**Chapter One: The Lonely Morning**
I woke up early today, the sun still barely peeking through the curtains, casting a dim, sleepy light across the room. The first thing I noticed, though, was the emptiness. It wasn’t just the bed that felt cold and vacant. It was a hollow kind of loneliness that clung to me, despite having a family that loved me, despite everything around me seeming normal.
But this loneliness wasn’t from being physically alone. No, it was a kind of solitude that comes from something much simpler, yet so much more painful—waiting. Waiting for a reply that never came.
It’s not an uncommon problem. *Just a typical boy thing*, I thought, trying to brush it off. Every guy’s been through it, that agonizing wait for a message from someone special. But it wasn’t just any message I was waiting for. It was her message—the one I had hoped would confirm our meeting place for today. We were supposed to go on a date, finally spend some real time together. Instead, I spent the entire night glued to my phone, staring at the screen, hoping, waiting for it to light up with her name.
But nothing came. Not even a single word.
You’d think it’s not that big of a deal. People say not to let things like this get to you. But when the person you love leaves you hanging, it hurts. It’s a kind of heartache you don’t really understand until you’ve been there. When that one reply feels like it could change everything, and it doesn’t come, the silence becomes unbearable.
But enough of that for now. Let me take you back to where this all began, to the days when I had no idea how much she would change my life.
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**Chapter Two: The Beginning**
It was about eight or nine years ago when I first stepped into that school. Back then, nothing seemed all that special about it. School was just a part of life, something you did because you had to. Honestly, I didn’t care much for it. It felt like a daily routine I had no reason to enjoy. That is, until I saw her.
In those early days, school wasn’t interesting to me. I didn’t feel the urge to show up on time, much less get excited about going. I had no reason to rush through the school gates every morning—until she appeared.
At first, I didn’t realize how important she would become to me. I didn’t know that in just a few short months, she would be the reason I’d beg my parents to let me join the tuition class she went to. Even though I hated studying, I would have done anything to be near her, just to see her more often. It’s funny, isn’t it? The things we do for love, or at least for what feels like love at that age. But, as luck would have it, my grand plan was shot down before it even began. My dad said no. I wasn’t allowed to join her tuition.
It felt like the end of the world at the time.
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**Chapter Three: Friendship in the Making**
In the beginning, she didn’t even notice me the way I hoped she would. She was always surrounded by people, her friends, her own world that seemed a little too far out of reach for me. But slowly, things changed. Gradually, we started talking. Little by little, I became part of her world, and she became part of mine.
We became good friends, closer than I’d ever imagined. It was perfect—or so I thought. Everything was great. We’d laugh, talk about random things, share secrets, and spend time together. But then…
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**Chapter Four: The Day That Changed Everything**
There are days you never forget, and this was one of them. It started like any other, but it ended with both of our hearts racing. It wasn’t because of excitement or happiness, though—it was pure fear. Fear because our parents were standing side by side, and everything was out in the open.
Our secrets, our friendship, maybe even the feelings we hadn’t yet spoken aloud—they were all there, exposed under the scrutinizing eyes of the adults. She looked at my mother, her voice bold and steady, “Aunty, let him come with me.”
I held my breath, not sure what to expect. Would my mom say no? Would she shut down whatever connection I had with this girl, severing it before it could become more than just friendship? My heart was pounding so loudly in my chest that I was sure everyone could hear it.
Then, my mom looked at me, and in that moment, I thought it was all over. But instead, she smiled, “Yes,” she said. “Take him with you.”
Relief washed over me, but before I could even process it, my mom added, “Teach him how to study well, okay? His marks aren’t what they should be.”
And just like that, the moment that had seemed so monumental, so life-altering, was reduced to something as mundane as schoolwork. She had only asked my mom to let me come to her tuition to study. That’s all. But to me, it was everything. It meant I could be with her.
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**Chapter Five: The Dance**
As the school year progressed, something even more exciting came up—our annual programs. And guess what? I was her dance partner.
For weeks, we practiced together, and every moment felt like it was leading up to something special. In my mind, our dance would be a message to the world, a way of showing everyone that we were together, that she was with me.
At that age, love was a simple thing. It was possessiveness, yes, but it was also innocent. I didn’t want much. I just wanted to sit with her, walk with her to tuition, talk to her about nothing and everything, and dance with her under the spotlight, in front of the whole school.
I was counting down the days, waiting for that one perfect moment.
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**Chapter Six: The Heartbreak**
But life rarely goes as planned. Just two days before the program, she left. There were no goodbyes, no explanations. One day, she was there, and the next, she was gone. Our class teacher was the one who broke the news. She had transferred to another school, just like that. My dance performance, the moment I had dreamed of, evaporated.
No messages, no promises, not even a hint of what had happened. She was gone, and with her, the dream I had clung to so tightly.
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And so, here I am today, lying alone in bed, waiting for a reply that will never come, haunted by the echoes of a love that slipped through my fingers all those years ago.