𝐁𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐊𝐧𝐞𝐰

It felt like a whole new different world .

Rows of roses and tulips bloomed along the carefully trimmed hedges, while clusters of violet and pink flowers spilled over their edges. Their colours softened beneath the warmth of the afternoon sun, painting the university grounds in shades that seemed almost too delicate to be real.

A gentle breeze moved through the trees, stirring their heavy branches until flowers began drifting slowly toward the ground.

Butterflies danced among the blossoms. Tiny birds soared between the branches, their soft calls mingling with the distant chatter of students and the quiet trickle of water from the fountains.

And beneath the enormous yellow-orange tulip tree stood a girl who looked completely out of place.

She wasn't dressed casually like the University students.

She wore a school uniform - blue skirt with crisp white shirt and a single ponytail.

The soft air made the baby hairs on her forehead brush against her skin , a few stray strands softly framing her heart shaped face .

Her fingers moved slowly brushing the hairs away from her eyes .

The sunlight bouncing off the top of her nose and soft pink lips caught somewhere between a pout and a frown.

Her eyes were unusual.

A delicate shade somewhere between mossy green and grey, they were so clear and glassy that they almost seemed translucent.

They made her look less like a girl standing beneath a tree and more like some little nymph who had wandered out of a fairytale and accidentally found herself in a university courtyard.

A doll.

That was what she looked like.

A very irritated doll.

Her phone was pressed against her ear.

It buzzed again.

And again.

And again.

No one was answering.

"Where was he ?" She muttered under her breath slightly dejected as she leaned back against the tree.

But before she could call again, a voice suddenly cut through the air.

“Girl, get out of the way!”

Someone had addressed her and she instantly turned around only for her eyes to widen in shock .

The football was just a few meters away and was about to hit her in the face the next second.

She had stood there momentarily shocked as fear crawled through her skin and her eyes shut on their own accord - her hands flying up to her face as the phone fell down.

She was ready to feel the pain against her arms - until it never came .

Instead ,

A very low hiss echoed in her ear .

There was someone standing between her and the football.

Tall.

Far too tall.

For a moment, all she could see was his back.

The afternoon sunlight slipped through the gaps between the leaves , catching against strands of dark, tousled hair and tracing the edges of his broad shoulders in gold.

He stood completely still, one hand holding the football , as though catching it had required no effort at all.

Her eyes travelled upward.

And upward.

She barely reached his chest now.

She remembered once only reaching till his elbows.

She knew him.

Not because she could see his face but

Because she remembered the way he stood.

From the slight tilt of his head.

From the quietness in the way he held himself and the way the football seemed to weigh nothing in his hand , appearing smaller and less dangerous than it had a few moments ago.

She had recognised the familiar safety and gentleness before she had seen his face.

Then he turned - slowly.

Almost lazily, as though the world had given him all the time it had refused to give her.

With his head slightly tilted to a side , his jaw appeared sharper now that he had grown a bit older and those long, heavy lashes had cast a soft shadow against his cheeks.

His eyebrows had furrowed just for a moment before relaxing again and - then he lazily raised his head to look at her.

And now she had seen - those eyes.

She had no way to describe them .

She never had.

Maybe...

They were the type - a poet would spend an eternity praising.

Her breath had hitched .

Her heart had stopped beating for a second ,

Her lips parting in a soft gasp beyond her control.

The garden , the University or the fairytale.

None of them were actually as beautiful as the sight before her.

Not anymore.

Her world had spun once again and everything else had faded in the background.

It indeed was him.

Years passed beyond that place, but within the little kingdom of her memory, the clock had never struck another hour.

She was still stuck on the day she had seen him for the first time.

Two Years Ago