Vivienne saw the man for the third time.
When they'd come out of the cafe, it was already evening. The city lights already flooded the roads, driving the darkness of the night far away.
Vivienne, Nadine, and Esme stood on the sidewalk. The smile on their faces still hadn't faded by then. They were chatting lightly when the man caught Vivienne's attention.
He was standing at a little distance, wearing a long coat and a hat that covered one-third of his face. Though he tried to hide himself as best he could behind a car parked in the parking lot, his bulky frame didn't help him much.
Seeing him, Vivienne frowned. Till now, she'd seen him three times — first, outside the university, second time in a restaurant, and now, opposite the cafe. Three times in a row, this couldn't be a coincidence. Was he following her?
"Viv-", suddenly Esme's voice cut off her thoughts. She turned to her, "Hmm?"
Esme smiled. "I need to go. Bye, Viv. See you tomorrow."
Vivienne nodded. But as Esme stepped forward, she called her from behind. "Esme!"
Esme turned. "Yeah?"
Vivienne smiled at her. "Let's take a selfie together?"
"Sure!" She grinned.
Vivienne took out her mobile and held it up. "Okay, first selfie of the team!"
She leaned in with a grin; Nadine moved closer from one side, Esme from another — with a little shy smile on her face.
Click!
The photo was captured, three smiling faces, and someone else... Far away from them, still watching.
"Okay... Let's call it a day. Good night Esme."
Esme replied to Vivienne gently, "Good night", then stepped forward. In a minute, she'd disappeared in the crowd.
"How're you going back?" Nadine asked Vivienne.
"Umm, I'll get a taxi."
Nadine smirked. "Or maybe, share a ride with me..?"
Vivienne raised an eyebrow. "You've brought your bike?"
"Of course I did. You think I'd walk all the way here?"
Vivienne tilted her head, "Fair point, then... Let's go!"
Both of them strolled on the sidewalk. A few steps later, as they turned one corner, the bike came into view. An electric blue Yamaha — Nadine's favourite.
Nadine swung over a leg and settled onto the seat, pulling on the helmet. She turned the key, and the engine purred to life in a low hum. With a subtle flick, she rolled it out from the line and glanced back, tilting her head toward the spare helmet hanging at the back.
"Hop on." She smirked at Vivienne.
But the moment Vivienne saw the helmet, she froze.
She'd known this helmet well enough. Because.. it was hers.
Three years ago, when Nini finally got her license, they'd gone together to choose her bike. It was a summer afternoon; they'd wandered from one showroom to another, in search of the perfect bike for her. And then, after almost four hours of choosing, Nini had finally chosen her bike — the electric blue Yamaha.
When the dealer was busy explaining all the specs to her, Vivienne roamed around. It was then that the helmet caught her attention. A cute pastel pink helmet, with a barely there rose gold accent near the visor — exactly her taste.
"Vivi, I don't think this helmet suits the bike!" Nadine had teased seeing it in her hands, pointing towards the electric blue colour gleaming under the showroom's bright lights.
"I know", Vivienne said. "It's mine."
Nadine chuckled, "Really?"
She was trying to see how the helmet looked on her, adjusting the strap on her chin.
"Yeah", Vivienne replied with a grin, then stepping back a little, she gave a soft twirl. "Ugh... I feel like a passenger princess right now."
...
Vivienne felt her eyes sting. The bike and the helmet had thousands of memories wrapped around them!
She still remembered how they used to roam around the city — taking random turns, stopping by roadside stalls, racing through empty streets on rainy evenings — until the day.. They argued.
After that evening, Vivienne had never ridden on this bike, in her last life, she'd never been Nini's passenger princess again.
"You've still kept the helmet?" She asked in a shaky voice.
"Like I'd ever throw this away. Of course, I kept it, I knew one day when your stupid era is finally over, you'll come back."
Vivienne blinked once, then quickly masked everything going on in her mind. She reached for the helmet, slid it on, then hopped into the backseat. "Don't drive like a maniac."
Nadine chuckled. "Can't promise."
Vivienne grabbed her shoulders and the bike slid smoothly on the crowded road.
As they left the city crowd behind and entered the quiet roads, Nadine picked up speed. The engine roared on the road, the headlights cut through the darkness. The wind rushed past her in sharper whistles, tugging her dress, messing with her loose hair.
Vivienne closed her eyes for a second, letting herself feel the moment.
God — she'd missed it!
-
Later that night, Vivienne sat alone in her room after dinner. The room was dark, only the soft glow of the desk lamp on her study table lit up the corner.
Vivienne sat with her brows knitted together, her gaze fixed on the selfie that she'd taken earlier in the afternoon. To be exact — on the shadowy figure captured in the corner of the photo.
She zoomed in on the picture. Gradually, the face became clear. Vivienne stared at the picture for a long time, then leaned back, racking her memories.
Nah!... She didn't recognise him.
She'd never seen him before, not in this life, not in the other. Did anyone appoint him to watch over her? But who — Abigail? Sarah...?
Vivienne narrowed her eyes. "Who is this guy? And what exactly is he trying to do, following me like this?"
She sat up straight and picked up her phone from the desk. She took a screenshot, cropped it, and then sent it to a number with a short message: Find out who he is. I want to know everything.