The First Flower 🌸
🌙 24 JUNE
Chapter 1 — 24 June
Time 6:24
The evening of 24 June had arrived quietly.
The sun was sinking behind the distant buildings, leaving behind a pale golden light that slowly faded into the blue of the coming night. One by one, the lights in the houses across the street began to turn on.
There was something strangely peaceful about the evening.
And yet, somewhere in that peacefulness, a story was waiting to begin.
Ayat sat beside the window of her room, her knees pulled slightly toward her chest.
A book lay open in front of her.
She had been staring at the same page for almost twenty minutes.
She had not read a single line.
Her attention was somewhere else.
Her phone vibrated again.
Ayat glanced at it.
Beenish.
She opened the message.
Beenish:
Come outside. I'm bored.
Ayat smiled faintly and typed:
Ayat:
No mood.
The reply came almost instantly.
Beenish:
You never have a mood.
Ayat rolled her eyes.
Ayat:
Then go without me.
Beenish:
One day you're going to become a grandmother sitting in that room.
Ayat laughed quietly.
She put the phone down.
For a few seconds, she looked outside.
The wind moved the curtains beside her.
Everything seemed normal.
Too normal.
She couldn't explain why, but she had the strange feeling that something was missing from the evening.
Something she couldn't name.
She reached for her phone again.
Maybe she just needed something to distract herself.
Her thumb moved across the screen.
Instagram.
Nothing interesting.
WhatsApp.
Nothing new.
She sighed.
Then her eyes stopped on an application she hadn't opened in a while.
Ludo.
"Why not?"
She opened it.
The familiar loading screen appeared.
A few seconds later, the game found four random players.
Ayat looked at the usernames.
She didn't recognize any of them.
The chat started filling up.
Player 1:
Hi everyone.
Player 2:
Hello.
Player 3:
Assalam o Alaikum.
Ayat read the messages.
She didn't reply.
She had never been comfortable talking to strangers online.
The game began.
The first few turns passed silently.
Ayat was focused on the board when, for some reason, her eyes moved toward one particular username.
Usama Saim Sheikh.
She didn't know why she noticed it.
It wasn't even an unusual name.
She had no idea who the person behind it was.
She didn't know his age.
She didn't know where he lived.
She didn't know what he looked like.
She knew absolutely nothing about him.
And yet...
Her finger hovered over the small gift icon.
She hesitated.
"Why am I doing this?"
She almost closed it.
Then, without thinking too much, she selected a flower.
Gift sent.
Ayat blinked.
For a moment she stared at the screen.
"Oops."
She smiled to herself.
She expected nothing.
Then a message appeared.
Usama sheikh
Hi.
Ayat stared at the word.
Just one word.
Nothing special.
Still, something about it made her smile.
She typed:
Ayat:
Hi.
And that was it.
No introduction.
No questions.
No long conversation.
The other players continued sending occasional messages in the chat, but Ayat ignored them.
She didn't know why she had replied to Usama and no one else.
Perhaps it was simply because he had replied to her.
Perhaps it was the flower.
Perhaps it was nothing.
The game continued.
Then something unexpected happened.
One of the players suddenly left the match.
Another followed a few turns later.
Soon, only Ayat and Usama remained active.
Ayat looked at the screen.
For the first time, she wondered who he really was.
But she didn't ask.
Neither did he.
The silence between two strangers somehow felt easier than conversation.
Finally, the game ended.
Ayat put her phone down.
She looked at the clock.
The evening had turned into night.
She closed the book that she had never actually read.
Then she whispered to herself:
"Just a random game."
She had no idea how wrong she was.
Because sometimes...
the biggest chapters of life begin with the smallest decisions.
A random game.
A random name.
A single flower.
And one simple word.
Hi.
---
Somewhere Else...
The atmosphere was completely different.
The bright lights of the police station made the night outside look darker than it really was.
Usama Saim Sheikh walked through the corridor carrying a file in one hand.
At twenty-six, he had already learned how to keep his emotions hidden.
His uniform was neat.
His expression was serious.
His steps were steady.
People around him knew him as disciplined, observant and difficult to read.
He wasn't the kind of person who talked unnecessarily.
And he certainly wasn't the kind of person who trusted people easily.
He stopped outside an office and handed the file to an officer.
"Sir, the report is complete."
The officer took it.
"Good. You can go."
Usama nodded.
"Thank you, sir."
He turned and walked away.
His phone vibrated in his pocket.
He ignored it.
A few seconds later, it vibrated again.
This time he stopped.
He pulled it out.
A notification from the Ludo game.
He opened it absent-mindedly.
His eyes fell on the flower Ayat had sent earlier.
He frowned slightly.
A voice came from behind.
"Since when did you start smiling at your phone?"
Usama turned.
Zamil was standing there.
His closest friend.
And probably the only person in the world who wasn't intimidated by Usama's serious personality.
