I didn't believe in "first sight" kind of love.
Life had already shown me enough to know that feelings are liars. People promise today and disappear tomorrow. Smiles hide things. Sweet words don't mean safety.
So when I saw him that day, standing across the street with his phone in his hand like he was lost in the world, love was the last thing on my mind.
I was just trying to get home.
It had rained earlier, the kind of rain that doesn't pour but still finds a way to soak your clothes. The road was messy. Cars were honking. People were rushing like something was chasing them.
I had my earphones in, music low, head full.
That was when someone bumped into me.
Hard.
My phone almost flew out of my hand.
"Ah—sorry, sorry," the person said quickly.
I looked up, ready to be angry.
That was when I saw him.
Not "movie fine." Not "every girl will die" fine. Just… calm fine. Tall. Dark hair a little messy like he didn't care enough to fix it. Eyes that looked tired but soft at the same time.
He was holding my arm gently, like he was scared I might fall.
"I didn't see you," he said. "Are you okay?"
His voice was low. Normal. But it entered my chest somehow.
"I'm fine," I replied, pulling my arm back.
Our eyes stayed on each other for a second too long. That awkward second where nobody knows what to say next.
Then he smiled. Small. Real.
"Good," he said. "That would've ruined my whole day."
I don't know why, but I laughed.
Just a small laugh. The kind that escapes before you can stop it.
He looked surprised, like he didn't expect that.
"What?" I asked.
"Nothing," he said. "You just… smile easy."
I shrugged. "You don't know me."
"True," he said. "But I'd like to."
That was bold. And simple. No noise. No forming.
I should have said no. I usually do. I'm good at cutting things before they start.
But something about the way he stood there, not forcing it, not acting like he already owned my attention… it made me stay.
"My name is Mira," I said.
"Ethan," he replied. "Nice to finally meet you."
"Finally?" I raised a brow.
He smiled again. "Feels like I was late."
I don't know why those words followed me.
We stood there for almost ten minutes, talking rubbish. Where I was going. Where he was coming from. Complaining about the weather. Laughing small laughs.
Nothing deep.
Yet.
Before I left, he asked, "Can I see you again?"
I hesitated.
Because every time I say yes to someone, something in my life scatters.
But I nodded. "Yeah. Maybe."
He took out his phone. "Maybe is enough."
When I walked away, my heart felt stupid.
Light. Careless.
And I hated that.
Because love doesn't start with butterflies.
It starts with blindness.
And I didn't know yet…
that this boy I met on a dirty street, under a confused sky,
would become the person who would teach me the hardest thing in my life.
How to stay.
And how to survive when someone doesn't.