The Red Thread of Destiny

Nara stared ahead.

Behind the thin mist, an old woman stood motionless.

She had no idea how long the woman had been there.

Nara’s heart began beating faster.

She hesitantly took a few steps forward.

“Grandma... were you the one who called me?”

The old woman smiled.

Her smile was calm, but there was something about it that made the hairs on the back of Nara’s neck stand up.

“It’s time.”

Nara frowned.

“Huh?”

The old woman raised her hand and pointed toward something.

There, floating faintly in the air, was a thin red thread that shimmered softly.

Nara frowned again as she looked in the direction the woman was pointing.

“What’s that, Grandma?”

The old woman answered quietly.

“Your destiny.”

Nara gave an awkward little laugh.

“Hehe... Grandma, don’t joke around. I don’t like pranks that—”

Before she could finish, her hand was suddenly grabbed.

“Hey—”

With a swift movement, the old woman tied the red thread around Nara’s wrist.

It felt tight.

And cold.

“Grandma, what is this?”

“Don’t take it off.”

The woman’s voice suddenly changed.

It became deep and heavy, making Nara fall silent.

“He has been waiting for you.”

Nara swallowed.

“He? Who?”

The old woman didn’t answer.

The mist around them began to thicken.

“Grandma?”

Nara rubbed her eyes.

And when she looked again—

The old woman was gone.

Just like that.

As if she had never been there in the first place.

“Huh? Where did Grandma go?”

Nara stood frozen.

Alone.

She looked down at her wrist.

The red thread was still there.

Nara tried to remove it, but it wouldn’t budge.

“Why is this thing so tight?”

She pulled at it.

Nothing.

“Ugh, whatever...”

Feeling increasingly uncomfortable, Nara returned to her motorcycle.

Just before leaving, she glanced toward the bushes.

The duck was still there.

Watching her.

“Kwek.”

Nara stared at the duck for a few seconds before letting out a long sigh.

“Oh, forget it!”

She immediately drove away.

Her brain simply couldn’t process everything that had just happened.

Throughout the ride home, Nara’s mind wasn’t really with her.

In fact, she was pretty sure her brain had been left behind at the swamp.

Her motorcycle continued along the village road as usual, passing residents returning from their daily activities.

Children ran around.

Mothers were busy preparing their evening food stalls.

The sounds of televisions drifted out from houses with their doors wide open.

Everything felt completely normal.

Which was the exact opposite of what had just happened to Nara Ayuningtyas.

Several times, Nara glanced at her wrist.

The red thread was still there.

It was thin and faintly shimmering, as though it were reflecting light from somewhere that didn’t exist.

But it was clear enough to make Nara realize that she couldn’t simply pretend everything had been a hallucination.

“What the hell is this?” she muttered.

When she finally arrived home, Nara switched off her motorcycle a little too roughly.

She didn’t even bother greeting anyone.

She quickly opened the front door and shut it behind her.

The curvy young woman hurried into her bedroom.

Once the door was locked, Nara immediately raised her hand and stared at the red thread wrapped around her wrist.

“Okay. Let’s see what you are.”

She looked at the thread suspiciously.

Nara tried pulling it.

Nothing.

She pulled harder.

Still nothing.

“Seriously?”

She frowned and looked around.

Her eyes landed on a small pair of scissors sitting on the table.

Without thinking twice, Nara grabbed them.

If pulling it didn’t work, then cutting it should.

At least, that was what her sharp-nosed brain decided.

With complete confidence, she slipped the tip of the scissors between the thread and her skin.

Click.

Nothing happened.

Nara froze.

She tried again.

Click.

Click.

The thread remained completely intact.

Not even a scratch.

“...”

Nara stared at the scissors in her hand.

Then at the thread.

“Okay... this makes absolutely no sense.”

She tried another method.

She rubbed it.

Scratched at it.

Tried peeling it away.

She even pulled it until her skin turned red.

Still nothing.

It was as if the thread wasn’t an ordinary object.

As if...

It wasn’t something that could be touched or removed in the normal way.

Nara finally sat down on the edge of her bed.

“This has to be a dream... It has to be...”

Even she didn’t sound convinced.

Her hand slowly curled into a fist.

“But if this is a dream, why does it hurt?”

She let out a long sigh before dropping herself onto the bed.

The ceiling above her suddenly felt strangely empty.

As if something was missing.

Or perhaps...

Something was waiting.

Night came faster than usual.

Or maybe it only felt that way to Nara.

She couldn’t even remember the last time she had eaten dinner.

Even hunger seemed unimportant now.

There was only one thing occupying her mind.

The red thread.

The old woman at the swamp.

And...

That duck.

“Ah!”

Nara covered her face with a pillow.

“Why the hell am I thinking about the duck?!”

She rolled from side to side.

Sleep seemed impossible.

She was far too restless.

The clock showed eleven at night.

“I need to sleep,” she muttered.

Nara pulled the blanket up to her chin and closed her eyes, trying her best to ignore everything strange that had happened that day.

Several minutes passed.

Silence.

Only the soft hum of the electric fan filled the room.

Then suddenly—

“...Are you not asleep yet?”

