After those two months… in the middle of the third month, something happened.
Something small, something simple… but something I never expected.
As I had decided earlier, I had completely stopped going to the terrace. That place, which once felt like my little secret spot to see him, was no longer a part of my routine. Now, during recess, I would just stand outside my classroom in the lobby. It felt normal. Safe. Controlled.
I was in 10th B, and many of my friends were in 10th A. So every day during recess, I would go and stand in the lobby near their classrooms. We would talk about random things—studies, teachers, homework, silly jokes—just normal school life. And for the first time in a long while, I was actually trying to live in that "normal."🙂
That day also started like any other.
I was standing with my best friend and a few others, talking casually, when suddenly one of my friends came running towards us. She looked excited, almost breathless.
"You know what?" she said quickly. "The terrace is being decorated!"🎊
For a second, I didn't react.
The terrace.
That word itself felt like something from my past now.
"Why?" I asked casually, trying not to sound too interested.
"Maybe for a science exhibition," she replied. "I heard 9th standard students are going to present their projects there."
Before I could say anything else, my best friend immediately got excited. "Let's go see!" she said, holding my hand.
I instantly shook my head. "No yaar, what's the need? We can see later."
But she wasn't listening. "Just come na, it'll be fun," she insisted.
I didn't really want to go. Not because of the exhibition… but because of the place. The terrace wasn't just a place for me anymore. It held too many memories. Too many moments. Too many feelings I had been trying to ignore.
But before I could refuse properly, she had already started pulling me along.
And just like that… I went.
As we reached the terrace, I noticed it had actually changed a lot. One side was completely covered, decorated with charts, models, and colorful papers. It looked lively and full of energy. Students were moving around, setting things up, talking, laughing.
For a moment, I forgot everything else and just looked around.
It was nice.
Different.
But still… I didn't want to stay there for long.
"Okay, we saw it," I said to my friend after a minute. "Let's go now."
She nodded, and we turned to leave.
There was only a small space left open to go in and out because the rest of the area was covered. It was a narrow passage—just enough for a few people to pass at a time.
We started walking towards it.
And then… it happened.
From the other side… he was coming.
For a second, my steps slowed down.
Out of all the places… out of all the timings…
Why here?
Why now?
The space was too small for everyone to pass together. So naturally, both sides had to stop.
Now we were standing face to face.
Me and my best friend on one side.
Him and his friend on the other.
There was barely any distance between us.
My heart started racing instantly.
I didn't know where to look.
At him?
At the ground?
At my friend?
Everything felt too real, too close.
Before I could even process the moment properly, he did something that I didn't expect—but somehow, it felt so *him*.
He stepped slightly to the side.
And then, gently extending his left hand, he moved it a little forward, signaling us to go first.
A simple gesture.
Just making space.
Just giving way.
But the way he did it… calm, polite, effortless…🙈❤️
It felt different.
"Go," he said softly.
That one word.
So normal.
So simple.
And yet… it stayed.
I quickly walked ahead with my friend, trying to act normal, trying not to show anything. But inside… everything was a mess.
A good kind of mess.😄
As we passed by him, for a brief second, I felt that closeness again. That same feeling I used to get before. The same nervousness. The same warmth.
And just like that… the moment ended.
We came down from the terrace.
But I wasn't the same anymore.
"Did you see that?" my best friend whispered, smiling.
I tried to act calm. "What?"
"He literally stopped and gave us space," she said. "Such a gentleman."
I didn't reply.
Because I didn't need to.
I had already noticed everything.
More than she did.
More than anyone did.
The way he stood.
The way he moved aside.
The way he spoke.
Everything.
That one small moment… was enough.
Enough to break all the walls I had built in the past two months.
After that, I couldn't focus on anything properly.
Even after recess ended and classes started, my mind kept going back to that scene again and again.
That narrow space.
That moment.
That gesture.
That voice.
I replayed it in my head so many times… like I was trying to memorize it.
Every detail.
Every second.
It felt like something had changed again.
Not outside.
But inside me.
I had tried so hard to move on.
To ignore him.
To focus on my studies.
And maybe I did… for some time.
But all it took was one moment.
One simple act.
And everything came back.
Stronger than before.
I sat in class, pretending to listen, pretending to write, pretending to focus.
But in reality… I was somewhere else.
Still standing in that narrow passage.
Still watching him move aside.
Still hearing that one word.
"Go."
I don't know why that moment affected me so much.
Maybe because it wasn't forced.
It wasn't planned.
It wasn't even special for him.
But for me…
It meant everything.
Because in that moment, I didn't feel invisible.
For the first time in a long time…
I felt seen.
And maybe… that's why I couldn't stop smiling for the rest of the day. 💫
That small moment stayed with me the entire day.
Even after coming home, I couldn't stop thinking about it. The way he quietly stepped aside, the way he didn't rush, didn't show irritation… it was such a simple thing, yet it meant so much to me. I lay on my bed, staring at the ceiling, replaying that exact scene again and again in my mind—as if I was afraid I might forget even a second of it.
"Why does this feel so special?" I asked myself softly.
Maybe because it was never about big things with him. It was always these small, unnoticed moments that made my heart feel full.
That night, I smiled without even realizing it.
From the next day onwards, something changed again.
Even though I had promised myself earlier that I would stop going to the terrace… I couldn't keep that promise anymore. That one moment gave me a reason again. A small hope. A small happiness.
So during recess, instead of staying in the lobby, I quietly started going to the terrace again.
Not always directly. Sometimes I would pretend to go with my best friend casually, sometimes alone. But deep inside, I knew exactly why I was going.
To see him.👀❤️
Not to talk. Not to be noticed. Just… to see him from a distance.
And strangely, that was enough for me.
Some days he would be there with his friends, laughing, talking, completely unaware of my presence. Some days he would be busy, walking from one side to another. And sometimes… just sometimes… he would stand quietly, looking somewhere far away, and I would wonder what he was thinking.
Those were my favorite moments.
Because in those moments, I felt like I could understand him a little more—even without words.
Days slowly started passing like this.
One by one.
Without any major change… but filled with these tiny, silent happiness.
And before I even realized it… three and a half months had already passed.
Time was moving so fast.
Now only three months and a few days were left.
That thought hit me harder than I expected.
"Just three months more…"
After that, everything would change.
He would move on to his next chapter… college, new people, new life.
And me?
I didn't even know if I would ever get the chance to talk to him properly.
Sometimes this thought made me feel heavy. Like something was slowly slipping away from my hands, even though I had never held it in the first place.
But then…
Whenever I remembered all those small moments—the white shoes incident, the eye contacts, the terrace, the way he moved aside for us…
My face automatically turned into a smile.
It felt like those memories were quietly telling me—
"It's okay… even this is something."
And maybe it was.
Because not every story needs loud moments to feel real.🌻
Some stories exist in silence.
And mine… was exactly like that.🤧
But life doesn't stay the same for too long.
One day…
Something happened.
Something completely unexpected.
And honestly… a little embarrassing too.
It happened in front of my classmates… and I still remember how badly I wanted the ground to just open up and swallow me whole.
That moment…
I'll never forget.
And maybe…
That was the day my quiet story took a slightly different turn.😣
To be continued.....