----
Lavinia moved between the store shelves with the lightness of a child who had just discovered a new magical world.
Her steps were quick.
Her skips were light…
And her eyes drifted from one toy to another with a delicious, breathtaking wonder.
As for Mikel,
he walked behind her calmly, his hands in his pockets, watching her with a small smile he couldn't hide.
For him,
seeing Lavinia being herself was more enjoyable than anything else he had planned for this date.
Suddenly she stopped completely,
as if time itself had frozen.
She lifted a small glass globe.
Inside it was a tiny boy shooting a basketball toward the hoop with perfect accuracy.
The little snowflakes swirled whenever she shook the globe, lighting the figure as if it were a piece of art.
She turned to him excitedly:
– "Mikel! Look here! Don't you think it's amazing? It looks exactly like you!"
Mikel approached, bending slightly to see the figure up close.
The store's warm lighting reflected on his features, giving him even more calmness and masculinity.
– "Yeah… it really does." he said in a low voice.
But he couldn't stop a gentle smile from appearing on his face.
Lavinia smiled like someone who had just found a treasure and said decisively:
– "I'll buy it for you. I finally found the perfect gift."
The two of them left the store…
And Lavinia held the bag with pride, as if she were carrying something made of pure gold.
The air outside was cold,
sending strands of her hair fluttering around her delicate face.
Her nose had begun to turn red…
The sky leaned toward a deep blue,
and the street was crowded with passersby, yet her voice rose above all the noise as she excitedly talked about the movie, about school, and about a thousand other things.
Mikel watched her from the side, not answering much, just smiling… observing… listening.
Her words floated through the cold air…
She pulled her coat tighter around herself and said:
– "You know? I feel like this day is going by too fast… I don't even want the cold to ruin it."
Mikel laughed softly:
– "The cold doesn't usually bother you… you're the one who insists on ice cream even in winter."
She raised her eyebrows in gentle defiance:
– "And what's the problem? Ice cream creates happiness."
– "For you… everything creates happiness."
She looked at him, but he turned his gaze away in embarrassment.
---
They finally reached the neighborhood.
The dim lights cast a glow on the sidewalks, and the trees swayed lightly under the night breeze.
Mikel suddenly turned, as if he had just remembered something important.
– "Lavinia!"
She spun around quickly and took a step closer.
He took something small from his pocket, then lifted her hand in front of him.
It was a silver bracelet with a shining butterfly dangling from it, sparkling as if made from a drop of light.
He held her hand gently and fastened the bracelet around her wrist.
She lifted her eyes to him in astonishment:
– "When did you buy it?"
He smiled and looked aside:
– "When we were in the store… while you were busy with the gifts. I liked it, so I bought it for you."
She placed her hand over the bracelet and held it to her chest tenderly:
– "I'll treasure it so much… thank you, Mikel."
He felt his heart pounding, but only shrugged shyly.
They parted in front of their houses.
Lavinia walked inside, staring at the bracelet again as if it were a magical artifact.
As for Mikel, he opened his front door and found his father standing near the kitchen.
– "How was your date? Was it great?"
– "It was nice."
His father patted his shoulder:
– "I hope you get along with your future sister-in-law too."
Mikel froze in place.
– "Sister? In-law?! I don't think I even like her to begin with!"
His father raised his eyebrows in surprise, while Mikel went upstairs muttering:
– "Ridiculous… what kind of law is that anyway."
---
He sat on his bed,
his eyes drifting toward the ceiling.
After a moment, he rose slowly and walked to his window.
He opened the curtain… then burst out laughing.
Lavinia was dancing in her room across from his.
Strange dances, incomprehensible jumps, spinning for no reason…
like the funny movements of a clown.
He wiped tears of laughter from his eyes:
– "What a lunatic… she'll never change."
But the laughter soon faded…
And the memories returned.
Painful memories… from first year of middle school.
---
He had been standing with a group of classmates in the classroom.
Their laughter was loud, their voices overlapping.
One of them said mockingly:
– "What's your relationship with that girl… Lavinia? Are you just friends?"
Another added with a wink:
– "But she's pretty… don't deny it!"
A third laughed loudly:
– "Maybe he's in love with her! Look at him, he's blushing!"
Mikel grew upset, embarrassed and angry, and raised his voice, trying to end the topic:
– "We're just friends!"
One of them laughed in mockery and provocation:
– "Are you sure? I think she'd make a great girlfriend for you!"
Anger exploded in his chest, and he snapped back without thinking:
– "What? Me with her? Impossible! She's not even my type! Stupid, clueless, ridiculous… I don't even see her as a girl! Just a childhood friend, nothing more… and honestly, you shouldn't go near her at all, she's crazy!"
Laughter filled the room.
Each of them began adding a line worse than the one before.
– "Yeah, totally crazy!"
– "Really stupid!"
– "She acts like a child!"
But they didn't see…
They didn't hear…
That Lavinia was standing behind the wall, listening to every word, her hands trembling.
---
After school ended, Mikel left as usual and waited for her.
– "Come on, giraffe."
But she didn't reply. She walked ahead of him in suffocating silence.
He caught up to her:
– "What's wrong? Lavinia? What is it?"
When they reached an empty street…
she suddenly stopped.
She turned around, her eyes completely red.
Then she screamed:
– "You're an idiot! And stupid! … But I never expected you to be trash who insults me behind my back with your friends!"
He froze.
– "I… I… how—"
But she cut him off with a pained smile, tears streaming down her face:
– "I expected it from everyone… except you."
Her words were like a sharp knife driving straight through his chest.
He couldn't answer.
He couldn't even look at her.
She turned and walked away… leaving Mikel shattered, unable to breathe.
---
A week passed…
then two…
then a full month.
No talking…
No laughter…
No shared meals…
Nothing.
Each of them walked a separate path, as if their childhood memories had never existed.
---
On a cold morning, Mikel entered the classroom.
He stopped in place.
He saw her there…
Sitting by the window…
alone…
looking at the sky in silence, her hair swaying lightly with the morning breeze.
And only then…
right then…
he began to realize how much he had lost.
------
Please, if you're following this story, just leave a comment to encourage me to continue.
I'm really disappointed by the lack of comments and I feel like no one is interested in my work.