I first saw Sudom on a dusky evening, riding his bicycle home from school, tired after a long day. The sky was painted in soft shades of orange, balanced gently between day and night. His school bag hung from one shoulder, small beads of sweat dotted his forehead, and his eyes carried a quiet exhaustion.
I don't know why, but I couldn't take my eyes off him.
He didn't see me. Or maybe he did, but didn't recognize me. I stood silently by the side of the road, afraid even a small sound might break the moment. Dust rose from his bicycle wheels, and inside my chest, a strange feeling stirred, one I didn't yet have a name for.
That was love, though I wouldn't understand it for a long time.
Sudom rode away, and I stayed there, standing longer than I should have. I had no idea that this brief, quiet encounter would mark the beginning of such a big story in my life.
Some people arrive suddenly.
Without saying a word, they stay in your heart.And that day, without knowing it, Sudom stayed in mine.
Joya walked slowly back home, her heart still fluttering from the brief glimpse of Sudom. She tried to tell herself it was nothing, just a passing moment, but the truth refused to stay buried. Every step felt heavier, as if the quiet evening had left something inside her that she couldn't name.
At home, she sat by the window, watching the last streaks of sunlight disappear behind the hills. The world seemed ordinary, yet her thoughts were consumed by him. She didn't even know why. Sudom had always been around, just another face in school, yet tonight, something had shifted—something unspoken, fragile, and utterly new.
She tried to bury the feeling, focusing on homework and chores, but her eyes kept wandering to the street outside. Would he ride by again tomorrow? Would he notice her? She shook her head, scolding herself silently. Love like this… it had to stay hidden.That night, Joya lay awake longer than usual. The house was quiet, but her mind wasn't. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw Sudom's bicycle disappearing down the road, the fading light of the evening wrapped around him.
She told herself it was nothing. Just a passing moment. Just a boy riding home.
But her heart didn't listen.
From that day on, she began to notice small things. The time he passed by. The sound of bicycle wheels on the road. The way her chest tightened whenever she thought she might see him again.
She never spoke to him.
She never called his name.
Some feelings are born quietly, between day and night, and grow in silence.
And Joya knew one thing with painful clarity
this was only the beginning.