The city lights of Jakarta shimmered faintly through Evan's window. It was past 10 PM, and his laptop screen glowed with a paused video timeline—yet his mind wasn't on editing tonight. His fingers hovered over his phone, the lock screen still showing Luna's name.
No new messages.
Just the old, unread ones he never found the courage to open.
He sighed.
There were days he could ignore the silence between them, excuse it with school, work, or distance. But not tonight. Tonight, the silence felt too loud.
Evan hesitated for a moment, then tapped the call button.
One ring.
Two.
Three...
He almost gave up when—
"Hello?"
Luna's voice—soft, a little groggy, maybe just waking up from a nap—filled his ears.
Evan froze for a heartbeat. He hadn't heard her voice in over a week.
"It's me," he said quietly. "Sorry, did I wake you?"
She paused, then answered gently, "No, it's okay. I was... just resting. I'm glad you called."
Evan exhaled slowly, his shoulders relaxing for the first time in hours.
"I missed your voice," he said. "I kept checking my phone... even when there were no new messages."
Luna didn't answer right away, but he could hear her breathing on the other side.
"I didn't mean to disappear," she finally said, voice small. "Everything's just been... a lot."
"I know," Evan replied. "And I should've reached out sooner. I just—"
"You didn't want to seem clingy?" Luna finished for him.
He chuckled bitterly. "Yeah. Something like that."
A comfortable silence stretched between them. Not heavy, but thoughtful. Honest.
"I still think about you," Luna whispered. "Even when I'm quiet. Especially then."
Evan felt his throat tighten. "Same here."
They didn't need to say more. Sometimes, connection wasn't built from perfect conversations—but from showing up when it mattered most.
And tonight, they showed up.