Shadows Of The Past
334 Words
The classroom emptied, but Zara stayed behind, her fingers tracing the edges of an old photo tucked inside her notebook.
Her mind drifted back months before the project—before Kian even noticed her.
She was in middle school then, a quiet girl with big dreams but no one to share them with.
The halls were crowded, voices loud, and the feeling of invisibility clung to her like a second skin.
One day, a boy had smiled at her—a rare, genuine smile—and for a moment, everything felt lighter.
But he moved away, and with him went Zara’s hope that maybe she wasn’t meant to stay invisible forever.
That memory stung, but it also made her braver now.
She glanced up as footsteps approached.
“Kian?” His voice was soft, uncertain.
Zara snapped the photo shut. “Yeah?”
“Ready for tutoring?” He asked, a shy smile playing on his lips.
She nodded, feeling the weight of her past and the hope for something new all tangled together.
(Flashback)*
Zara’s mind rewound to that rainy afternoon in middle school.
She sat alone on a bench, her soaked notebook clutched tightly.
The schoolyard was a whirlwind of laughter and chatter, but none of it reached her.
Then, out of nowhere, a boy about her age sat beside her.
He smiled—a real, warm smile that made the gray sky seem less heavy.
“Hey, you okay?” he asked gently.
Zara blinked, surprised. “Yeah... I guess.”
He shrugged. “I’m Marcus. I don’t think we’ve met.”
For the first time in a long while, Zara felt seen.
But the bell rang, and Marcus had to leave.
“Maybe I’ll see you around,” he said.
She watched him walk away, a quiet hope blooming in her chest.
That hope had faded over time, buried beneath years of silence and solitude.
But now, standing beside Kian in the empty classroom, that small spark flickered again.
- Writer
