared all he wanted to do right now was hug her and just hold her for as long as he could. He wanted to apologize and stay by her side.

He ran to the door as the lift door opened and rang the bell.

"Alice it's me, Noah, are you there, open up."

Noah kept on ringing the bell and even put his ear against the door to check if he could hear someone inside.

Seeing that wasn't working Noah turned to the door opposite Alice's and rang their bell.

Noah felt his chest tighten as the situation kept getting worse. He just had to see Alice as fast as possible.

The door finally opened, Noah looked at the lady and asked, "The girl that lives in the apartment across, I'm a childhood friend that just came from abroad, do you know when she normally comes back home?"

The lady could tell he was genuinely worried and believed him. She knew the girl across was an orphan, so she would try to do as much as she could for her.

"She usually comes back at 5 pm." The lady looked at her phone and then said with worry, "It's already past 8 she should be back by now."

"Can you tell me where her school is? I'll quickly go check."

After finding the school's location Noah pressed the button for the elevator again. But after waiting for a second the anxiousness he was feeling was creeping on his body not letting him stay still. In a sprint, he pushed open the staircase door and climbed over the railing jumping down to the railing below, and continued doing so until he reached the ground.

Out the front door back on his bike, he drove to the school. It was at walking distance to the building with a straight path to it, it took him less than a minute to arrive.

The bike drifted to a stop in front of the school. Noah got off and ran to the security guard at the gate.

"Hello, do you know the student Alice Rhinehart, she should be in the graduating class, has black hair and purplish eyes. I'm a friend that came from abroad, we were supposed to meet up at her house 3 hours ago but she isn't home. I feel like something could have happened to her, do you know where she left."

"She left 2 hours ago. In that direction. I'll see what I can do about this-"

"Here is my number, can you call me if you see her, thank you." Noah quickly wrote down his number on a notepad on the security guard's desk.

On his motorcycle again, he left in the direction he was told. It was opposite the direction of Alice's home.

He took out his phone and opened a map. He then looked at the places she could have gone to in this direction. No malls or restaurants in walking distance stood out to him, after another scan of the map, he thought it was better to ask people along the way.

Putting his phone away Noah looked at the road for people that might have seen her. He finally saw a flower shop that had an old lady sitting on a chair under a large umbrella outside. He got off and ran to her in the rain.

His clothes had long been soaked as his wet hair dangled down above his eyes.

Before she could say anything he asked, "Have you seen a high school girl, black hair, purple eyes? Someone you might not normally see coming this way."

Seeing how anxious he was, the lady thought but couldn't come up with an answer. Many high schoolers would walk this way after school and she hadn't seen anyone with purple eyes.

"I'm a friend that came from abroad, I had always thought she was doing fine here, but I had the suspicion something was wrong. And from what I found out she hasn't been doing well. Please can you think again?"

The lady thought again seriously, "there was this one girl, I'm not too sure since she was mostly covered in messy wet hair. She was soaked in water even before the rain. I couldn't see her eyes or shirt. But she wore the same colour skirt as the other high schoolers who passed by. What stood out was that she was walking barefoot and had a bronze locket in one hand and her shoes in another. I had stopped and asked if she needed help or if she wanted to sit down but she completely ignored me. She just walked on like a ghost."

"Could you tell me which direction she was going in?" Noah asked promptly.

"Her head was down and she wasn't even looking up. It didn't look like she had a direction in mind. It's likely she just went straight from here."

"Thank you."

Noah continued moving along the road and asking people nearby and moving on as he rode the motorcycle. Sadly, most people had gone inside because of the rain, and only a few people were walking outside. none of them had seen her.

Finally stopped at a bicycle shop, light emitting out from its store-front lit up the dark rainy street. Noah pushed the door open as a bell hung above rung. Two men and a woman sat inside turned to look at him. Noah asked if they had seen her.

The woman nodded, "It was around the time the rain started, she was sitting on a bench on the bridge. But it's likely she isn't there anymore, she said her parents were coming to pick her up soon."

Noah shivered from hearing those words and hurried to the bridge.

The rain grew heavy and was now crashing down. His line of sight was limited by the intense shower. The bridge was completely clear of all cars and people; all he heard was the splashing of raindrops. As he rode on, the motorcycle's headlight allowed him to see something sparkle red at the side, hung on the railing.

As he got nearer and focused on the object he saw a faint silhouette blending in with the darkness standing on the fence in the distance. The world seemed to stop as the few seconds it would take to reach there felt increasingly long. Noah squeezed the accelerator to a maximum, almost breaking it.

In this slow world, as if part of the rain, the shadow fell as well.