It was one of those hot afternoons when nothing seemed special. I was walking back from a boring lecture, head low, thoughts far. My life was normal, predictable. But that day, something changed. Something stirred in me. For the first time, I noticed him. Jordan.
The name alone carried a weight around school. He wasn't just a student; he was a symbol. Girls talked about him in whispers and giggles. Some claimed he had smiled at them once. Others showed off blurry pictures they took of him near the library or stepping out of his car. He wasn't just handsome. He was stunning. Tall, fair, with deep-set eyes that carried mystery, a jawline that could cut glass, and a calmness in his steps that made him seem untouchable.
I had seen him before, but never really noticed him. Or maybe I just never allowed myself to notice. But on that day, our eyes clashed.
I was walking past the faculty building. He had just stepped out of his sleek, shiny car. Black, spotless, and expensive-looking. He leaned on the door, talking to someone on his phone. I lifted my eyes, and he looked up too. Our gazes locked for a second. Just a second. But it felt like the wind paused. My heart jumped and sank at the same time. I quickly looked away.
Who was I? Loveth Pitus. The ugly girl. The one no one noticed. The one with powers she could not use. What did someone like Jordan have to do with someone like me? Nothing.
I walked faster. But something had happened. I saw him differently now. And even worse, I had started to think about him. More than once. More than twice. I hated myself for it. Because I knew it was foolish. Girls more beautiful than me didn't even get his attention. Why would he ever look at me?
And yet, I wished.
I wished he could be mine. I wished I had what it took to be with someone like Jordan. Not just beauty, but presence. Confidence. Glow. I didn't have those things.
All I had was what men looked at from behind. My body. My curves. My shape.
Some days, I imagined using my powers. Just a little. Just enough to make him notice me. To twist his mind gently. To plant my name in his dreams. It would be so easy. But then I would remember my grandmother Menila. Her voice would echo in my mind.
"Power is not for play, Loveth. You are a witch, not a god. Let nature be. Love must be free."
So I held back. No spells. No charms. No tricks. Just pain.
And then, one strange day, we met again.
It was at the school medical centre. I had gone to pick up a lab test result. Just routine. I had been coughing at night and wanted to be sure it wasn't anything serious. I sat quietly in the waiting area, trying to avoid stares. My dress was a little too tight that day. I hadn't planned it. It was just the only clean thing I had.
Then I heard his voice. "Excuse me, nurse. I came for the result of the blood test I did yesterday."
My heart stopped. That voice. That calm, deep, polite voice.
I turned slightly. And there he was. Jordan.
He stood just a few feet from me. Wearing a white shirt that made his skin glow. He looked clean, healthy, perfect. I froze.
Then my pen rolled off my lap. Just like that.
As I bent to pick it up, I caught him glancing. Not at my face. But at my body. My ass, to be exact. It wasn't the first time guys did that. I was used to it. I was shaped in a way that pulled eyes.
But this was Jordan.
For some strange reason, I didn't feel insulted. I didn't feel embarrassed. In fact, I liked it. A part of me smiled inside. Not because I wanted to be seen only for my body, but because it meant I wasn't invisible. Not to him.
He noticed me. Just a little.
He didn't say anything. I didn't say anything. We both got our results and left. But that moment sat in my heart like a warm stone.
I started to think about him more. When I walked back to my room, I kept replaying it. His eyes. That moment. The silence between us. Was it anything? Maybe not. But in my lonely world, it was something.
Dora and Flenra teased me when I told them.
"Are you serious? He looked at your what?" Dora laughed.
"Girl, he looks at every girl. That's his eyes. They move too fast," Flenra joked.
But I didn't care. I knew what I saw.
And now, every time I passed him on campus, I hoped he would look again. Sometimes he did. Sometimes not. But I started walking differently. Holding my head a bit higher. Wearing clothes that hugged me right.
I knew I couldn't compete with the pretty girls. But I had something. I had power.
Not just magic, but presence. Silent, growing presence. I was no longer hiding in myself. I was watching the world. I was watching him.
And secretly, I was wishing. That maybe, just maybe, Jordan would become more than a glance. Maybe he would become a beginning.
There was a time, just once, when the temptation came strong, so strong I could feel it in my bones. I was tired. Tired of wishing. Tired of longing. Tired of being the girl who sat in the corner, unnoticed, while others bloomed like flowers in spring.
I started thinking about my powers. I had them, after all.
It wouldn't take much. Just a whisper, a chant, a glance in the mirror, and I could become someone else, someone beautiful. Someone he would look at. Someone he would want.
I had done it before, secretly, in my room back home. The first time I tried it, I stared long into the mirror, my heart thudding in fear and curiosity. Then I said the words, and slowly, my face began to change. It stretched and smoothed out, my nose narrowed, my eyes grew brighter, lashes fuller. My skin turned golden and soft like silk, my lips plumper. My body, already attractive in its own way, shaped into something that looked like it came out of a fantasy.
I stood there, stunned. The girl staring back at me in the mirror was not me, but she could be. She was stunning, like one of those magazine models boys used to tape to their dorm walls. For a moment, I felt powerful. I smiled. Then I laughed. It felt so good to be beautiful, even if it was just pretend.
But then guilt crept in, like a slow leak in a tire. This wasn't me. This wasn't real.
And I could hear my grandmother's voice. Menila. The one who passed the powers to me. Her warning was always in my head, always clear: "Do not use it for vanity. Use it when there is trouble. When you are truly in danger. The gift must not be wasted on foolish things. Nature must run its course."
I could feel her eyes in my thoughts.
Still, the idea danced in my mind. What if I went to school one day with that face? What if I walked past Jordan and watched him turn his head? What if, for once, he noticed me?
Would that be so wrong? But even while I asked myself that question, I knew the answer.
No. I couldn't do it. It wasn't just about the rules, it was about me. I didn't want love that came from lies. I didn't want someone to want me because of something fake. I didn't want to win a heart that wasn't drawn to who I truly was.
So I stood in front of the mirror one last time, looking at the beautiful stranger I had become. And then I whispered the reversal spell. My face changed back slowly, piece by piece, until it was mine again. Plain. Flawed. Familiar.
I sat down on my bed, sighing. I brushed the thoughts off, like dust on my shoulder.
Let nature lead. I said that to myself over and over, like a prayer. Let nature lead.
If Jordan was ever meant to look my way, let it happen the right way. And if not, so be it.