Usama immediately locked the phone.
"I wasn't smiling."
Zamil raised an eyebrow.
"You were."
"No."
"I saw you."
"You saw wrong."
Zamil laughed.
"Okay, Mr. Serious."
Usama started walking again.
Zamil followed.
"Who was it?"
"No one."
"Then why are you hiding your phone?"
"I'm not."
"You definitely are."
Usama stopped.
"Zamil."
"Yes?"
"Go home."
Zamil grinned.
"After you tell me who sent the flower."
Usama looked at him.
For a moment, neither spoke.
Then Usama glanced at his phone.
The username was still there.
Ayat.
"I don't know her."
Zamil's smile grew.
"Her?"
Usama realized his mistake.
"Player."
"Sure."
"She was just another player."
"Then why did you remember her name?"
Usama had no answer.
He put the phone back in his pocket.
"Because you asked."
Zamil laughed.
"Interesting."
Usama shook his head and walked away.
But as he entered the next room, his hand unconsciously moved toward his pocket.
Toward the phone.
Toward the name.
Ayat.
He didn't know it yet...
But that name was going to become impossible to ignore.
---
11:47 PM
Ayat was lying in bed.
The room was dark except for the light coming from her phone.
She opened Instagram.
She wasn't searching for anything particular.
At least, that's what she told herself.
Her fingers moved to the search bar.
She paused.
Then typed:
Usama Saim Sheikh
Several results appeared.
She scrolled.
Then stopped.
One profile caught her attention.
She opened it.
The profile wasn't completely public.
There were a few pictures.
Nothing extraordinary.
Ayat looked at the profile for a few seconds.
"Maybe it's him."
She didn't know why she cared.
She hesitated.
Then pressed:
Follow.
She immediately locked her phone.
A second later, she unlocked it again.
"Why did I do that?"
She checked the screen.
Nothing.
She put the phone away.
Then it vibrated.
Ayat grabbed it instantly.
A notification appeared.
Usama Saim Sheikh followed you back.
Her heart gave an unexpected little jump.
She stared at the notification.
Then another appeared.
Usama Saim Sheikh viewed your story.
Ayat opened Instagram.
Her story showed one view.
Usama.
She smiled.
Then she noticed something else.
A notification.
Usama Saim Sheikh liked your story.
Ayat's smile became wider.
She had no reason to be this happy.
It was just a story like.
Just a person she had met in a random game.
Just a stranger.
Yet she kept looking at the screen.
Then a message appeared.
Usama:
Ludo wali?
Ayat laughed.
She typed:
Ayat:
Haan.
A few seconds later:
Usama:
Flower bhi tumne bheja tha?
Ayat:
Haan 😂
Usama:
Kyun?
Ayat thought for a moment.
She could have given a proper answer.
Instead, she typed:
Ayat:
Bas.
Usama replied:
Acha.
Ayat frowned.
Ayat:
Acha?
Usama:
Haan.
She rolled her eyes.
Ayat:
Ajeeb ho.
There was a pause.
Then:
Usama:
Aur tum?
Ayat:
Main kya?
Usama:
Ajeeb.
Ayat laughed.
She had known him for less than an hour.
And somehow, talking to him already felt strangely easy.
Neither of them knew where the conversation would lead.
Neither of them knew that the simple messages exchanged that night would become memories.
Neither knew that, months later, they would remember this exact night.
Especially the flower.
---
12:16 AM
Ayat finally put her phone down.
She closed her eyes.
Sleep didn't come immediately.
The name kept appearing in her mind.
Usama.
She turned to the other side.
"Stop thinking."
She closed her eyes again.
Her phone vibrated.
She ignored it.
It vibrated once more.
Ayat opened her eyes.
She picked it up.
But this time...
It wasn't from Usama.
It was a notification from an unknown account.
There was no profile picture.
No followers.
No posts.
Only a username made of random letters and numbers.
Ayat stared at it.
She didn't remember ever seeing the account before.
She opened the notification.
There was no message.
Only a follow request.
She frowned.
"Who is this?"
For a moment, she considered accepting it.
Then she didn't.
She deleted the request.
The screen went dark.
Ayat placed the phone beside her pillow.
She had no idea that the account she had just ignored...
had been watching her for longer than she could imagine.
And she certainly didn't know...
that the first flower she had sent to a stranger that evening...
wasn't the only thing that had been noticed.
Outside, the city slept peacefully.
Inside one house, Ayat finally closed her eyes.
And somewhere across the city, another phone screen remained lit.
A profile was open.
Ayat.
The stranger behind the screen typed something.
Then deleted it.
Typed again.
Deleted it again.
Finally, one sentence appeared in the message box:
"You have no idea who you just met."
The message was never sent.
The screen went dark.
But the secret remained.
And 24 June...
had only just begun.
🌸☕