After a year of staring at boxes on a screen, muting and unmuting myself in endless online classes, it finally happened.
We were meeting in real life.
The thought alone was enough to send my heart racing. College had been nothing but a series of digital lectures and late-night chats—until now. Our first-year batch had planned a sudden get-together. It was a last-minute plan, rushed and messy, but it felt like something magical was about to begin.
And maybe it did.
Because that's when he appeared in my life.
Maddy.
I'd only spoken to him the day before. One video call—that's all it took. Something about the way he talked, the way he laughed… it lingered with me long after we ended the call. It didn't make sense, but I couldn't stop thinking about him.
I got ready early that day. Not just early—too early. I kept checking the mirror, fixing my hair, trying to look like I hadn't tried too hard. When I reached the café where everyone was supposed to meet, people had already started gathering.
But he wasn't there.
I scanned the faces one by one. Smiles, laughter, casual conversations—but not his face. Someone said he was running late. I nodded, pretending it didn't matter.
But it did.
An hour passed. And then—
There he was.
Dressed in a plain black t-shirt and matching black pants, looking like the simplest thing in the world—but he had this soft, innocent expression that didn't match the chaos in my chest. And that smile… it wasn't loud or flashy, but it lit something up inside me.
He walked over.
We shook hands. His touch was warm, and for a moment, it felt like time forgot to move. He sat across from me. Just across. Just a small distance.
But why did it feel like an ocean?
Maybe he felt it too. Because a few moments later, he looked at me and said, with a half-smile that made my heart stutter—
"Hey, why don't you come sit here? Beside me."
And that's how it all began.