A life in love

The afternoon sky was half-gold, half-gray — the kind of day that couldn’t decide whether to rain or shine. The streets near *Miravale Junction* were alive with the noise of scooters, vendors shouting, and the soft whistle of the wind after a storm. Shon leaned against a lamppost outside the old bookshop, his thin frame barely filling his loose blue shirt. His hair stuck up awkwardly, his eyes distant as he watched cars go by. A few raindrops clung to his eyelashes. He wasn’t handsome — at least, not the way the heroes in movies were — but there was something about his quietness, his stillness, that made him different. He checked his watch. Septo had gone to buy lemon sodas ten minutes ago, but with his friend’s habit of chatting with everyone, Shon knew it could easily turn into twenty. He sighed, glancing at the gray clouds above. “Great,” he muttered. “Another rain coming.” And that’s when he heard it — a soft, uncertain voice from behind him. “Um… excuse me?” He turned. A girl stood a few steps away, holding a folded admission form and a phone in her hand. Her hair was slightly damp from the drizzle, dark strands falling over her cheeks. She looked around sixteen or seventeen — probably his age — dressed in a simple white top and a pale pink skirt that fluttered lightly in the breeze. Shon froze. The world, noisy a moment ago, suddenly felt silent. “Do you know where *Mirage College* is?” she asked again, her tone polite, hopeful. “I’ve been walking for ten minutes and my maps stopped working.” For a few seconds, he just looked at her, too lost to even process the words. There was something disarmingly warm in her eyes — a mix of curiosity and confidence, as if she wasn’t afraid of asking strangers for help. Shon quickly straightened up, brushing invisible dust off his shirt. “Uh—yeah! Mirage College. It’s… uh… two streets ahead, then take the left near the old bakery. You’ll see a big gate painted blue.” “Left near the bakery?” she repeated, tilting her head slightly. He nodded. “Yeah, just a five-minute walk.” A small smile tugged at her lips — not wide, but enough to make his heart skip. “Thank you,” she said softly. And before Shon could say anything else, she turned and walked away, her shoes splashing lightly in the puddles. For a moment, all he could do was watch. Her figure grew smaller as she disappeared down the lane, the corner of her skirt catching the sunlight before she vanished completely. Something strange happened inside Shon then — like a quiet spark he didn’t understand. He didn’t even know her name, yet her voice kept echoing in his head. “Excuse me…” “Do you know where Mirage College is?” Each word replayed, warm and unreal. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair, realizing he’d probably looked like a complete i***t just standing there frozen. “Nice, Shon,” he muttered. “You nailed it — directions and a stutter.” “Yo! What are you talking to yourself for?” Shon jumped as Septo appeared out of nowhere, holding two bottles of lemon soda. His friend was grinning as always, his messy hair damp and his uniform shirt half untucked. “Man, you look like you saw a ghost,” Septo said, passing him a bottle. “What happened?” Shon blinked, still half-lost. “Nothing. Just… someone asked for directions.” Septo raised an eyebrow. “Someone? As in, *someone*?” Shon tried to look casual, but his ears were turning red. “Just a girl. She was asking about Mirage College.” “Ohhh,” Septo teased immediately. “A girl, huh? What did she look like?” Shon frowned. “What do you mean what did she look like?” Septo laughed. “Come on, man. You’re blushing. Spill it.” Shon looked away, staring at the puddle near his shoes. “She was just… normal,” he said quietly. But in his mind, her image was vivid — the calm in her eyes, the faint curl of her smile, the way her voice sounded against the rain. “Actually… no,” he admitted under his breath. “Not normal.” “What?” Septo asked. “Nothing.” Septo opened his soda with a fizz. “Anyway, guess what! The admission list just dropped. We’re all in the same college — Mirage College!” Shon blinked. “Wait… *what?*” “Yup,” Septo said proudly. “I checked online. Me, lina,mira,rian dev— all of us got in. Classes start next week.” For a second, the words didn’t register. Mirage College. The same place that girl — what was her name? — had asked about. Shon felt his heart jolt, an unexpected rush of excitement flooding his chest. He tried to keep his voice calm. “Are you sure?” “Absolutely. You’ll see the notice board tomorrow. And guess what, they said there’ll be a small orientation too. New faces, new life, maybe even—” Septo elbowed him playfully, “—new romance, eh?” Shon shook his head, half smiling. “You watch too many dramas, Septo.” “Maybe,” Septo grinned, taking a sip. “But you look like you’re already in one.” Shon didn’t reply. He just looked down the street again — the direction where the girl had walked. He didn’t even know her name, yet something told him this wasn’t the last time he’d see her. --- That night, Shon lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling fan spinning slowly. The sounds of crickets filled the air, and somewhere in the distance, rain began to fall again. His phone buzzed — a message from Septo. **Septo:** *“Hey bro, saw the list again. There are a few new students from out of town too. Gonna be fun.”* **Shon:** *“Yeah.”* **Septo:** *“You okay? You sound weird today.”* **Shon:** *“Just tired.”* He put the phone aside. But he wasn’t tired — not really. He kept replaying that brief moment at the bookshop, her voice, her eyes. It was ridiculous, he thought. Falling for someone just like that? And yet, every time he closed his eyes, her face appeared — soft and bright against the grey sky. “Kuroi…” he whispered the name from the admission list he’d seen in a screenshot Septo had sent earlier. It was there — *Kuroi Tanaka – First Year, Architecture Department.* He smiled faintly in the dark. “So that’s your name.” The rain grew heavier outside, drumming gently against the windowpane. Shon turned toward it, listening, his lips curving unconsciously. Somewhere inside him, a new warmth began to grow — small, uncertain, but alive. And as lightning flashed across the night sky, he knew this feeling wasn’t going away. Maybe love didn’t always arrive with violins or perfect words. Maybe, sometimes, it came quietly — when a lovely girl stopped under a rainy sky and asked, “Excuse me… do you know where Mirage College is?”