Nara’s eyes flew open.

Her entire body froze.

The voice had come from very close.

Very slowly...

Extremely slowly...

Nara turned her head.

Her eyes widened.

There he was.

A man lying beside her.

Exactly like in her dream.

Nara’s breath caught in her throat.

For several seconds, she couldn’t move.

Couldn’t think.

Couldn’t even scream.

The man’s face was exactly the same as the one in her dream.

Handsome.

A sharp jawline.

A straight nose.

Thick eyebrows.

Beautiful eyes.

Perfect.

He should have been incredibly attractive.

But right now, all Nara felt was terror.

“...”

She blinked once.

Twice.

Three times.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!”

Nara immediately jumped out of bed, nearly tripping over her own feet.

“YOU AGAIN?!”

The man didn’t move.

He simply turned his head slightly and looked at Nara with a blank expression.

“‘Again’?” he repeated softly.

Nara pointed at him with a trembling finger.

“DON’T PRETEND YOU DON’T KNOW! YOU’RE THE GUY FROM MY DREAM!”

The man frowned slightly.

“Dream?”

“YES! A DREAM!”

Nara looked like she was about to cry.

“YOU’RE NOT REAL! YOU’RE NOT SUPPOSED TO BE HERE!”

There was a brief silence.

Then the man slowly sat up.

“If I’m not real,” he said calmly, “then why can you see me now?”

“...”

That sentence made Nara go completely silent.

Her brain seemed to stop functioning.

“I-I...”

She took a step backward.

“This... this has to be a hallucination!”

The man stood up.

His movements were calm.

Far too calm for a situation like this.

“My name is Raga. Raga Ardhaksa.”

“I DIDN’T ASK!”

Raga ignored her.

“I came because our bond has awakened.”

Nara frowned.

“What bond?!”

Raga’s eyes moved toward Nara’s wrist.

“That.”

Nara instinctively looked down.

The red thread.

Her heart immediately began pounding faster.

“This... this is because of you?”

“Not ‘because of me,’” Raga replied. “It is proof.”

“Proof of what?!”

Raga looked directly into her eyes.

“That you are my wife.”

Silence.

Complete silence.

Then Nara shouted—

“I DON’T ACCEPT THIS!!!”

She immediately grabbed a pillow and threw it at Raga.

Smack!

The pillow hit him directly in the face before falling to the floor.

No effect.

No reaction.

Raga didn’t even look bothered.

“You deny it,” he said flatly.

“OF COURSE I DENY IT! WHO WOULD WANT TO SUDDENLY HAVE A SUPERNATURAL HUSBAND?!”

“This wasn’t sudden.”

“THIS IS ABSOLUTELY SUDDEN! EXTREMELY SUDDEN!”

Raga let out a quiet sigh.

“You were the one who called me in the first place.”

“I NEVER CALLED YOU!”

Raga stared at her without blinking.

“Under the moon, at the edge of the swamp, you once made a wish.”

Nara froze for a moment.

Something about his words felt...

Familiar.

But she quickly shook her head.

“No! I didn’t!”

“If there is someone destined for me, then show him to me.”

Raga’s voice softened slightly as he repeated the words.

And this time, Nara froze.

That sentence...

She had said it before.

Yes.

A few months ago, she had been sitting alone near the swamp after having an especially terrible day.

She had said those exact words.

“…That... I...”

Nara swallowed.

“I was just saying it! I didn’t mean it! It’s not possible for someone to actually hear that and take it seriously.”

Raga shook his head.

“Not every word is heard by humans.”

“...”

“But someone heard you.”

Nara slowly stepped backward.

“This is crazy...”

She shook her head.

“This is seriously crazy.”

Raga took a step toward her.

One step.

Nara instinctively took two steps backward.

“Don’t come any closer!”

Raga stopped.

“Why are you afraid?”

“OF COURSE I’M AFRAID! YOU’RE... YOU’RE... WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU?!”

Silence.

Raga remained quiet for a moment.

He stared at Nara for a long time before finally speaking.

“I am the one bound to you.”

“THAT IS NOT AN ANSWER!”

Raga raised one hand slightly.

The atmosphere around him changed.

The air suddenly felt heavier.

Nara immediately sensed something she couldn’t explain.

It felt like...

Pressure.

Like something enormous was awakening right in front of her.

“Look,” Raga said.

“Then you will believe me.”

“DON’T DO ANYTHING WEIRD—”

A faint light began to surround Raga’s body.

Nara’s eyes widened.

“Wait... wait...”

His body began to change.

It shrank.

His figure grew smaller.

And within seconds, right before Nara’s eyes, Raga was no longer standing there as a human.

Instead—

A white duck stood in his place.

“Kwek.”

Nara fell silent.

Her eyes widened to their absolute limit.

Her mouth hung open without making a sound.

The world seemed to stop.

The duck stared at her calmly.

Exactly like before.

“Kwek.”

Nara took one step backward.

Then another.

Then another.

“...”

Her hands trembled.

“...This... isn’t a dream, is it?”

“Kwek.”

“Oh my God...”

“Kwek.”

“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!”