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Fragments of Time (Chapter 2.2)
Scene 2 - Unraveling the Past
A full week had passed since that intense moment in the library between Melody and Renly. She hadn’t spoken to him or his friends since, keeping her head down, avoiding their usual hangouts, and immersing herself in schoolwork and research. She had been skipping the usual social spots and focusing solely on her projects, using every excuse to avoid thinking about Renly—or so she tried.
But no matter how hard she tried, the memory of their hands brushing kept replaying in her mind, especially the strange vision she had seen. That moment had stirred something deep inside her, something that was now drawing her into an unsettling mystery.
The house she had moved into with her parents a month ago felt strange, as if it had a story of its own to tell. Since they moved in, her parents had been caught up in work, leaving early for the office and returning late. They hardly even had time to share meals together. Her father’s new corporate job had taken up most of their time, and her mother had followed suit, staying busy with her career.
One quiet afternoon, Melody decided to investigate the history of the house, hoping that diving into the past might distract her from the whirlwind of thoughts. She made her way to the local library, flipping through archives, history books, and old newspapers, her fingers moving quickly as she scanned the pages.
Finally, after hours of searching, she came across an old, crumbling article, dated January 7, 1911.
"Well-Off Bride Vanishes Mysteriously: Madeleine Verlaine’s Disappearance Still Unsolved After More Than a Decade"
Melody’s heart thudded in her chest as she read further. The article detailed how Madeleine Verlaine, a stunning young woman from a prestigious family, had married into another wealthy family in an arranged marriage. The union was meant to secure the fortunes of both families, but rumors had always surrounded their cold relationship. Her husband was described as indifferent, often absent, and a well-known womanizer.
The article revealed something darker: though Madeleine had dutifully remained by her husband’s side, whispers began circulating that she had started secretly meeting with Yenson, a friend of her husband’s cousin. Yenson was known for being a quiet but charming man, a stark contrast to her dismissive husband.
The article didn't explicitly state their relationship, but anyone could read between the lines. A year later, Madeleine vanished without a trace, sparking wild rumors about her fate. Her sudden disappearance had led to suspicions of foul play, yet no solid evidence was ever found. Her husband had left the country soon after, and the house had fallen into disrepair, changing owners many times over the years.
Melody’s pulse quickened. The resemblance between her and Madeleine was undeniable. And the house... it had once been Madeleine’s. And now, somehow, Melody was being drawn into her story.
She clutched the article tightly, the gravity of what she had uncovered sinking in. There was more to this, much more. Her new life in this countryside town had not been random—fate, it seemed, was pulling her toward something she couldn’t yet understand.
---
While Melody was trying to uncover the mysteries of her house, Renly had been wrestling with something entirely different. Melody had been avoiding him all week—skipping their usual shared classes, leaving school before he even got a chance to talk to her, always sitting far away in lectures. It was starting to get under his skin, although he didn’t want to admit it.
That moment in the library haunted him more than it should have. The brief touch of her hand, and the way she had looked at him right before—it had sparked something. He didn’t understand why it had affected him so much, but it did.
He was trying to focus on anything else, which was why he found himself at the arcade again, the loud, chaotic sounds of clattering game machines and fast-paced techno music filling the room. His friends, Marcos and the others, were already several rounds into a shooting game, but Renly had barely managed to focus. Usually, the cacophony of the arcade was his perfect escape from the quiet, lonely home he lived in. But today, his mind was elsewhere.
“Yo, Renly!” Marcos yelled over the din of the machines, slapping him on the back. “You’ve been out of it, man. What’s up with you? Still thinking about that girl?”
Renly scowled, irritated by the jab. “Shut up, man.”
Marcos just grinned. “I knew it! I knew it. You got a thing for her, don’t you?”
Renly shot him a warning glance. “Drop it.”
“Come on, dude. We were just messing around—no big deal.”
Renly’s jaw clenched. He didn’t like where this was going. “Listen,” he said, his voice low and firm, “leave her alone. No more pranks. I’m serious.”
The shift in Renly’s tone caught Marcos and the others off guard. Usually, Renly was the easygoing one, the guy who went along with their jokes and never got too caught up in anything. But this was different.
“Whoa, chill. What’s the big deal?”
Renly turned back to the screen, forcing himself to focus on the game, but inside, he was still thinking about Melody. He couldn’t explain it—not to himself, and definitely not to his friends—but something had changed. And it all started with that moment in the library.
---
Meanwhile, Melody couldn’t sleep. After hours of tossing and turning, she found herself waking in the middle of the night, the cool breeze from her open window sending a chill down her spine.
She slipped out of bed, careful not to wake her parents, and made her way downstairs for a glass of water. The house was eerily quiet, the kind of silence that pressed on her ears. She couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something... more to this place.
Drawn by some unknown force, she found herself descending the creaky wooden stairs into the basement again.
And there it was: the antique mirror.
This had been Madeleine’s house... the mirror had been Madeleine’s.
She was staring at her reflection in the mirror when a voice—soft, distant—floated into the room, almost like a whisper in the wind: “Madeleine, meet Yenson.”
Melody’s heart raced. The mirror flickered, and for a split second, she saw herself in a white gown, standing by a lake. The man standing before her looked like Renly, but with a scar over his left eyebrow and long hair tied back in a ponytail.
“Yenson,” she whispered, her voice trembling as she reached out to touch the glass.
