PROLOGUE

Clara had just woken up with a strange feeling in her gut. She looked at the old golden clock on her nightstand and squinted to see the numbers. Since it was almost at the six o’clock mark, Clara got up and went to check on her newborn baby, who slept soundly in a wooden crib next to her bed. Not wanting to wake the baby, who rarely slept through the whole night, she picked up her clothes from the dresser and went into her bathroom to get ready for the day.

Her husband had been away for his job for the last week and would be arriving at the town’s train station in an hour. Clara wanted to surprise him with a day together, since they had rarely had any time alone after their baby was born. She had already found a sitter, who came highly recommended by the people in town.

After getting ready, she heard a knock on the door. Opening it, Clara saw a really good-looking woman in her late twenties with golden hair and ocean-deep blue eyes that seemed to shine in contrast with her sun-bathed skin. They were about the same height, but this woman was much more graceful and somehow seemed taller than her.

Clara had always thought of herself as a nice-looking woman. She had long, straight brown hair, honey-colored eyes, pale skin, and a curvaceous body. But next to this woman, she couldn't help but think how ordinary she looked. The woman said something, apparently for the second time, and Clara made herself pay attention.

“Hi, I am Sayonara, the babysitter, and you must be Clara. I was really looking forward to meeting you!” Sayonara, said with a clear, pretty voice that reminded Clara of a warm summer day.

“Hi! It’s nice to meet you too, please come in.” Clara tried to say each word as eloquently as Sayonara, but she probably just made a fool of herself because Sayonara gave her an amused look. Trying not to seem like a total mess, Clara stepped aside and motioned for the woman to enter.

“You have such a cozy house. It’s just you, your husband, and the baby?” Sayonara asked, making conversation since Clara didn't say anything else.

“Thank you! And yes, it’s just the three of us, for now.”

“Oh, how lovely! I come from a large family so I can’t even imagine living in such peace and quiet, it surely seems nice.”

“Yeah, I was already used to the quiet since I am an only child, but since my husband and I moved here, it’s been an adjustment. He is often away for work, so I am home alone with the baby most of the time. This is actually the first time I am going to leave her with someone else.” Clara said all that in the same breath and blushed a bit. First, she spent like a full minute gaping at this stranger, and now she was babbling about her lonely life. Oh my god, she must really need to spend time with someone other than a few months old.

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“That is actually really common among first-time parents.” Sayonara said, and noticing Clara's puzzled look, she added, “The separation anxiety, the first time leaving your baby with someone else. But you will get used to being without her.”

Clara nodded in appreciation for the kind words and then began explaining everything Sayonara needed to know about the house and the baby. Just as she had finished the explanation, the baby began crying. Clara made a movement to go near the crib, but Sayonara said:

“I got it. You must be going; you have a full day ahead of you.” Seeing that Clara hesitated, Sayonara gave her an encouraging smile and went to pick up the baby. Clara then sighed and gave the baby, who had already stopped crying, a goodbye kiss. When she was at the doorstep, she gave Sayonara and the baby a final look and left to meet her husband.

Once outside, Clara noticed that the sun had barely risen and the sky was dark gray, as if a storm was imminent. She didn’t have an umbrella, as she had barely stepped outside the house in the last few months and had brought only the bare minimum when she moved to the town. Most of her belongings were still at her parents' house in the village where she had lived her whole life.

Clara made her way to the train station, which was one of the few locations in town she was familiar with, in addition to the farmer’s market and the apothecary, both of which were on the opposite way of the station. At this hour, they were probably full of avid shoppers, but the street leading to the station was empty, as expected of a residential street on the outskirts of town.

When she had first moved there, with a 9-month pregnant belly, Clara had wondered why her husband had chosen a house so far away from the center of town. However, he had told her that the town was growing rapidly and with the new train station nearby, this area would be one of the best in town in a few years. Clara appreciated the peace and quiet of her neighborhood, as it reminded her of her childhood home, but she had imagined that her husband, a man raised in the city, would prefer to live in a busier part of town.

Clara was so lost in her own thoughts that she hadn't noticed the rain starting, and within seconds, the few drops of water became a full-on storm. She heard the first thunder and began walking faster, already soaked to the bone and unable to see a palm in front of her face. The rain was freezing, and she debated turning back and going home, but she must have been close to the train station now, so she decided to keep going.

A lightning bolt illuminated the sky and she saw the station a few feet away, with a train approaching in the distance. The rain was so loud she hadn't heard her husband’s train approching the station. Thinking only about seeing him, Clara began running, and she had only arrived at the station when a second lightning bolt crossed the sky and struck the moving train.

Clara’s world stopped for a second as she witnessed the scene that would change her and her baby's whole life forever. The train derailed and a fire broke out in its cabins. The rain seemed to pause for a moment, as if it realized what it had caused and was trying to take it back, but it only provided room for the flames to spread. In a few seconds, the whole train had turned into a bright orange bonfire that crackled and sparkled.

Clara just stood there, taking in the scene and inhaling smoke. She didn't remember how long she just stared at the fire, but no one got off the train, and when help arrived and the fire was contained, there was no hope of survivors. Clara sat on the ground of the station and wept.