Lies

Luken, a normal university student, sat in front of his house, staring at the chicken nest. But he wasn’t really looking at the chickens — he was lost deep inside his own thoughts.

He suddenly came back to reality when a crow appeared near the nest. The crow grabbed an egg and flew away. A sharp sound followed — a bird screaming.

Luken ran toward the compound near the nest. He looked down. The egg was broken, and feathers were scattered across the ground.

“Does your life worth more than an egg…?” Luken whispered. He held his head. “What the hell am I saying…”

Maybe it wasn’t worth more than an egg.

He walked back to the front of the house and stared inside. Suddenly he heard laughter and voices. He slowly reached his hand forward as tears fell from his eyes — not from emotion, just tears.

Luken freshened up, took his bag, locked the house, and placed the key inside. Summer break was over. It was the first day back at university.

A fine breeze passed as he reached the campus gate. Students filled the area with noise and laughter, but something felt off to him.

He ignored everyone as he always did. Even when he tried to force a smile, it never reached his face.

He entered the classroom and sat at the last bench as usual. The desk beside him was empty. Luken stared at it.

“I’ve never seen the person who’s supposed to sit here,” he muttered.

Students laughed and chatter echoed through the hall.

The teacher entered and cleared her throat.

“Hm… students, have you noticed anything unusual today?”

One student replied, “No, miss. Nothing weird. What do you feel, Ms. Lucy?”

Ms. Lucy frowned. “There’s an odd silence today. It’s not like usual.”

The class laughed, thinking she was being strange.

At the back, Luken was the only one who understood what she meant. Somehow, they both felt the same discomfort.

Ms. Lucy slammed the desk lightly. “We have a new student.”

The classroom door opened. A girl with short black hair walked in. Many boys were instantly flustered by her beauty.

“This is Aira,” Ms. Lucy said.

“Where is my seat, teacher?” Aira asked calmly.

“At the back.”

Aira walked toward the last bench — toward Luken.

Luken had been staring outside the window, lost again in thought. He turned back as she moved the desk to sit.

So she’s the one who was supposed to sit next to me… or is she new to the campus?

“Next to you is Luken,” Ms. Lucy added. “He’s a brilliant student, by the way.”

The class suddenly went quiet. Luken felt the stares and whispers but ignored them.

Aira sat beside him and gave a small smile. Some students looked jealous. Luken returned a faint smile and looked back outside.

The class began. Some students listened; others slept.

Aira leaned closer and whispered, “You know something is off, right?”

Luken’s eyes widened — not from fear, but from the way she spoke. Still, he hid his doubt.

“Do you know me?” he asked.

“You are my bad dream,” Aira replied.

“Bad dream?” Luken frowned. “That’s not something a normal person says.”

Aira smiled and stared directly into his eyes while Ms. Lucy continued teaching.

“What’s your guilt?” she asked softly.

Suddenly Luken began sweating. Pain struck his head. Behind him, something black — like a shadowy hand — wrapped around his neck and squeezed.

He struggled to breathe, trying to free himself, but nothing was there.

A tap on his shoulder.

The pressure vanished.

Luken gasped quietly. “What… what was that?”

Aira tilted her head. “How did you know it was me?”

He stared at her, confused.

“It was you,” she said calmly. “Your thoughts. As long as you don’t bring back your past, you’ll be fine.”

Luken didn’t understand a word she said, but he tried to remain calm.

The class ended. Time passed quickly, and the final bell rang. Students packed their bags. After the strange incident, Luken and Aira didn’t speak again.

As Luken left campus, someone called his name. It was Aira.

They walked several blocks in silence as the sky slowly darkened.

Finally, Luken spoke. “What did you mean by guilt?”

Aira ran ahead, turned back with a smile, and said, “Don’t think too much about it… or it’ll end like this morning. Maybe worse.”

“I’m heading this way,” she added. “See you tomorrow.”

“Okay,” Luken replied.

He continued toward home until he noticed a stranger lying nearby. The old man’s leg looked broken, and he crawled toward Luken. The street around them was empty.

“What do you need, old man?” Luken asked.

The man pointed toward a nearby shop. It was a knife shop.

Confused, Luken looked back at him. The old man stared strangely and handed him money.

“You have money. Why can’t you buy it yourself?” Luken asked.

“It’s not like that, boy,” the man snapped. “Just buy the knife.”

Uneasy, Luken bought it anyway. The moment he handed it over, the old man left quickly.

A strange discomfort stayed with him.

Finally, Luken reached home and lay on his bed.

But the only thing on his mind was the morning… and the guilt.

Luken lay still on his bed, staring at the ceiling fan as it rotated slowly above him. The room was quiet broken only by the faint ticking of a clock somewhere in the house. Usually, after returning from university, he would scroll through his phone or try to distract himself with random videos, but today he didn’t feel like doing anything.

His body felt tired, yet his mind refused to rest.

The image of the broken egg returned again and again. The scattered feathers. The sound of the bird screaming. He closed his eyes tightly, trying to push the memory away, but another thought replaced it — Aira’s voice.

What’s your guilt?

He turned to his side, pulling the pillow closer. Why did her words feel heavier than they should? It wasn’t just curiosity. It felt like she already knew something about him… something he had never told anyone.

Outside, a dog barked briefly, then silence returned. Luken exhaled slowly, convincing himself that everything that happened today was just

 stress from the first day back.

Still, as sleep slowly approached, an uneasy feeling remained — as if the day hadn’t truly ended yet.