Chapter 1
Chapter One – An Ordinary Day
There are days when absolutely nothing seems worth remembering.
No big events. No unexpected surprises. No moments that make you stop and think that something has just changed.
Just another ordinary day.
Bálint was having one of those days.
He had gotten up, made his coffee, checked his phone, and started getting ready for work. The usual routine. Nothing special.
Then his phone vibrated.
He glanced at the screen.
A message.
Luca: Hi 😊
Bálint stared at it for a moment before smiling.
It was only two words and a smiley face.
Still, for some reason, it made his morning feel a little different.
Bálint: Hey 😊 How are you?
He put his phone down and continued getting ready.
A few minutes later, it vibrated again.
Luca: I'm good. Marci is already awake. 😂
Bálint: Already? That's impressive. 😂
Luca: Unfortunately. 😂
Bálint laughed.
He didn't know Marci very well yet, but somehow the boy had already become a familiar part of their conversations.
Luca often mentioned him.
What he had been doing.
What he had eaten.
What kind of trouble he had gotten into that day.
Sometimes she sent pictures, too.
Nothing extraordinary.
Just ordinary moments from an ordinary life.
And somehow, Bálint liked seeing them.
Their conversations were never particularly complicated.
They talked about work, everyday things, stupid jokes, things that had happened during the day.
Sometimes they exchanged only a few messages.
Other times, they could talk for hours without even realizing how much time had passed.
Bálint wasn't someone who usually spent hours talking on the phone.
With Luca, though, it seemed different.
One evening, his phone rang.
Luca.
He answered.
“Hey.”
“Hi.”
“Everything okay?”
“Yeah. I just thought I'd call you.”
“Just like that?”
“Just like that.”
Bálint smiled.
“That sounds dangerous.”
“Why?”
“Because I'm going to start thinking you actually like talking to me.”
There was a brief silence on the other end.
Then Luca laughed.
“Don't get too confident.”
“Too late.”
They talked for a long time that evening.
About Marci.
About work.
About completely pointless things that somehow became funny just because they were talking about them together.
When they finally said goodbye, Luca paused for a moment.
“It was nice hearing your voice.”
Bálint didn't answer immediately.
“Yeah,” he said quietly. “It was nice talking to you too.”
After the call ended, he sat there for a few seconds, staring at the phone in his hand.
He couldn't really explain why that sentence had stayed with him.
It wasn't a confession.
It wasn't anything dramatic.
It was just a sentence.
Still, he found himself smiling.
As the days passed, talking to Luca became part of his routine.
Not something he had planned.
Not something either of them had announced.
It simply happened.
A message in the morning.
A picture during the day.
A joke in the evening.
Sometimes Luca disappeared for a few hours and then suddenly returned with another completely ordinary message.
Luca: Guess what Marci did today.
Bálint already knew that whatever came next was probably going to be a story.
Bálint: Should I be worried? 😂
Luca: You should. 😂
And somehow, he always found himself waiting for the next message.
Not because he expected anything.
At least, that's what he told himself.
One morning, Luca sent him another picture.
This time, it wasn't Marci.
It was her.
A simple, everyday photograph.
Nothing staged.
Nothing special.
Just Luca smiling at the camera.
Bálint looked at the picture for a little longer than he probably should have.
Then he typed:
Bálint: Finally, a picture of you too. 😄
She saw the message.
For a while, there was no answer.
Bálint put the phone down.
“Okay,” he muttered to himself. “Don't read too much into it.”
A few minutes later, his phone vibrated.
Luca: What? Were you missing one? 😄
Bálint smiled.
Bálint: I never said that. 😇
Luca: But you were thinking it. 😂
Bálint: That's a serious accusation.
Luca: Sure. 😂
He laughed.
There was something easy about talking to her.
Nothing needed to be forced.
Nothing needed to be explained.
They just talked.
And maybe that was what made it feel different.
Bálint still didn't want to give it a name.
He wasn't even sure there was a name for it yet.
There was only one thing he knew for certain.
Something had started.
Neither of them knew exactly what it was.
And neither of them seemed in any hurry to find out.
