BEFORE WE BECAME STRANGERS

Episode 1 — The Boy by the Window The rain had been falling since dawn. Amara sat quietly beside the classroom window, watching the tiny drops race each other down the glass. She should have been paying attention to the mathematics lesson, but her mind was somewhere else. Her father's words from that morning kept replaying in her head. "Your final examinations are coming. I don't want anything distracting you. School comes first." Amara sighed. She understood him. She really did. But sometimes, she wished her life wasn't always about expectations. Be a good daughter. Get good grades. Make the family proud. Never make mistakes. She looked down at the notebook on her desk. Unlike her mathematics book, the notebook was filled with things she actually loved—stories, thoughts, little pieces of imaginary worlds she created whenever real life became too loud. Writing was the one place where nobody told her who she had to be. "Amara." She quickly looked up. Her mathematics teacher was staring at her. "Yes, sir?" "What is the answer?" Amara looked at the board. Her mind went blank. A few students laughed. "I'm sorry, sir." The teacher shook his head. "Pay attention." "Yes, sir." She lowered her eyes. Then suddenly— Bang! The classroom door opened. Everyone turned. A boy stood at the entrance, slightly soaked from the rain, holding several books against his chest. "Sorry I'm late, sir." The teacher frowned. "Daniel." "Yes, sir." "This is the third time this week." "I'm sorry, sir." "Just sit down." Daniel nodded and walked into the classroom. Amara tried not to look at him. She failed. Everyone knew Daniel. He was one of the most popular boys in their class. He played football, made people laugh, and somehow managed to get along with almost everyone. But there was something different about him that morning. He looked tired. As he walked past Amara's desk, one of his books slipped from his hands and landed on the floor. Amara bent down and picked it up. "You dropped this." Daniel looked at her. Their eyes met. For a moment, neither of them spoke. Then he smiled. "Thanks." "You're welcome." He took the book and walked to the empty seat behind her. Amara turned back toward the board. She had no idea that those two words would be the beginning of a story she would remember for years. During lunch break, Amara sat beneath the old mango tree with her best friend, Zainab. Zainab opened her lunch box. "So..." Amara looked at her. "So what?" "Who is the boy?" "What boy?" Zainab gave her a look. "The boy who dropped his book on your desk." Amara laughed. "Daniel?" "Yes, Daniel." "He dropped his book. I picked it up. That's all." "That's all?" "Yes." Zainab smiled. "Interesting." "There is nothing interesting about it." "Okay." Zainab took a bite of her food. Then she casually added, "He asked me about you." Amara stopped eating. "What?" "He asked about you." "Why?" "I don't know." "What did he ask?" Zainab grinned. "He asked if you were always this quiet." Amara shook her head. "What did you tell him?" "I told him you're only quiet around people you don't trust." Amara stared at her. "Why would you say that?" "Because it's true." Before Amara could answer, someone spoke behind them. "Is it?" They both turned. Daniel stood there. Zainab immediately smiled. "I'll leave you two." "Zainab!" But she was already walking away. Amara looked at Daniel. "What do you want?" He laughed. "Nothing." "Then why are you here?" "I wanted to return this." He held out a pen. Amara looked at it. "That's not mine." Daniel looked at it carefully. "Are you sure?" "Yes." He smiled. "Then I guess I have an excuse to talk to you again." Amara couldn't help smiling. "You're strange." "Maybe." He sat on the other side of the bench. For a few seconds, neither spoke. Then Daniel asked, "Do you like writing?" Amara looked at him. "How do you know?" "I saw your notebook." "You read it?" "No." She relaxed. "Good." "But I want to." "Why?" "Because you look like someone who has a lot to say but doesn't say it." Amara stared at him. Nobody had ever described her that way before. "Maybe I just don't have anything to say." Daniel smiled. "I don't believe that." The school bell rang. Amara stood up. "We should go." Daniel stood too. "See you later, writer." She looked at him. "Don't call me that." "Why?" "Because I'm not a writer." Daniel smiled. "Not yet." That afternoon, Amara was packing her books when Daniel approached her desk. "Can I borrow your English notes?" "Why?" "I missed yesterday's class." "You were absent?" "Yes." She handed him the notebook. "Bring it tomorrow." "Okay." He turned to leave. "Daniel." He looked back. "Yes?" "Don't lose it." He smiled. "I won't." Amara watched him walk away. She didn't know why, but she had a strange feeling. Something had changed. Something small. Something she couldn't explain. The next morning, Daniel returned the notebook. But there was a folded piece of paper inside. Amara opened it. Only one sentence was written. "You were right. I shouldn't have read your story." Her heart jumped. He had read it. She looked behind her. Daniel was sitting at his desk, pretending to concentrate on his book. Amara folded the note and walked toward him. "You read it." Daniel looked up. "Yes." "I told you not to." "I know." "Why did you?" "Because I wanted to understand you." She didn't know what to say. Daniel looked at her for a moment. Then he smiled. "Your story was good." Amara looked away. "Thank you." "And I meant what I said." "What?" "You should become a writer." She smiled. "Maybe." Daniel leaned back in his chair. "And when you become famous, don't forget the first person who believed in you." Amara laughed. "You're already claiming credit?" "Of course." They both laughed. Neither of them knew that one day, years later, those words would become painful to remember. Because sometimes the people who promise to stay... are the same people life teaches you how to live without. That evening, Amara sat on her bed writing in her notebook. At the top of a fresh page, she wrote: "Today, I met someone interesting." She paused. Then she smiled and continued writing. Outside her window, the rain started falling again. And somewhere across town, Daniel was staring at the same rain. Thinking about her. Neither of them knew it yet. But this was only the beginning. And before they became strangers... they were going to become everything to each other. TO BE CONTINUED...