The rain had been falling for three days when Arin first heard the bell.

It was exactly midnight.

He was lying in bed, staring at the ceiling while the storm shook the windows of his small bedroom. His parents were asleep downstairs, the electricity had gone out twice already, and the entire village seemed completely silent.

Then it happened.

DONG.

Arin sat up.

DONG.

The sound came from somewhere beyond the forest.

DONG.

He counted the seconds between each ring.

DONG.

Four seconds.

DONG.

Four seconds.

DONG.

Then nothing.

Arin waited.

Nothing happened.

He slowly climbed out of bed and walked toward the window. Outside, rain covered everything in darkness. The mountains were barely visible behind the clouds.

Then he noticed something strange.

There was a light in the forest.

A tiny blue light.

It moved between the trees.

Arin stared at it.

The light stopped.

Then it moved again.

Closer.

Arin stepped away from the window.

There was no way anyone should have been walking through that forest at midnight during a storm.

He closed the curtains and returned to bed.

But he couldn’t sleep.

The next morning, the rain had stopped.

Arin went downstairs for breakfast.

His father was sitting at the table, drinking coffee.

“Did you hear the bell last night?” Arin asked.

His father stopped moving.

For several seconds, he said nothing.

Then he looked at Arin.

“What bell?”

“The bell in the forest.”

His father’s expression changed.

“Don’t talk about that.”

Arin frowned.

“Why?”

“Because there isn’t a bell in the forest.”

His father stood up and walked toward the kitchen.

Arin followed him.

“But I heard it.”

“I said don’t talk about it.”

That was all.

Later that afternoon, Arin went to the village square.

His best friend, Leo, was sitting beside the old fountain.

Arin told him everything.

Leo laughed.

“You probably dreamed it.”

“I was awake.”

“Sure.”

“And I saw a blue light.”

Leo stopped laughing.

“What kind of blue light?”

“I don’t know. Like a lantern.”

Leo looked toward the mountains.

“My grandfather used to talk about something like that.”

Arin sat beside him.

“What did he say?”

Leo lowered his voice.

“He said there used to be a town underneath the mountain.”

Arin stared at him.

“A town?”

“Yeah. A whole town. Houses. Streets. A school. Everything.”

“That’s impossible.”

“Probably.”

“What happened to it?”

Leo shrugged.

“My grandfather said it disappeared.”

“How does a whole town disappear?”

“I don’t know.”

They sat silently for a moment.

Then Leo said something that made Arin’s stomach drop.

“He also said that once every hundred years, the town rings its bell.”

Arin looked toward the mountain.

“When?”

Leo looked at him.

“Last night.”

Neither of them spoke.

That evening, Arin searched through his father’s old books.

He found a dusty map of the region.

The village was marked.

The mountain was marked.

But there was something else.

A tiny circle had been drawn underneath the mountain.

Next to it was one word.

“Veyra.”

Arin had never heard the name before.

He took the map upstairs.

That night, he waited.

11:50 PM.

Nothing.

11:55.

Nothing.

11:59.

Arin stood beside the window.

Midnight.

DONG.

The bell rang again.

This time, the blue light appeared immediately.

It was much closer.

Arin grabbed his jacket.

He climbed quietly out of the house and ran toward the forest.

The trees were wet from the rain.

Mud covered his shoes.

The blue light moved ahead of him.

Arin followed.

After twenty minutes, he reached a clearing.

There was an enormous stone arch standing between two trees.

He had never seen it before.

Carved into the stone were strange symbols.

At the center was a circular hole.

The blue light floated through it.

Arin stepped closer.

Suddenly, the ground began to shake.

The symbols on the arch started glowing.

A deep sound came from beneath the earth.

Then the ground opened.

Arin fell.

He screamed.

He dropped through darkness for what felt like an eternity.

Then he landed on something soft.

Leaves.

He opened his eyes.

There was a sky above him.

But it wasn’t the sky he knew.

It was purple.

Two enormous moons hung over the horizon.

Arin slowly stood up.

He was no longer in the forest.

He was standing on a stone road.

Ahead of him was a town.

Thousands of houses filled the valley.

Street lamps glowed blue.

Windows were lit.

But there was no one outside.

Arin walked forward.

A sign stood beside the road.

WELCOME TO VEYRA

ESTABLISHED 742

Arin stared.

The date was impossible.

He walked into the town.

Everything looked normal.

There were shops.

Houses.

A school.

A bakery.

A clock tower.

But every clock showed the same time.

12:00.

Then he heard footsteps.

Arin turned.

A girl was standing in the middle of the street.

She looked about his age.

She had dark hair and wore an old-fashioned coat.

“You’re not supposed to be here,” she said.

Arin stepped backward.

“Who are you?”

“My name is Mira.”

“Where am I?”

“You already know.”

“Veyra?”

Mira nodded.

Arin pointed toward the sky.

“What is this place?”

Mira looked up.

“The town between yesterday and tomorrow.”

Arin stared at her.

“What does that mean?”

