C1 Dark Cave

"Hey Dan, wait for me! I'm coming with you. Give me 10 minutes," Bentley shouted near the shop, seeing Dan drenched in sweat.

Dan and Bentley are from the same college, studying Civil Engineering. Being the only two girls from their department, they have become quite close over the past 3 years.

Bentley is used to traveling with Dan to her village during summer holidays. However, this may be the last time she travels to Dan's village, as next year they may settle in different towns due to their placements. Despite trying for the same company, fate seems to have its own plans.

In about an hour, they will reach the village. Just like last year, the cool breeze is gently caressing their faces, and the trees on the side are welcoming them with their rustling leaves.

Finally, they arrived at Dan's house. It's a simple octagonal-shaped house surrounded by big coconut trees. They entered through the front gate, and Dan's mother came with a plate full of red liquid. She made three circles facing them, following a custom in their village to ward off any evil eyes. Although they may not believe in it, they smile at each other and let it pass, just to bring happiness to Dan's mother.

As it started to get dark, Dan's father hadn't arrived home yet, and suddenly a cyclone started. Dani and Bentley began searching for her father since the wind had calmed down a bit. They needed to find him before the cyclone grew stronger.

They decided to split up in the middle so they could search for her father more easily. Finally, Dani found her father standing near a shed. She immediately called Bentley, but it was showing as not reachable.

Dan and her father went back home, but Bentley hadn't arrived yet, and the cyclone had become so huge that they couldn't even step outside.

Bentley found a nearby cave and thought it would be safe since she had already been accustomed to living in caves for almost 200 years.

Seeing her parents worrying about Bentley, Dan comforted them by saying that Bentley had already messaged her, mentioning that she was staying at someone's home and would come tomorrow morning. But deep down, Dan already knew Bentley's secret of being immortal.

It's almost past midnight, and the storm shows no signs of reducing. Bentley gathered some dry grass and stones inside the cave to make a small bonfire and keep herself warm. As she looked at the flickering flames, memories from her past flooded back.

It's been almost 200 years, yet it feels like she's still trapped in that cave. Bentley lived a cave life for almost two centuries. She became a holy sacrifice in the village to save her crush and, as a result, was imprisoned in this cave by an old woman.

She always tried to find an opportunity to escape, but every attempt failed. Then, about five years ago, the cave mysteriously blasted open, and she finally gained her freedom.

However, when she emerged, she realized that nearly 195 years had passed, even though it felt like she had only spent 6-7 months inside the cave.

Bentley soon discovered that for every day she spent inside the cave, a year had passed in the outside world. She desperately wanted to uncover the secret behind this phenomenon, but the cave seemed to have disappeared without a trace.

Little did she know that the world had changed drastically during her time in the cave, and she needed to adapt quickly to avoid getting lost.

Initially, she searched for her home and friends, but there were no details to be found. She had no connections anymore. However, in the middle of nowhere, she realized that she wasn't aging at all, even though she had emerged from the cave.

Furthermore, she discovered she had the ability to hypnotize people. With all these revelations, Bentley made the decision to try and live a normal life.

To survive in this world, Bentley hypnotized numerous individuals and managed to obtain all the necessary certificates, from birth records to a driving license and even a graduation offer from her college.

It was at this college that she met Da, who strangely resembled her previous best friend, Lilly. Bentley decided not to keep her secrets hidden from Dan, at least in this lifetime. She initially thought that Dan wouldn't believe her stories, but to her surprise, Dan sympathized with her.

Their bond grew stronger, and they became so close that they even used their hypnotic abilities to deal with people who mistreated them.

Reminiscing these memories it seems like she has spent last few years very well.

Suddenly, a beam of light entered her eyes. Bentley raised her eyebrows and noticed a man holding a torch. She wondered how crazy he must be, thinking that such a small torch could match the brightness around them.

As the man approached Bentley, he exclaimed, "Ma'am, you are truly my lucky charm! I thought I was the only one trapped in this cave, but now I have some company." Bentley looked at the man and could only utter one word, "Handsome!"

Immediately, the man extended his hand and introduced himself as Harley. He mentioned that whenever he meets someone, they always refer to him as handsome. He began sharing stories about himself and how he had caught the attention of many women.

Bentley realized that she had been foolish to think this man was truly handsome and blamed the storm for playing tricks on her mind.

Harley was exhausted from all the talking and suddenly collapsed, falling onto Bentley's lap and falling fast asleep.

Bentley tried to wake him up, even resorting to a hard slap, but he is not opening his eyes. Not only that, but he was making strange sounds while sleeping. Bentley couldn't help but wonder how he could sleep so soundly in the midst of such a fierce storm and in the lap of a stranger. Doesn't he realize that with his handsome face,any women would crawl under him?...Seeing his sleepy face Bentley also slept like that.