---
© reddragonfly
#MelodyxRenly #timetravel #rebirth #romance #lovehate #collegelife
A full week had passed since that intense moment in the library between Melody and Renly. She hadn’t spoken to him or his friends since, keeping her head down, avoiding their usual hangouts, and immersing herself in schoolwork and research. She had been skipping the usual social spots and focusing solely on her projects, using every excuse to avoid thinking about Renly—or so she tried.
But no matter how hard she tried, the memory of their hands brushing kept replaying in her mind, especially the strange vision she had seen. That moment had stirred something deep inside her, something that was now drawing her into an unsettling mystery.
The house she had moved into with her parents a month ago felt strange, as if it had a story of its own to tell. Since they moved in, her parents had been caught up in work, leaving early for the office and returning late. They hardly even had time to share meals together. Her father’s new corporate job had taken up most of their time, and her mother had followed suit, staying busy with her career.
One quiet afternoon, Melody decided to investigate the history of the house, hoping that diving into the past might distract her from the whirlwind of thoughts. She made her way to the local library, flipping through archives, history books, and old newspapers, her fingers moving quickly as she scanned the pages.
Finally, after hours of searching, she came across an old, crumbling article, dated January 7, 1911.
"Well-Off Bride Vanishes Mysteriously: Madeleine Verlaine’s Disappearance Still Unsolved After More Than a Decade"
Melody’s heart thudded in her chest as she read further. The article detailed how Madeleine Verlaine, a stunning young woman from a prestigious family, had married into another wealthy family in an arranged marriage. The union was meant to secure the fortunes of both families, but rumors had always surrounded their cold relationship. Her husband was described as indifferent, often absent, and a well-known womanizer.
The article revealed something darker: though Madeleine had dutifully remained by her husband’s side, whispers began circulating that she had started secretly meeting with Yenson, a friend of her husband’s cousin. Yenson was known for being a quiet but charming man, a stark contrast to her dismissive husband.
The article didn't explicitly state their relationship, but anyone could read between the lines. A year later, Madeleine vanished without a trace, sparking wild rumors about her fate. Her sudden disappearance had led to suspicions of foul play, yet no solid evidence was ever found. Her husband had left the country soon after, and the house had fallen into disrepair, changing owners many times over the years.
Melody’s pulse quickened. The resemblance between her and Madeleine was undeniable. And the house... it had once been Madeleine’s. And now, somehow, Melody was being drawn into her story.
She clutched the article tightly, the gravity of what she had uncovered sinking in. There was more to this, much more. Her new life in this countryside town had not been random—fate, it seemed, was pulling her toward something she couldn’t yet understand.
---
While Melody was trying to uncover the mysteries of her house, Renly had been wrestling with something entirely different. Melody had been avoiding him all week—skipping their usual shared classes, leaving school before he even got a chance to talk to her, always sitting far away in lectures. It was starting to get under his skin, although he didn’t want to admit it.
That moment in the library haunted him more than it should have. The brief touch of her hand, and the way she had looked at him right before—it had sparked something. He didn’t understand why it had affected him so much, but it did.
He was trying to focus on anything else, which was why he found himself at the arcade again, the loud, chaotic sounds of clattering game machines and fast-paced techno music filling the room. His friends, Marcos and the others, were already several rounds into a shooting game, but Renly had barely managed to focus. Usually, the cacophony of the arcade was his perfect escape from the quiet, lonely home he lived in. But today, his mind was elsewhere.
“Yo, Renly!” Marcos yelled over the din of the machines, slapping him on the back. “You’ve been out of it, man. What’s up with you? Still thinking about that girl?”
Renly scowled, irritated by the jab. “Shut up, man.”
Marcos just grinned. “I knew it! I knew it. You got a thing for her, don’t you?”
Renly shot him a warning glance. “Drop it.”
“Come on, dude. We were just messing around—no big deal.”
Renly’s jaw clenched. He didn’t like where this was going. “Listen,” he said, his voice low and firm, “leave her alone. No more pranks. I’m serious.”
The shift in Renly’s tone caught Marcos and the others off guard. Usually, Renly was the easygoing one, the guy who went along with their jokes and never got too caught up in anything. But this was different.
“Whoa, chill. What’s the big deal?”
Renly turned back to the screen, forcing himself to focus on the game, but inside, he was still thinking about Melody. He couldn’t explain it—not to himself, and definitely not to his friends—but something had changed. And it all started with that moment in the library.
---
Meanwhile, Melody couldn’t sleep. After hours of tossing and turning, she found herself waking in the middle of the night, the cool breeze from her open window sending a chill down her spine.
She slipped out of bed, careful not to wake her parents, and made her way downstairs for a glass of water. The house was eerily quiet, the kind of silence that pressed on her ears. She couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something... more to this place.
Drawn by some unknown force, she found herself descending the creaky wooden stairs into the basement again.
And there it was: the antique mirror.
This had been Madeleine’s house... the mirror had been Madeleine’s.
She was staring at her reflection in the mirror when a voice—soft, distant—floated into the room, almost like a whisper in the wind: “Madeleine, meet Yenson.”
Melody’s heart raced. The mirror flickered, and for a split second, she saw herself in a white gown, standing by a lake. The man standing before her looked like Renly, but with a scar over his left eyebrow and long hair tied back in a ponytail.
“Yenson,” she whispered, her voice trembling as she reached out to touch the glass.
---
© reddragonfly
#MelodyxRenly #timetravel #rebirth #romance #lovehate #collegelife