Mira walked toward him.

“Veyra disappeared a hundred years ago.”

“I know.”

“No.”

She shook her head.

“You don’t.”

She pointed at the clock tower.

“Veyra didn’t disappear.”

Arin looked at the tower.

“It was taken.”

“Taken by who?”

Mira didn’t answer.

Instead she asked,

“What year is it?”

Arin told her.

Mira’s face went pale.

“That’s impossible.”

“What?”

She stepped closer.

“You came from the future.”

Arin laughed nervously.

“No. You’re the one from the past.”

Mira shook her head.

“For us, only three days have passed.”

Arin froze.

“What?”

“Three days ago, everyone in Veyra went to sleep.”

“And?”

“They never woke up.”

Arin looked around.

“Then who are you?”

Mira looked toward the clock tower.

“I woke up.”

Suddenly, the bell rang.

DONG.

Every light in the town turned off.

Mira grabbed Arin’s arm.

“Run.”

They sprinted through the streets.

Behind them came a sound.

Something was walking.

Slowly.

Heavy footsteps echoed between the houses.

Arin looked back.

A tall shadow stood beneath the clock tower.

It had no face.

Only two blue lights where its eyes should have been.

Mira pulled Arin around a corner.

“Don’t let it see you.”

“What is that thing?”

“The Keeper.”

“The what?”

“The Keeper guards Veyra.”

“From what?”

Mira looked at him.

“From leaving.”

They hid inside an abandoned shop.

The footsteps passed.

Arin whispered,

“Why did you bring me here?”

“I didn’t.”

“Then why am I here?”

Mira pointed at his pocket.

Arin reached inside his jacket.

His father’s old map was there.

But the map had changed.

The word Veyra was glowing.

Mira stared at it.

“Where did you get that?”

“My father.”

“Who is your father?”

Arin told her.

Mira went silent.

Then she whispered,

“He’s one of them.”

“One of who?”

“The people who escaped.”

Arin stared at her.

“My father grew up here?”

Mira nodded.

“He left Veyra.”

“But he never told me.”

“Because if the Keeper discovers that someone escaped, it comes looking.”

A loud sound came from outside.

BOOM.

The shop shook.

Mira grabbed Arin’s hand.

“We have to get to the tower.”

“Why?”

“Because that’s where the way out is.”

They ran.

The Keeper appeared at the end of the street.

Its head slowly turned toward them.

Mira shouted,

“Don’t look at it!”

Arin closed his eyes.

They kept running.

The tower was getting closer.

Ten meters.

Five.

Three.

They reached the door.

Mira pushed it open.

Inside was a huge spiral staircase.

They climbed.

The Keeper entered the tower below them.

The entire building shook.

Arin looked down.

The shadow was climbing.

Fast.

Mira reached the top.

There was a giant bell hanging above them.

Beneath it was a stone platform.

On the platform were hundreds of names.

Mira pointed to one.

Arin’s name was written there.

He froze.

“How?”

Mira looked terrified.

“Your name wasn’t there before.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means Veyra chose you.”

The Keeper reached the top.

Mira grabbed the bell rope.

“Arin!”

“What?”

“When I ring this bell, you have to jump into the light.”

“What light?”

She pulled the rope.

DONG.

The bell exploded with blue light.

A doorway appeared in the air.

Arin could see his village.

His house.

His bedroom.

He could go home.

But Mira wasn’t moving.

“Come with me!”

“I can’t.”

“Why?”

“I’m part of Veyra.”

The Keeper stepped toward them.

Arin grabbed Mira’s hand.

“Then we’re both leaving.”

They ran toward the doorway.

The Keeper reached for them.

Arin jumped.

Mira jumped with him.

Everything became white.

Then Arin woke up.

He was lying in his bedroom.

Morning sunlight filled the room.

His father was standing beside the bed.

Arin sat up.

“Dad?”

His father stared at him.

Then he looked behind Arin.

Mira was standing there.

His father’s face went completely pale.

“You brought her back.”

Arin nodded.

His father sat down.

For a long time, nobody spoke.

Finally, his father whispered,

“Then it’s starting again.”

“What is?”

The bell rang outside.

DONG.

Everyone froze.

Arin looked through the window.

A blue light was floating above the village.

But this time there wasn’t one.

There were hundreds.

One above every house.

Mira looked at Arin.

“The town isn’t trapped anymore.”

Arin swallowed.

“Then what happened?”

Mira looked toward the mountain.

“Veyra is coming back.”

Far beneath the mountain, something enormous moved.

The earth shook.

Cracks appeared across the village road.

And from somewhere deep underground came the sound of thousands of bells ringing at once.

DONG.

DONG.

DONG.

The mountain began to glow blue.

People ran into the streets.

The sky turned dark.

And slowly, behind the mountain, an entire city began rising from the ground.

Veyra had returned.

But this time…

it wasn’t empty.

Thousands of people stood in its streets.

All of them looking toward Arin’s house.

All of them waiting.

For him.