The morning sky was gray when Lina stepped out of her house. Not rainy, not sunny—just quiet, like the world hadn't decided what it wanted to become yet. She understood that feeling. She didn't know who she was supposed to be either—someone who moved on or someone still waiting.
She walked slowly, earphones in, but no music played. She didn't want music. Music made her remember him—every verse, every melody, every love song now tasted like goodbye.
At school, the hallway was loud with chatter, laughter, gossip. But as Lina walked through it, the noise sounded distant, like she was underwater. She kept her head down, pretending not to hear the whispers.
"Is she okay?"
"She looks so pale…"
"I heard she still keeps the scrapbook."
Her heart tightened, but her face remained calm. She promised herself—no more crying in public.
---
At Her Desk
Lina sat down, placing her notebook on the table. Ethan was already in the classroom, sitting at the back now, by the window he used to share with her. He was laughing with his friends. His smile looked real.
How could he smile like that… when her whole world had stopped?
She quickly looked away, afraid he might see the hurt in her eyes.
The teacher entered, and students shuffled to their seats. The class began, but Lina stared at her blank page, pencil in hand. She tried to write the lesson, but her mind wrote something else:
"Why wasn't I enough?"
"Did he ever love me at all?"
She bit her lip to stop the tears.
---
Maya's Quiet Support
During break, Maya sat beside her.
"You don't have to pretend with me," Maya whispered.
Lina stared at the floor. "If I pretend long enough… maybe it will hurt less."
Maya gently placed her hand on Lina's. "It's okay to be broken. But don't lose yourself while trying to act strong."
Lina didn't respond, but the warmth of her friend's hand made the cold inside her chest soften—just a little.
---
Ethan's Point of View
Ethan sat three rows behind her.
From where he sat, he could see the back of Lina's head, the way her shoulders curled in slightly, like she was trying to make herself smaller, invisible.
He forced himself to look away.
His friend nudged him. "You're quiet today."
"I'm fine," Ethan replied.
He wasn't fine.
Every time Lina walked past him in the hallway without meeting his eyes, something inside him ached.
She didn't cry, he thought. She didn't scream. She just… left.
That made it worse.
He had expected anger, tears, maybe even begging. Instead, she gave him silence—and that silence was louder than any words.
He looked down at his phone. The last unread message from her stared back at him:
"Did you sleep well? I miss you."
He never replied.
He turned off his phone and stared out the window.
---
The Cafeteria
Lunch. The hardest part of the day.
She used to sit with Ethan under the old oak tree. Now she sat with Maya inside the cafeteria. The noise of laughter, trays clashing, people calling out to each other—it all hurt her ears.
She opened her lunchbox. Her mother had packed her favorite food. She stared at it for a while, then closed it. She wasn't hungry.
Across the room, Ethan sat with his friends. Lina didn't want to look—but she did. Just once.
He was smiling. But then, unexpectedly, his eyes met hers.
For one second, the whole world stopped.
He didn't smile. She didn't look away.
And in that tiny moment, she saw something in his eyes—regret. Pain. Something he was trying so hard to hide.
Then he looked away.
Her hands trembled under the table.
---
After School – The Rain
Clouds gathered as school ended. The sky turned darker, heavy with unshed rain.
Lina walked home alone, holding her bag tight. She didn't take the bus—they used to ride it together. She didn't want to remember.
As she walked past the familiar street, memories jumped at her like ghosts.
The café where they drank hot chocolate in winter.
The bookstore they visited on their first date.
The corner where he first held her hand.
She stopped walking.
She couldn't breathe.
Her chest felt tight, like someone was squeezing her heart. The wind blew, cold and sharp. And suddenly—
It began to rain.
Slow at first. Then heavier.
People ran for shelter. Lina didn't move.
The rain soaked her hair, her clothes, her skin. But the pain inside… stayed.
Her phone buzzed.
A message.
Her hands trembled as she opened it.
Ethan:
"You forgot your umbrella in class. I left it on your desk. Take care."
She stared at the screen.
Her breath caught.
Why was he still kind? Why was he still the boy who remembered little things about her, when he was also the boy who broke her heart?
She typed. Then erased. Typed again.
"Thank you."
She sent it.
It was only two words. But for her, it felt like digging into a wound.
---
That Night
Back home, Lina sat at her desk, hair still damp, staring at her reflection in the mirror.
Her eyes were red. Her lips pale. She looked like a version of herself that love had left behind.
She opened her diary.
Page 1 – "I met him today. His name is Ethan. I think he's special."
Page 27 – "He asked me to be his. I said yes."
She turned to a blank page. And wrote:
"He left. And I don't know how to be myself without him."
Tears dripped onto the paper.
She closed the book.
Turned off the light.
And for the first time since the breakup, she whispered into the darkness—
"Please… someone tell me this pain won't last forever."
---
And the night didn't answer.
But somewhere, inside the girl with the broken heart—
something small, something fragile, maybe hope—
refused to die.