Chapter 18: Drip by the water

MELODY

I stayed the night at Noah’s place, well, not his place exactly.
The one in my world.

It looked the same… and yet, it didn’t.
His room here was quieter, darker, as if the shadows remembered something that I didn’t. Mine was brighter, softer, filled with the faint hum of light.

For once, I woke up eager.
I couldn’t stop smiling. This was Noah’s bed or maybe just the memory of it, and for a moment, I imagined him asleep in the other world, probably dreaming about music or me.
Maybe both.

I turned toward the window, expecting the familiar colors of morning, the gentle blue sky, the golden warmth of the sun.
But instead, the sky looked pale and empty.
The colors were gone.

It was grey.
Completely grey.

The light had dimmed, as if the world had forgotten how to shine.
I pressed my hand to the glass.
Cold.

Then, something strange happened.
Tiny droplets began to fall from the heavens.
At first I thought the world was breaking—
but then I remembered what Noah told me.

"Rain," I whispered.

The sky was crying.

For the first time in my world, it rained.

Without thinking, I ran outside barefoot, stepping into the soft, wet earth.
The rain kissed my cheeks, trickled down my arms, and tangled my hair.
It wasn’t cold.
It was relieving.

Each droplet was like a note of music, a rhythm from another world, a song written just for me.

I tilted my face upward and let it all fall.
My body moved on its own, spinning, laughing, twirling beneath the soft downpour.

"So this is how it feels," I whispered, smiling.
Under the same kind of sky as Noah’s.
The same rain.
The same world, for just a heartbeat.

I missed my chance to dance beneath it with him…
but somehow, I got it today.

And as I closed my eyes, I could almost hear his voice, echoing in the rhythm of the rain.

I felt something warm rise inside me, a melody.
My melody.

The song of two worlds, finally meeting halfway."Drip by the water (drip by the water)
Skip through the puddles (laugh for a while)
Drip by the water (drip by the water)
Slide through the streets with a runaway smile!

I woke up to skies I’d never seen before,
Gray and silver with a thunderous roar!
But oh! What a sound, and oh! What a sight,
Who knew the clouds could bring such light?

It tickles my skin, and runs down my cheeks,
Like tears that the sky has held in for weeks.
But this isn’t sorrow, no, this is play,
It’s joy falling down in its own kind of way!

Drip by the water (drip by the water)
Twirl in the droplets (free and wild!)
Drip by the water (drip by the water)
Each little splash is making me smile!

All alone in my silent city,
But today, the world feels warm and pretty.
I hear a voice that’s not the rain…
Was it yours? Or just a name?

My heart’s a beatbox, skipping with cheer,
Every drop seems to whisper "he was here…"
I don’t understand it, not quite yet,
But my soul is singing, soaking wet.

Drip by the water (drip by the water)
Slide down the rooftops (laugh for a mile!)
Drip by the water (drip by the water)
Echoes of music float in my smile.

Can I dance with the sky? Can I twirl with the storm?
This rain is a melody soft and warm.
If you were here, we’d spin ‘til we fall,
Just me, the clouds, and your voice through it all.

There’s magic in silence, there’s rhythm in rain,
And suddenly, nothing feels lonely again.

Drip by the water (drip by the water)
Dream in the downpour (laugh through the Nile!)
Drip by the water (drip by the water)
Even the sky is singing in style!

Drip by the water (drip by the water)
Run through the thunder (hope in the trial)
Drip by the water (drip by the water)
It’s silly, it’s real, it’s worth every mile.

And everything… is gonna be alright…
Drip… by the water…
It puts me… a smile."This is amazing…
this is the first time it ever rained in my world.

The sound of droplets on rooftops, the smell of the wet ground, the soft rhythm of the sky crying, it made everything feel so alive.

I looked up and smiled.
"I wonder if Noah is having the same experience as I, or maybe he is waiting for me."

So I went to the same place where we always meet, the old radio station.
The place where our voices once reached each other across the two worlds.

I began humming softly, waiting for his reply.
But… nothing.
No song, no voice, not even a faint echo.

The rain, once so beautiful, began to feel heavier.

I waited through the day.
Then another.
And another.

Days passed, and the rain finally began to quiet, letting streaks of sunlight slip through the grey clouds.

I kept wandering through the streets of Willowmori, holding the yellow umbrella,
the same one Noah once shared with me.
It felt comforting in my hands, even though it was just an echo of his.

I even went to his house.
It was still empty, completely silent,
as if time itself refused to move.

Still, I sang.
Just a small melody.
Something he would recognize.
But there was no answer.

"Noah… where are you?"

The stillness of the world began to shift.
And that’s when I sensed it, the Hollow.

During my waiting, I learned something about them, especially the more sinister kind, the Humanoid Hollows.

When they take on human form, it means that the person they reflect—
someone from another world—
has begun to fall victim to despair,
to self-harm,
to the darkness within their heart.

And the only way to save them is to reach them through music.
Through the meaning of symphony.

There are still three left.
And I swore I’d find them all.

But the one I sensed now…
felt different.
Familiar.

Its presence led me back, to Noah’s house.

By the time I reached the house,
the rain had grown wild.
The drops hit the earth like falling glass,
and the sky roared above me—
a deep, trembling sound like thunder beating drums through the clouds.
My heart froze.
"No… please… don’t tell me…"

The closer I walked, the heavier the air became.
Every step burned.
The music in my chest began to falter, replaced by dread.

When I reached his room, the pain grew unbearable, like someone pressing silence against my heart.

I pushed the door open.

There was someone standing by the window.
Still.
Silent.

A Humanoid Hollow.

I whispered, trembling,
"Please… no…"

It slowly turned its head toward me.

And in that instant—
my world broke.

Because beneath the shadows,
behind that twisted reflection,
I saw the face of the Hollow.

It was Noah’s.