The rain had not stopped for three days, and Ada began to believe the sky had forgotten how to be blue. She sat by the window, tracing invisible lines on the glass while the world outside blurred into gray.

On the fourth morning, a knock came. It was a boy she had never seen, drenched but smiling. He handed her a folded note that simply read, “It ends today.” Confused, Ada stepped outside for the first time in days. The rain softened, then stopped entirely. The boy was gone, leaving only footprints that faded quickly. Ada looked up and saw sunlight breaking through the clouds. For the first time in a long while, she smiled, realizing that sometimes hope arrives quietly, like a stranger at the door.