The Day Everything changed
938 Words
Episode 2:
The morning had started like every other morning in Anna’s neighborhood. Warm sunlight slipping through the curtains, the sound of vendors calling outside, and children’s laughter echoing down the street. But for Anna, something felt different. Something heavy.
She sat on the small wooden stool by the window, staring at the empty house next door. It had been quiet for weeks now. Too quiet. The garden that once held Damian’s tiny football net and scattered toys was now overgrown. No movement. No laughter. No Damian.
Anna hugged her knees closer to her chest.
It still didn’t feel real.
Just months ago, Damian had been there, running barefoot across both their compounds like they were one big playground. He used to climb the short fence between their houses instead of walking around it, always laughing, always talking too fast when he was excited.
“Anna! Anna! Come see what I found!” he would shout, dragging her by the hand even when she pretended to be annoyed.
But that was before.
Before his father started packing boxes.
Before the big suitcases appeared.
Before Damian stopped smiling as much.
Anna remembered that last week clearly. It was burned into her mind like a wound that refused to heal.
Damian had come to her house that evening, his eyes red but trying to act normal. He kicked a stone on the ground and didn’t look at her when he spoke.
“My dad says we’re moving,” he said quietly.
Anna blinked. “Moving where?”
“Abroad.”
The word had sounded strange in her ears. Foreign. Far away. Like something that didn’t belong in her world.
She laughed nervously. “You’re joking.”
He shook his head.
That was the first time Anna had seen Damian look helpless.
---
Now, sitting by the window, Anna pressed her forehead against the glass. She wondered where he was at that exact moment. Was he in a different house? A different school? Did he still think about her?
She sighed and stood up.
“I should stop thinking about it,” she whispered to herself, even though she didn’t believe it.
---
Across the street, an old woman passed by, carrying a basket of tomatoes. She glanced at Anna and smiled knowingly.
“You’re still watching that house?” she called gently.
Anna forced a small nod.
The woman shook her head. “Children and their strong hearts.”
Anna didn’t reply. She just watched the house until the woman walked away.
---
At school that day, Anna couldn’t focus. The classroom was noisy, but everything sounded distant, like she was underwater.
Her teacher was writing something on the board, but Anna’s mind was elsewhere.
Damian used to sit beside her in class before everything changed. He used to whisper answers during tests and make her laugh when she was supposed to be serious. Now his chair sat empty, like a reminder of what she had lost.
During break time, Anna sat alone under the big mango tree.
Her friend, Lila, approached her with a sachet of juice.
“You’re quiet again,” Lila said, sitting beside her.
Anna shrugged. “Just thinking.”
“About him?” Lila asked softly.
Anna didn’t answer immediately. That was enough confirmation.
Lila sighed. “It’s been months, Anna.”
“I know.”
“But you still wait like he’s coming back tomorrow.”
Anna looked down at the ground. “He promised.”
Lila hesitated. “People leave, you know.”
Anna’s chest tightened. “Damian isn’t just ‘people.’”
Lila didn’t argue. Instead, she placed the juice in Anna’s hand and stood up. “Just don’t forget to live your life too.”
But Anna wasn’t ready to hear that.
---
That evening, when Anna returned home, she noticed something unusual.
A small envelope had been slipped under her front door.
Her heart skipped.
Slowly, she picked it up and sat on the floor before opening it.
Inside was a folded piece of paper.
Her hands trembled as she unfolded it.
The handwriting was familiar. Too familiar.
Anna,
I don’t know if you’ll even get this.
My dad says we might not be able to keep the same phone number anymore. Everything is changing so fast here, I can’t even think straight.
I miss our place. I miss the fence. I miss your mom’s food. I miss laughing with you.
School here is different. People talk differently. I feel like I don’t belong yet.
But I promised I would write you.
Do you still wait by the window?
I hope you don’t cry too much. You always cry when I leave for too long.
I’ll try to find a way to write again.
—Damian.
---
Anna held the letter tightly against her chest.
For a moment, she couldn’t breathe properly.
Then tears came—slow at first, then harder.
He remembered her.
He really remembered her.
She didn’t even notice when her mother walked in.
“Anna?” her mother called gently. “What is it?”
Anna quickly wiped her face, but the letter was already wet with her tears.
“I’m fine,” she whispered.
But she wasn’t fine.
Not even close.
---
That night, Anna didn’t sleep.
She lay on her bed, staring at the ceiling, replaying every word in the letter.
He missed her.
He was thinking of her too.
Outside, the night was quiet, but inside Anna’s heart, something had changed.
Hope.
Small. Fragile.
But alive.
And for the first time since Damian left, Anna whispered into the darkness:
“I’ll wait.”
- Writer
